Re: IS DIE CAST IN THE DOLDRUMS
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:46 pm
in the old days back in the 70's, prices just escalated. It was the advent of the swapmeet which was the main cause of this. In those days there was no interenet so dealers had to source their stock from mates in other countries or wherever they could find them, this was a lot of work so prices steadily increased because as soon as a model was on the table it was gone and sales were good. Then came a stock market crash and idiots wanted to stick there money into something else - yes DIECAST ! All of a sudden the old firms of Mint & Boxed and many more promoted what a great investment they were and none more than Matchbox MOYS because they were popular with the average joe who couldn't afford the heady prices of Dinkies.
When it was discovered that a common model sold for 3.95 but a wheel swap would fetch 3 times as much the rot set in. Collectors bought this crap as quick as they could and even Matchbox hyped the Arnotts van as a great profit maker (back then 200 quid for one - I couldn't care less it came from Australia - postage ain't 195 quid, so some did very well. When all the common over produced car failed to make any profit they all dumped them so we have what we have got today.
The crap is slowly going and prices now seem steady for even the rare models ( Strawberry lagonda - check on German Ebay or Vectis auctions - there are 100's of them, just dealers/collectors holding them back in thiose days to make a bigger profit)
Nowadays the cash is also not around and only the diehard collectors will spend big money on rare items. Not sure if the younger generation will ever get to this stage as they have houses to buy and kids to bring up which I think would take priority over toys.
When it was discovered that a common model sold for 3.95 but a wheel swap would fetch 3 times as much the rot set in. Collectors bought this crap as quick as they could and even Matchbox hyped the Arnotts van as a great profit maker (back then 200 quid for one - I couldn't care less it came from Australia - postage ain't 195 quid, so some did very well. When all the common over produced car failed to make any profit they all dumped them so we have what we have got today.
The crap is slowly going and prices now seem steady for even the rare models ( Strawberry lagonda - check on German Ebay or Vectis auctions - there are 100's of them, just dealers/collectors holding them back in thiose days to make a bigger profit)
Nowadays the cash is also not around and only the diehard collectors will spend big money on rare items. Not sure if the younger generation will ever get to this stage as they have houses to buy and kids to bring up which I think would take priority over toys.