Are superhero Funko Pops the Beanie Babies of our generation? 4 4

[miraclemet]

On 6/29/2020 at 8:44 PM, kav said:

If Funkos have legs it will be the first manufactured collectible in history that works.

What about all those variant cover comics? How different are the limited edition Funko pops from the 1:100 variant covers that some modern comic collectors chase?

[kav]

6 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

What about all those variant cover comics? How different are the limited edition Funko pops from the 1:100 variant covers that some modern comic collectors chase?

I am also predicting variant covers will not have legs.  We'll see in 10 years or so.

[miraclemet]

In the last two months there have been 700 sales of beanie babies at a price point of $500 or higher.

Same time frame there have been 1300 sales of Funko pops.

So if this is "post bubble" beanie baby prices/volume, and we're still in " pre bubble" market for Funko how are they the same?

[catman76]

I am so out of it I didn't even know what these were until I read this and man are these things ugly and just are a fad like anything else and in 20 years no one will care anymore and they will be like beanie babies and everything else just rotting in landfills for millennia and choking whales to death with all the other plastic waste.

[miraclemet]

56 minutes ago, catman76 said:

I am so out of it I didn't even know what these were until I read this and man are these things ugly and just are a fad like anything else and in 20 years no one will care anymore and they will be like beanie babies and everything else just rotting in landfills for millennia and choking whales to death with all the other plastic waste.

Would you be surprised to know they've already been around for 20 years?

The company founders seem to be pretty smart about maintaining their collector community base over the decades, so while they may fall out of favor with the masses, I'm betting their core base of fans will still be there.

[F For Fake]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:13 PM, lighthouse said:

The huge difference between Funkos and Beanies is the licensing.

Beanies only ever had value to people who wanted to collect Beanies (or wanted to sell to other Beanie collectors). Beyond that, you were limited to selling a Gobbles to folks who happened to collect turkeys (not exactly a huge market).

The licensing aspect is enormous. There are Elvis Presley collectors that will buy darn near anything that is a licensed Elvis collectible. They’re not going to suddenly stop wanting the 50s and 70s Elvis Funkos just because Funkos in general fade out of fashion. They don’t suddenly dump their Elvis Funkos because they decided Funkos are dumb. The same is true for Disney and LOTR and GOT and HP and DBZ and R&M and all the other licensed stuff.

The original post here was trying to compare superhero Funkos to Beanies, but superheroes are a small, small portion of Funko collecting. They may be the biggest overlap with these boards but I doubt they are 25% of what a Funko makes.

On Tuesday I had a collection of 130 Funkos dropped off at my shop, some superhero but over 2/3 was Disney. Many were common pieces, but a good chunk were $20-40 in the Funko app. The most expensive was $55 retail. I paid $650 for the collection on Friday afternoon. I spent three hours processing a chunk of them Saturday morning before we opened. By close of business Sunday I’d done $690 in sales from the collection.

Would I want to buy and hold one of the $7000 vaulted Dumbo figures? Not a chance. But do I think years from now, folks will still be willing to pay around $8-10 each for Pops of Pikachu, Hulk, Buffy, Legolas, Ariel, Negan, Goku, Pickle Rick, Goofy, or Hermione, even if the “fad” ends. Yeah. I do. And I doubt you’ll see those 50s or 70s Elvis Pops drop below $150 before the end of time.

Here’s a Beanie Baby of a turkey.

Here’s a Funko Pop of your favorite character ever. 

Quite a difference in appeal there.

This is it in a nutshell. Like I said before, the appeal of the line is the sheer breadth of the licenses, all in the same format. You want to play Marvel vs Star Wars vs Jaws vs Scooby Doo vs Freddie Mercury vs the Sex Pistols? Here's your chance! There will always be collectors of these individual licenses, regardless of the continued appeal of the Pop itself. Someone will always be collecting music themed toys, SW themed toys, etc. Beanie Babies are limited to fans of, uh, teddy bears? Maybe someone out there is really hardcore about the platypus? Who can say.

