Funko Pops are being resold EVERYWHERE, in 2023. I see many low-income individuals, who likely paid 5$ a piece or less, desperately attempting to get 10$ or more, per item. Insanity. Always thought they looked like chew toys, in fancy boxes.
I was at a toy show recently and a "pop dealer" sitting behind me began discussing with his wife "we should start going after Hot Wheels, I see lots of tiktoks about Hot Wheels hunting". When the show ended, they packed up almost all of their inventory and wondered why they couldn't sell pops. Chasing lighting after it already strikes is a great way to fail in flipping , which is never the same as investing.
I have a small collection of signed funkos and some nostalgic ones to me, all of which have increased in value but that wasn't the initial point...I just like looking at them! Thanks for another informative video
How many of the Pops based on current hit tv shows/films are going to be relevant in 10-20 years? There will always be some sort of market for classics like Star Wars/Star Trek/Harry Potter But it's hard to tell if shows like Black List, OITNB, Duck Dynasty will have an enduring legacy.
I'm wondering what you think of Littlest Pet Shops. I collect the 1-2st generation (2000s, discontinued) for their whimsy but also because maybe later I could profit from them. Some of them sell for insane amounts of money.
Def only buy some of the Pops line because i just like the line: Thundercats, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters. I watched some videos on Harry & really enjoyed them. Really enjoying getting some of the books you said to read as well.
Once again great video! I was and still Kind of a funko pop collector at one point I had all the harry potter funko pop (#1-#100 or so) then I asked my self like do I really need all these. At the time of purchasing I justified it by saying it's it's "investment" knowing that these could in fact go to 0 in the next day. That's when I made the purge of selling off the vast majority of them. I've "made" money from selling them off becuase at the time I bought large lots and sold the ones that I didn't need. The ones that I did keep either I like them or they paired will with my other harry potter items I've collected over the years. Also want to bring up the point of funko collectors and then you talk about the "investment " side of it they tend to shut you down and yell in your face lol to make a point. I do beleive that 98-99% of them are going to be worthless in the near future becuase look at the amount of stuff that is being made these days. Thousands and thousands of product Any ways thanks again!
Commenting every video starting from 1: I have no idea what these are outside of seeing random pictures of them and seeing "FUNKO POPS HERE" on LGS signs. I guess they're cool ornamental figures without any utility? At least Amiibos have some utility with their codes in game.
Reserved Investments thanks for the quick response. I’m not investing on it for the long haul. I found that the second you start seeing them as a way to make a profit instead of for the love of the hobby the bubble bursts. Atm Nendoroid are in a very interesting position as they have certain items that can never be redistributed. But even with rereleases they hold a decent amount of value. Sometimes tripling the amount paid initially.
7:21 For that much money it has to be investment, I've bought really nice (anime) figures for say $100 that look 1000x better then a pop, and I'm sure other series are similar, IK plenty of other series have them.
I am discovering your channel. I collect videogames but I am not a speculator. It's for my own pleasure. I have other investments and I only consider my videogame collection and its value as a safety net if shit hits the fan. But I am glad I am watching your videos. I am learning a lot. Thank you sir!
Rinker is a legend. Been reading his articles for years.....Try to watch the episode from "3rd Rock From the Sun" which made fun of Beanie Babies....it WAS HILARIOUS!
@@ReservedInvestments I seem to recall his annual toy buying investment experiment when he would spend X amount of dollars every year on a batch of toys and would try to speculate what toys would be worth money later on. I wonder how he did with that in the end? Any ideas? I'd be VERY curious to find out.... We always REGRET what we didn't buy: I remember when Star Wars came out. I was in Junior HIgh...and then of course Empire came out when I was in high school. I and my friend who was BIG into collecting comics, non-sport cards, James Bond, Beatles, etc. and other collectibles BOTH said to each other "I wish I had extra spending money...this Star Wars shit is going to be worth a ton years later." Unfortunately, we were more focused on dating, buying albums, collecting OTHER stuff, illegally buying beer, etc. My brother-in-law however went ahead and did just that - he bought Star Wars toys as they were on-SALE at K-Mart and such... He's sitting on a nice investment I believe. Many of his pieces have never been opened.
I have two funko pops. One of Stephen king and one of Pennywise because I collect Stephen king books and I’m trying to find as many first edition first prints as I can find because I love Stephen King. My cat likes knocking things off my shelves and I would rather she know my funko pops down than my books.
I just came across your video and it's very informed and you seem to know your trade. But several months ago I sold particular funko pops I got my hands on.I couldn't post them fast enough because it was a hot item that was a Target exclusive. Now I sold these for a minimum of 50 to 75 each and made a great deal of money on them. So my question to you is this video is 3 years old and even with all that's went on with funko in the past month I see people still buying them as much as ever. So my question is when is this bubble going to burst? Because it's 3 years later and my local shop still sells the hell out of them. I'm in no way disagreeing with you because it's logical that everything runs its course
I agree with you partially. The crazy expensive ones are not worth it and a complete waste of money. But with how long these have lasted I can see in 20-30 years a lot of these cheaper pops being worth money once people have them destroyed or lost
I am curious to note if you still hold the same opinion today? since the pandemic fundamentalist investing has become non existant. When people use the term "Bubble" it's literally just the interest or disinterest in that hype train. every investment we have ever made more or less runs on that principle, I reckon Funko Pops has a very long run before it pops, currently the climate of investing has changed, technology has created FOMO, ways of investing, WallstreetBets, FAD investing, not to mention people are becoming more and more numb to robotic assets such as stocks/crypto/NFT's. If people are willing to spend Thousands/Millions on a JPEG image then I'm pretty sure the FUNKO POP Market will be able to last another 5/10 years as an IP asset that is a collectible, besides Funko has done a very smart job at "diversifying" it's market.
