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Star Wars Vintage Toys: Why They'll Retain Their Value |
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Written by Jared Conley
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Sunday, 30 November 2008 |
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Everyone believes "their" markets are the "coolest" vintage toy markets, but most objective collectors agree on vintage Star Wars, vintage Transformers, vintage Hot Wheels, and vintage Pez. Out of all of these, Star Wars vintage toys are arguably among the most valuable individually, though with the plethora of Pez prototypes and variations on the market, Pez probablt have the edge when we're looking at total collection valuation.
by JaredConley
Everyone believes "their" markets are the "coolest" vintage toy markets, but most objective collectors agree on vintage Star Wars, vintage Transformers, vintage Hot Wheels, and vintage Pez. Out of all of these, Star Wars vintage toys are arguably among the most valuable individually, though with the plethora of Pez prototypes and variations on the market, Pez probablt have the edge when we're looking at total collection valuation.
In the late 70's, Kenner produced the original line of 12 Star Wars figures, and this entire line is extremely desirable to Star Wars enthusiasts, each netting more than $2,000 if in their original packaging and in great condition. The most valuable Star Wars toy is argued to be Vlix, a short-lived character who appeared in a Braziliam cartoon. Vlix fetches well over $6,000 if in good shape.
Contributing to the valuation of these figures is the license exclusivity. For example, Kenner Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, was the Canadian licensee for Star Wars toys in Canada from 1977 until 1985, but only manufactured about ten percent of the figures at that time. That, in addition to the fact that the Canadian releases were packaged with bilingual packaging, adds an interesting twist to those interested in the collectible value of these toys.
Another interesting collectible item available, but very hard to locate, are figure prototypes. Prototypes and test products are very common in other markets, e.g. the collectible Pez market, but much more rare in the Star Wars market.
While many current Star Wars fans are young, and because there has been a glut of new licenses on the market, these newer figures will likely never attain the valuations that current vintage figures attained. For example, a recent release features Star Wars toys that morph from characters like Darth Vader into objects like the Death Star. These Transformers figures mashups are selling right now, but supply is also high, removing one of the valuation factors from the equation.
There are also other foreign releases, with the Japanese Star Wars figures being very unique, and therefore, very desirable and very collectible. European toys are also popular and regularly confused with Canadian releases, due to their bilingual packaging. The easiest way to tell these releases apart is by viewing the address on the package, which will clearly indicate the country of origin.
With Star Wars toys, you have a killer movie franchise, a rabid fan base, opportunities to locate unique figures, and much heavier demand than supply. All of these factors lead many professional collectors to believe that Star Wars vintage action figures will retain their value for the long haul.
So dig in your attic, uncover that old AT-AT Walker or Landspeeder, and see if you have a collectible on your hands!
About the Author:
Jared is a proud collector of Star Wars vintage toys, Pez, and Transformer action figures. He has been obsessed with the Star Wars franchise ever since he played with his first Landspeeder nearly 30 years ago. He blogs about his collections on his Star Wars and Transformers figures blogs.
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