People like what they like. As has been said, I wouldn't want to park a lot of money in them, but I see no reason why they'd lose their appeal any faster than any of the other ridiculous garbage people like to hoard. Stapled paper pamphlets featuring the adventures of men in tights seem pretty passe as well.

[kav]

43 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

the simple answer to all of this is just buy and enjoy what you want. Don't let people argue that you are making a mistake enjoying yourself.

Look-- you are not going to get Kav to drop this or the stuff about variant. Just let him bark at the clouds. Fighting him just makes him dig in like a tick.

 

PS-- I own neither a Funko Pop or a variant. But I don't care what people like to buy. I don't by anything newer than barely copper age (and that has been over for a bit). SA and bronze are my only real interest. And if someone has a problem with that-- well enjoy your acrimony- I'm happy

Not sure why you are going after me and being insulting.  I have not mocked anyone for collecting funkoes and think it is a legitimate topic for discussion.  Nowhere have I stated that I am right and I know everything, in fact I have used comments likie "If" and "we'll see".

Edited July 6, 2020 by kav

[kav]

6 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

I wasn't talking to you or "going after you" --

I am now going to ignore you and not act all defensive about this topic that BORES ME TO TEARS.

 

You werent talking to me?  I never said you were 'talking to me' I said you were going after me and being insulting.

1 hour ago, 01TheDude said:

you are not going to get Kav to drop this or the stuff about variant. Just let him bark at the clouds. Fighting him just makes him dig in like a tick.

Probably best if you do ignore me.  

Edited July 6, 2020 by kav

[Buzzetta]

8 hours ago, miraclemet said:

Would you be surprised to know they've already been around for 20 years?

The company founders seem to be pretty smart about maintaining their collector community base over the decades, so while they may fall out of favor with the masses, I'm betting their core base of fans will still be there.

That I did not know.

i think the Funko idea is brilliant to be honest.  @kav is basing his assessment on funks by comic collecting and collectibles that he knows.  Therein lies the mistake.  I have one that would really drive him nuts, Lego set collecting.  Even I cannot figure that out.  By comic or most other collectible every LEGO set should sell for the avg bulk price of LEGO which falls at about 10-15 cents a brick.  
 

However when certain bricks are put together in certain combinations I can charge much much more for that.  Keep in mind that I can usually source the parts needed to build something from many other sets.  Nothing is in short supply, nothing is rare, but the LEGO aftermarket has been strong since people started trading over the internet.  LEGO itself knows this and puts their instructions online for free making it kind of unnecessary to buy even new LEGO sets off the shelf.

yet the market thrives on the majority of used sets.

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Buzzetta

[miraclemet]

3 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

That I did not know.

i think the Funko idea is brilliant to be honest.  @kav is basing his assessment on funks by comic collecting and collectibles that he knows.  Therein lies the mistake.  I have one that would really drive him nuts, Lego set collecting.  Even I cannot figure that out.  By comic or most other collectible every LEGO set should sell for the avg bulk price of LEGO which falls at about 10-15 cents a brick.  
 

However when certain bricks are put together in certain combinations I can charge much much more for that.  Keep in mind that I can usually source the parts needed to build something from many other sets.  Nothing is in short supply, nothing is rare, but the LEGO aftermarket has been strong since people started trading over the internet.  LEGO itself knows this and puts their instructions online for free making it kind of unnecessary to buy even new LEGO sets off the shelf.

yet the market thrives on the majority of used sets.

 

There's an interesting documentary about the early days of the Funko company on Netflix called "Making Fun: The Story of Funko" it's interesting to see the approach of fan cultivation that they built their business model on. 

When you describe Lego as you do, it is certainly a head-spinning, head-scratching hobby. Since we started buying legos for our daughter I've always kept the boxes/instructions because of just what you described (despite my wife thinking im silly for doing it). Someone could write a book about the market nuances of the difference collectibles sub-groups. It'd be a very interesting read. 

 

[Crops068]

At one point I had close to 150 pops, I liquidated them down to maybe 25 of my favorites.  I have added a few since, mostly just Thanos honestly.  They come out with too many with too many combinations.

