Is HIKARIS a good investment?

Postby **Da_POPVADER** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:52 am

Hi,

Q1: What is the history of HIKARI figures?

Q2: I am an extensive POP collector but I am currently exploring the HIKARI line. Is it worth it to start because it is preety pricey. Also will this be a good investment as I am not sure if it will go down in price(clearance rack). Then I would be very disappointed.

Thanks for the advice.

Postby **swind15** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:59 am

Buy it if you like it. Pass if you don't.

No collectible should ever be counted on as an investment, because the bubble can pop at any moment.

Postby **CanDMan47** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:15 am

NO!

But don't take my word for it. I'm just anti-Hiakri, on a purely personal level. I'm in the minority around here on this subject :argue:

, but I'm turned off by them, from the looks, not anything else.

Swind15 has the best most accurate answer to the investment question.

Postby **Da_POPVADER** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:07 am

What's wrong with the looks?

Postby **jandkstuff** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:20 am

Not even the stock market is a guaranteed investment. So, buy them if you enjoy them but definitely pass if you have any hesitation.

And, for the record, I LOVE Hikari's and think they look AMAZING! :-)

Postby **Topshelf19k** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:54 am

Put your money in a bank if your so concerned about investing. Toys won't put your kids through college

Postby **glowfunkofreak** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:26 am

A1: www.google.com

A2: Stuff all your money in your mattress and pray no one finds it, best guaranteed investment you can do.

lol

Postby **CP3x** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 5:40 am

It's a great investment if you like collecting them yourself. If you're trying to look for an eventual return on them I wouldn't do it.

Postby **CanDMan47** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:09 am

Da_POPVADER wrote:What's wrong with the looks?

If I could put my finger on it, (the reason, not the ugly toy), I'd tell you. It just struck me as something I didn't want on my shelves from the instant I saw a picture. And I've seen a couple in the wild, and that didn't make it much better. I will say, in all honesty, I am softening up a little bit on them. They've had one TMNT sitting on the B&N display by itself, probably because he's too ugly to get a date, :roflmao:

, for $40. If he ends up on the clearance table when they get their holiday stuff out, which I've been told was soon, I might buy him for my "at least one of every Funko product made" goal.

Postby **MadLove** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:53 am

If you like it get it, if you don't like it, don't.
There is no guarantee on collectables as an "investment" especially when it comes to POP culture. It's only a matter of time before the next shiny thing comes along and the bubble bursts (:coughbeaniebabieshack:) Sure everyone loves Funko right now but when the saturation hits people will notice as they'll try to sell their "investment." But if everyone is selling there's no one buying and there goes any perceived value.
Get what you like. If you're able to sell it for a bunch in the future when you like it less, great. But there's no guarantee so never count on that.

Postby **cliffd64** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:55 am

If you ever buy such toys purely for an investment, you have already made a big mistake.

In the short term, given a huge amount of time invested, and patience and diligence, you might be able to make a few bucks by trying to flip limited edition pieces. But your returns right now would not be worthy of the time and effort it would take to do it.

There is no guarantee that in 5 years anyone will care about any of these Hikari figures, regardless of their "rarity" or "limited" sized edition, or "Premium" sizes. They may not be so collectible beyond being a curiosity a few years down the road. It all depends on whether the products develop a good following and there is no way to predict that.

Eventually you have to decide if you are a collector or an investor. A collector will acquire things they like and keep them. An investor will buy lots of everything and hope they are sitting on gold someday in the future.

Postby **mrcory5000** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:46 am

When Wacky Wobblers were at their peak they were worth really good money.

Pop!'s have a low price point with cute characters and have been peaking for a while. Seems like a lot of people buy all the stickered exclusives from Hot Topic, Target & Fugitive Toys and sell them almost immediately for a quick profit- thank me later!

Hikari hasn't been around long enough to reach a peak. In 16-months we'll know according to completed ebay auctions.

Postby **Alleycat** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:53 am

Investments should include setting aside money every pay check in a Roth IRA. Put in the maximum allowable by law or what you can afford. Not saving is just plain stupid (even just a few $$$) and is the best way to plan for failure. Look into mutual funds from a reputable company (I favor Vanguard). Diversify according to your age. Include an account for college funds if you have children.

