Question #5: from May 2, 2011:

As a longtime Star Wars collector, I completely understand and agree that the grand majority of non-vintage figures and vehicles (mid-90's onward) are poor investments and will not appreciate in value and frequently end up depreciating over time. However, I was looking at the variety of Republic Gunships on Ebay the other day and noticed that even ones that are being sold loose but in good condition are going for at least their original price and the MISB ones (AOTC, ROTS, CW, etc.) can go for upwards of $100 or in some cases even $150.

My question is, why do some Star Wars vehicles that are by no means "rare" or hard to find that have been made in a plethora of varieties over the years now command higher prices than what they sold for in retail and can actually prove to be a good investment for people who buy Star Wars toys for an investment?
--Joel

My answer from 2011 With commentary from 2025:

Simply put, vehicles are not figures. Totally different beast. A lot of collectors only buy carded figures, and due to the high price point few collectors invest in or buy extra vehicles for later. Parents also don't buy their kids more expensive toys, so there's a lot of potential on "high dollar" items like vehicles. After all, how many collectors bought each of all six Republic Gunships? I did, but did you guys? My guess is probably not. Due to space and prices, we don't think about buying an entire fleet of Jedi Starfighters all that much.

If all vehicles were bought by kids, opened, played with, and destroyed and not gobbled up by collectors then this makes perfect sense. How many collectors did I know who bought 5-10 of each figure to preserve as an investment? Lots. How many people do I know who even bought 1 of each vehicle for their own collection? Not too many. The same can be said on a lot of toy lines, the more expensive stuff tended to be the first items that shot up in value. Taking Star Wars as an example, the 12-inch figures and vehicles from the 1970s rocketed up in the late 1980s, while most of the carded figures prices took a while to climb, generally at or after 1990.

I agree with me. I'm very good at this.

We certainly had too many Gunships and the fact we got seven nearly broke me. I bought the Galaxy's Edge Millennium Falcon, which was a retool of the 2008 The Legacy Collection Big Millennium Falcon, and space is really a problem here. I didn't get more fun out of owning a second, slightly different one. But, there aren't many vehicles most years - I don't feel terrible buying a ship. I like ships, Mini-Rigs were a big reason I kept going to collector shows and looking for old toys as a young fan. Also, I would like more small non-bike vehicles please.

Back in the Kenner 1978-1985 days, the ratio of figures to vehicles/playsets was absurd. We got about 116 figures. We also got over a dozen playsets, 6 big creatures, about half a dozen carry cases, a couple of display stands, and about 40 vehicles of some description. Getting and storing those 116 figures wasn't too space-intensive, and they served as ads for the other, bigger toys. About 66 big ticket items compatible with your action figures gives you a lot of upsells for your Lukes. Some fans drag their feet, wait for a vehicle sale, and miss out - and prices right-size eventually. (The Last Jedi vehicles remain quite cheap - and are also probably the worst batch of vehicles for any of the movies. On the other hand Solo was super duper creative, and had some real winners.)

People just love these things, and compared to action figures they remain hard to get. I think The Vintage Collection ships are generally too expensive. They keep casual fans away. But I can't deny they're like little props at toy-adjacent pricing. Fans aren't burned out on ships yet, there are tons of craft sitting on the shelf waiting to be made as 3 3/4-inch toys. I'm not saying they'll all sell... but they're out there.

Right now we're all watching a new Gunship and I'm still not convinced to buy one. I'm not saying it isn't bigger or better. But there does come a time after a few decades that you look at a new version of a toy that you have and ask yourself "Is this going to be something I spend a lot of time with?" And that answer is no - which I know because the other HasLabs haven't done much, and I also haven't done much with the Gunships I have already. If this ship does get manufactured, it will be interesting to see how others feel.

The issue still remains - not a lot of people buy vehicles to sell later. Some HasLab ships (like The Ghost) seem to be bucking that trend, though, so maybe you will see some lower prices on the higher-end stuff as supply may exceed demand in a few cases. We saw a lot of jumps of 5 orders at a time on the Snow C.A.T. this week, and we know dealers are buying these to flip. They're not a guaranteed investment strategy, especially if sold Ghost ships are at or under $500. Nobody's making money there.

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FIN

Ship are on of the aspects of this hobby that generally don't overwhelm me. I do admit I have some unopened deco variant V-Wings and Hailfire Droids, but generally I like the various TIE Fighters and walkers and Jedi Starfighters. I thought I might regret having over a dozen of the Jedi ships, but I don't - especially now. Hasbro makes so few ships in a year that it's nice to have the old ones, and it's a pity kids aren't subsidizing new ones anymore. I'm a little surprised Epic hasn't had a Jedi Starfighter yet.

We're also seeing some fatigue in The Black Series vehicles. A friend pointed out how cheap Rey's Speeder is, and I saw the Dewback prices dipping. Luke's Landspeeder is still pretty reasonable, but the Snowspeeder commands a bit of a mark-up. The TIE Fighter, though, that's still pretty affordable for its age. The Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike will cost you a bit of a mark-up, but adjusted for inflation $50-$60 isn't too bad for a 2014 toy that was once $30. I'm not saying The Black Series vehicles are dead, but it certainly seems we're in a lull and maybe yesterday's kids will grow up to want them tomorrow.

Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, Kenner's 12-inch action figures (or "dolls" if you're nasty) and vehicles tended to be the first things to get kind of expensive. Action figures would eclipse them, but it used to be the only really expensive items were things like the 12-inch IG-88, or the prototypes you never saw. Even Sise Fromm was only two bucks for a few years. The market can change with time, and usually with enough time the kids grow up and want to buy those old vehicles that mom or dad said "no" to. And there's a very finite supply of them to be had.

And now I need to go finish watching The Monster and the Girl, which has not yet delivered on the promise of the former.

--Adam Pawlus

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