[Buzzetta]

10 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

There's an interesting documentary about the early days of the Funko company on Netflix called "Making Fun: The Story of Funko" it's interesting to see the approach of fan cultivation that they built their business model on. 

When you describe Lego as you do, it is certainly a head-spinning, head-scratching hobby. Since we started buying legos for our daughter I've always kept the boxes/instructions because of just what you described (despite my wife thinking im silly for doing it). Someone could write a book about the market nuances of the difference collectibles sub-groups. It'd be a very interesting read. 

 

Have you seen the post I took of my basement storage room of Lego?  I get rid of the boxes.  If I kept them I would need triple the size. 

But yeah, when the Batman Tumbler was retired in 2007... I never got around to getting it.  The set was selling for about $150 used.  So, I ordered the parts on bricklink for about $75 shipped.  I used instructions that I found online and "BOOM" Tumbler !  But, people would still prefer to buy it all at once.   There was one guy on eBay that also realized this and he was sourcing all the parts to build Batman Tumblers and then selling them as whole models without instructions or stickers for twice what it cost to source the parts.  

I also want to point to the forum that sometimes I am typing on my phone or iPad and sometimes I am typing on my computer.   While I will make typos and other mistakes under both situations, I think the forum can figure out which device I am using based on the quantity and depth of mistakes.    I just looked at what I wrote through your quote and I cringed. 

[camera73]

31 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

There's an interesting documentary about the early days of the Funko company on Netflix called "Making Fun: The Story of Funko" it's interesting to see the approach of fan cultivation that they built their business model on. 

When you describe Lego as you do, it is certainly a head-spinning, head-scratching hobby. Since we started buying legos for our daughter I've always kept the boxes/instructions because of just what you described (despite my wife thinking im silly for doing it). Someone could write a book about the market nuances of the difference collectibles sub-groups. It'd be a very interesting read. 

 

Yes, Thank you! I've written a lot about Funko on this thread, but have somehow forgotten to mention the documentary.

Also, head slapper.....LEGO is such a perfect lesson on how weird the world of toy collectibles gets!! You can buy a LEGO set now and have a very reasonable expectation that it will triple in value over the next ten years. But they're so pricey, that it is an expensive investment. And it has nothing to do with actually making the design. Some boxes that sell have been built and some are unopened...just like Funko pops.

Another thing that requires mention in this thread: Netflix's series The Toys That Made Us. SO, So, SO, so good, as a kid of the 70s/80s, I get engrossed in the stories of the most popular playthings - now collectibles - of then and now. It's full of lessons about how these lines come about and how they end up in our possession years after their release in retail. Whether do to nostalgia, or greed, or everything in-between.

[Keys_Collector]

On 6/26/2020 at 8:37 PM, camera73 said:

2) Can't we all say "I don't get it" about 99% of the stuff that other people get excited about? And I'd guess the percentage of people who would say "I own none, I don’t get it" about comics would be greater than 99%. So it's all a matter of 'to each their own.'

On 6/29/2020 at 7:13 PM, lighthouse said:

The huge difference between Funkos and Beanies is the licensing.

Beanies only ever had value to people who wanted to collect Beanies (or wanted to sell to other Beanie collectors). Beyond that, you were limited to selling a Gobbles to folks who happened to collect turkeys (not exactly a huge market).

The licensing aspect is enormous. There are Elvis Presley collectors that will buy darn near anything that is a licensed Elvis collectible. They’re not going to suddenly stop wanting the 50s and 70s Elvis Funkos just because Funkos in general fade out of fashion. They don’t suddenly dump their Elvis Funkos because they decided Funkos are dumb. The same is true for Disney and LOTR and GOT and HP and DBZ and R&M and all the other licensed stuff.

The original post here was trying to compare superhero Funkos to Beanies, but superheroes are a small, small portion of Funko collecting. They may be the biggest overlap with these boards but I doubt they are 25% of what a Funko makes.