Be cautious of financial advisors. Many of them just want your business so they can collect commissions so that THEY can get rich off of you. Be very wary. I've been sweet talked by a few "brokers / advisors" and have lost money, but gained smarts. Advice is one thing, but investing in funds that the advisor represents can be very risky. Deal with known firms (Vanguard and several others).

Then, if you can afford another $50 or (??) per paycheck, invest in another non-IRA mutual fund. Keep at least 6 months worth of living expenses in an account. Forget CDs for now. Have only one credit card and pay off the balance every month - with a few exceptions.

After that, and after paying bills for food, rent/mortgage, health insurance..... spend on toys!!!!!

I'm with you on deciding what to do about collecting Hikaris. My love for Funko is still Wacky Wobblers and their protos. I buy Pop! only if I really like the characters. I have started collecting Hikari on what I like - Freddy for sure. I like that Frankenstein I've seen. Transformers and TMNTs I'm staying away from - too many characters and too many variations of each character. And I don't really need 50 color variations of Batman. Besides - I just don't have room for them. AND they are way too expensive for me to buy then put in storage!

Buying any line of Funko should NOT be thought of as an investment. History has proven that. Although some items are being sold for outrageous prices on eBay and Facebook, it is highly doubtful they will hold their value. It only takes a handful of collectors who have the disposable income to raise the current value of some desirable items. But down the road, it's questionable if the market would meet or exceed their initial investment on those items.

As has been said by some very wise Funatics - buy what you like, buy what you can afford. Consider it play money.

But first, do your research then invest in proven investments.

Just thought I'd put this out there.

Now let's have fun and play with our toys!!!!!

Postby **MaxGoof** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:07 am

It's really, really tough to forecast right now if Funko Hikari are going to be "valuable" in the future since they've only started to hit stores in the past four months. The ones with ridiculous edition sizes like LE 3000 are probably never going to be "worth" more than their retail prices, but I'd be surprised if gorgeous limited pieces like Sunrise Batman didn't increase in price at least a little.

I wouldn't "invest" in Hikari, but they're certainly beautiful figures that I love spending my money on right now.

Postby **0xTurtle** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:18 am

Alleycat wrote:Investments should include setting aside money every pay check in a Roth IRA. Put in the maximum allowable by law or what you can afford. Not saving is just plain stupid (even just a few $$$) and is the best way to plan for failure. Look into mutual funds from a reputable company (I favor Vanguard). Diversify according to your age. Include an account for college funds if you have children.

...

Now let's have fun and play with our toys!!!!!

YES, summed it up better than I... back to the fun!

Also, not a huge Hikari-fan myself but if you like, BUY it

Postby **glowfunkofreak** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:27 am

Mattress Futures

Postby **sh3l8y** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:35 am

Just collect what you like, don't collect for financial gain
All of these toys have the potential to increase value but one day they'll pull a Beanie Babies and crash

Postby **edorice** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:46 am

Alleycat wrote:Investments should include setting aside money every pay check in a Roth IRA. Put in the maximum allowable by law or what you can afford. Not saving is just plain stupid (even just a few $$$) and is the best way to plan for failure. Look into mutual funds from a reputable company (I favor Vanguard). Diversify according to your age. Include an account for college funds if you have children.

I'd have to agree. Collect because you like it. Do not invest in toys. IRA for retirement, 401K's, 529 college funds for the kids, stay away from rental properties and the stock market and you'll be golden.

Postby **bubblegumbones** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:49 pm

swind15 wrote:Buy it if you like it. Pass if you don't.

No collectible should ever be counted on as an investment, because the bubble can pop at any moment.

Couldn't have said it better!

Postby **Alleycat** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:05 pm

When considering funds to invest in, there must be a mix of stocks in those funds. Stocks have the potential for big rewards over time. Safe money market funds are barely keeping up with inflation. Day trading (buying and selling individual stocks) is the most risky way to invest. If not for stock funds I wouldn't have been able to retire.

Now back to our regularly scheduled topic...... 8-[

Postby **Oneiromancer** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:01 pm

I feel like they are an awesome investment, just not in the financial sense, think about how many times you'll look at them on your shelf over the time you have them and you'll always have a beatiful piece of art forever so in that sense it's a good investment.