On Tuesday I had a collection of 130 Funkos dropped off at my shop, some superhero but over 2/3 was Disney. Many were common pieces, but a good chunk were $20-40 in the Funko app. The most expensive was $55 retail. I paid $650 for the collection on Friday afternoon. I spent three hours processing a chunk of them Saturday morning before we opened. By close of business Sunday I’d done $690 in sales from the collection.

Would I want to buy and hold one of the $7000 vaulted Dumbo figures? Not a chance. But do I think years from now, folks will still be willing to pay around $8-10 each for Pops of Pikachu, Hulk, Buffy, Legolas, Ariel, Negan, Goku, Pickle Rick, Goofy, or Hermione, even if the “fad” ends. Yeah. I do. And I doubt you’ll see those 50s or 70s Elvis Pops drop below $150 before the end of time.

Here’s a Beanie Baby of a turkey.

Here’s a Funko Pop of your favorite character ever. 

Quite a difference in appeal there.

[dupont2005]

Yep

[Crops068]

3 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Have you seen the post I took of my basement storage room of Lego?  I get rid of the boxes.  If I kept them I would need triple the size. 

But yeah, when the Batman Tumbler was retired in 2007... I never got around to getting it.  The set was selling for about $150 used.  So, I ordered the parts on bricklink for about $75 shipped.  I used instructions that I found online and "BOOM" Tumbler !  But, people would still prefer to buy it all at once.   There was one guy on eBay that also realized this and he was sourcing all the parts to build Batman Tumblers and then selling them as whole models without instructions or stickers for twice what it cost to source the parts.  

I also want to point to the forum that sometimes I am typing on my phone or iPad and sometimes I am typing on my computer.   While I will make typos and other mistakes under both situations, I think the forum can figure out which device I am using based on the quantity and depth of mistakes.    I just looked at what I wrote through your quote and I cringed. 

The only Lego thus far I have wanted and didn't get was the Vader Bust Target Exclusive.  It sold out so fast online and the Target stores (to my knowledge) never received any.  Originally it was $39 or $50 now it is going for $100-$150.
Just can't bring myself to overpay that much.

Good idea to buy the bricks on bricklink.  Hmmmmmm.

[kav]

Maybe there are 2 kinds of collectibles-manufactured collectibles and accidental collectibles.

[Buzzetta]

28 minutes ago, Crops068 said:

The only Lego thus far I have wanted and didn't get was the Vader Bust Target Exclusive.  It sold out so fast online and the Target stores (to my knowledge) never received any.  Originally it was $39 or $50 now it is going for $100-$150.
Just can't bring myself to overpay that much.

Good idea to buy the bricks on bricklink.  Hmmmmmm.

Here are the instructions.  https://www.lego.com/biassets/bi/6284412.pdf

I just went through them and there is absolutely nothing in that set that is uncommon or rare.   I already have most of the parts.  If I didn't have so much going on and want to take a break from buying and selling, I would honestly source enough for 2-3 models, keep 1 and sell off the other two to make the money back for the set I was keeping. 

 

EDIT: If you scroll down the instructions have the parts in the quantity that they are needed as well as the code that Bricklink uses for each part.  There is a feature also on Bricklink that does the searching for you to get the majority of what you are looking for from one seller to make it as cheap as possible.  It is not always effective but it works some of the time. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Buzzetta

[Crops068]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

Here are the instructions.  https://www.lego.com/biassets/bi/6284412.pdf

I just went through them and there is absolutely nothing in that set that is uncommon or rare.   I already have most of the parts.  If I didn't have so much going on and want to take a break from buying and selling, I would honestly source enough for 2-3 models, keep 1 and sell off the other two to make the money back for the set I was keeping. 

 

EDIT: If you scroll down the instructions have the parts in the quantity that they are needed as well as the code that Bricklink uses for each part.  There is a feature also on Bricklink that does the searching for you to get the majority of what you are looking for from one seller to make it as cheap as possible.  It is not always effective but it works some of the time. 

You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar!

[FoggyNelson]

I like funky-babies , maybe someone will start grading them😷😷‼️‼️