Postby **0xTurtle** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:25 pm

Alleycat wrote:When considering funds to invest in, there must be a mix of stocks in those funds. Stocks have the potential for big rewards over time. Safe money market funds are barely keeping up with inflation. Day trading (buying and selling individual stocks) is the most risky way to invest. If not for stock funds I wouldn't have been able to retire.

Now back to our regularly scheduled topic......

Now I know who to go to for ACTUAL retirement advice... the financial advisors I've had contact with (and minimal at that) have been worthless. How much do you charge an hour? ;-)

Postby **funkystark** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:33 pm

Hikari is a great investment, when it comes to the enjoyment level of looking at my toy display... that's about it

Postby **dustman94** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 5:25 pm

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO COLLECTING SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT?

Postby **TheJobaFett** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:21 pm

dustman94 wrote:WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO COLLECTING SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT?

Pop happened

Postby **dustman94** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:23 pm

JobaFett wrote:
dustman94 wrote:WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO COLLECTING SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT?

Pop happened

AND BAD PAINT JOBS, BOX CONDITION,PROTO STEALING,WISH LIST AND NOT LAST FLIPPING AND "FUNKOS"

Postby **Charger14** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:28 am

Not really a good investment as long as the Hikari pipeline keeps flowing from China.

Website · Postby **tlaloc666** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:24 am

good investment if you like the hikari line,,,, for me totally worth it !!

Postby **bobbleboy** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:43 am

Thinking of toys as an investment is a dangerous game. You want to invest, go with an IRA or a 401K. (If you're lazy like me, go with a target date fund.)

Postby **mindblowin02** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:48 am

The market has already dropped out of the Hukari Proto/Scraper market, so there is that

Postby **Squird** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:22 am

JobaFett wrote:
dustman94 wrote:WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO COLLECTING SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT?

Pop happened

Preaching to the choir!

Postby **Poncho Pete** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:41 am

Collectibles rise, collectibles fall quicker than you think. I have a decent vinylmation collection worth less than half I paid, but it doesn't bother me because I tried to stay focused on the pieces that meant something and that our family collected together. Collect what you love. I personally think Hikari's price point is too high to have a consistent bump up in value other than a select few pieces.

Postby **gokou105** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:50 am

No, looks like China seller on eBay devaluing Hikaris.

Postby **Reverend** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:06 am

Poncho Pete wrote: I tried to stay focused

This is still work in progress

Postby **Poncho Pete** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:25 am

I am going for the title of the most wildly unfocused focused collector out there!

Postby **lovetheangels** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:52 pm

It isn't even a good investment if you have all 300 of a 300 series. Just not enough interest. You might eventually be able to buy one for 79.99 and sell it for 89.99 or buy one for 39.99 and sell it for 49.99.

Postby **Reverend** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:15 pm

lovetheangels wrote:It isn't even a good investment if you have all 300 of a 300 series. Just not enough interest. You might eventually be able to buy one for 79.99 and sell it for 89.99 or buy one for 39.99 and sell it for 49.99.

That's what they said about the clam shell pop

, that packaging sucks lol

Postby **SnackDaddy** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:30 pm

Reverend wrote:
lovetheangels wrote:It isn't even a good investment if you have all 300 of a 300 series. Just not enough interest. You might eventually be able to buy one for 79.99 and sell it for 89.99 or buy one for 39.99 and sell it for 49.99.

That's what they said about the clam shell pop , that packaging sucks

The packaging is awesome, you're crazy!

Could get a 360 view of the pop BUT can't stack them at all.

Postby **Reverend** » Tue Oct 28, 2014 2:07 pm

SnackDaddy wrote:
Reverend wrote:
lovetheangels wrote:It isn't even a good investment if you have all 300 of a 300 series. Just not enough interest. You might eventually be able to buy one for 79.99 and sell it for 89.99 or buy one for 39.99 and sell it for 49.99.

That's what they said about the clam shell pop , that packaging sucks

The packaging is awesome, you're crazy!

Could get a 360 view of the pop BUT can't stack them at all.

I was referring to the comments that were made at the time when the product first came out, I was just being a smart a**. That is the reason only a few came in the clam shell and it was changed to a box ;-)

Postby **mindblowin02** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:51 pm

Clamshell was awesome

Who is online