@@ReservedInvestments difference between Funko and TY is that Funko has a HUGE market advantage and has layed out a foundation ahead of them. TY toys were just PURE speculation on ONE product (not various licenses with HUGE names) 1990s/2000s was just the beginning of compounding speculation via techology Have you considered the SP appreciation recently and Funko being an investible company on the SM. Look at the analytics behind recent Quarters. Guess you would of said the same behind Pokemon in the 1990s/2000s ;) "no real value behind the speculation" but what drives it is more than FOMO or hype.. it's become generational.
Nope. Pokemon is different. Sorry. Go back and read the article I wrote in 1999 about Pokemon. Yes, I’m that old. FunkoPops are shit long term from an investment standpoint, with few exceptions.
It is not a fad or trend because it has been popular for quite a few years and it is going to be the next pez . It will be popular for years and years. There are star wars pops, marvel,DC , pokemon pops, scooby doom. These brands have millions of fans and will make pops popular for a long time maybe not forever but for a long time.
Funko's being beanie babies is a false equivalent. This man is educated and old enough to know this. Beanie babies came out around 93 hit its apex around 95 and was dead by 97 or 98. The big head Funko pops as we know them now, came out around 2010 and are still doing just fine currently in 2023. This video came out 3 years ago. If you bought Funko's 3 years ago they would be worth money today. If you bought the first beanie babies that came out and were ahead of the game, they were absolutely worthless 3 years later. Some people have, and are still making money on Funko's. Nobody made a dime off of beanie babies. In saying that, Funko's are absolutely not a long term investment. It is a fad just like all collectables are. The company is also greedy and Horribly mismanaged. It is not a matter of if the bubble is going to bust it is a matter of when. If you are reselling Funko's on the side of other short term flips there is money to be made. But If you are putting your house up on a second mortgage and filling up the garage with star wars Funko's, to one day pay for your kid's college tuition. That is not going to happen. Saying Funko's are beanie babies in a video 3 years ago, is like saying "hey guys I can predict the future, its going to rain" Then when it rains 3 weeks later, you go back out in the streets screaming "I told you guys I can predict the future! who wants to pay me for stock advice!? Pretty much saying Funko's are just beanie babies is just reductionist, ignorant and makes you look weirdly bitter. Also buying up all of the Funko's, thinking they are going to be the key to your retirement is just stupid. It is almost like the world is nuanced or something.
It’s Beanie Babies 2.0. Exactly the same. You’re welcome. Your analysis of the Beanie Baby bubble is 100% wrong. May I suggest a book on the subject? The Great Beanie Baby Bubble. Look it up. Your answer is there. A lot of false information is in your post.
With all due respect, please watch my other videos. The comparison is valid. You are not understanding long term organic collectibility versus mass produced scarcity. No one is going to care about Funko Pops 10 to 20 years from now.
@@ReservedInvestments i do actually see your point and there will be a time that people would lose interest on funko. Im just saying that you cant compare funko to beanie babies especially when beaie babies are just plush toys without anything to attach to, unlike funko with hundreds of licenses
@@marcjosephespino6974 First of all, you get several facts completely incorrect. To this day, there are still Beanie Babies that continue to sell for hundreds of dollars a piece. 1%-3% of all Beanie Babies still have value on the secondary market today. The difference that you are referring to is that roughly 97% to 99% of all Beanie Babies are selling for less than original retail price, when they premiered on the market back in the 1990's/2000's. Do I see that scenario playing out with the FunkoPop market as a whole some time in the future? ABSOLUTELY! It is a flash in the pan, mass market produced and manipulated market created by the manufacturer to get you to believe you are buying a truly 'scarce' item that has demand and value. THIS TOO SHALL PASS! That said, will there be some FunkoPops that do have value on the secondary market decades from now, just like Beanie Babies? There is a possibility that a few will have value.
Well said.....quite agree....I’m gonna sit back with my popcorn and watch bubble burst....
At least beanie babies were cute. Funko pops are so garish. If I wanted a figurine of a character I like I would buy one that actually looks cool
Aye, even in the Price Range there's far nicer looking stuff, IE for Star Wars you have Black Series for example.
Funko Pops are being resold EVERYWHERE, in 2023. I see many low-income individuals, who likely paid 5$ a piece or less, desperately attempting to get 10$ or more, per item. Insanity. Always thought they looked like chew toys, in fancy boxes.
I was at a toy show recently and a "pop dealer" sitting behind me began discussing with his wife "we should start going after Hot Wheels, I see lots of tiktoks about Hot Wheels hunting".
When the show ended, they packed up almost all of their inventory and wondered why they couldn't sell pops. Chasing lighting after it already strikes is a great way to fail in flipping , which is never the same as investing.
You made this video yearssss ago 😂 you are sir always ahead of the game
Nailed it
I don't know anyone who buys Funkopops to play with. They're ALL bought by collectors. Think about that for a moment.
Right? At least beanie babies were bought to be played with (by kids) to some extent. People are not buying pops for their kids lol
Are they even meant to be played with? I always thought they were intended to be for display.
I have a small collection of signed funkos and some nostalgic ones to me, all of which have increased in value but that wasn't the initial point...I just like looking at them! Thanks for another informative video
Getting back to one of your older videos, because I realised: I didn't watch them.
It feels SO good to listen to your videos while making money :D.
Wow, look at what is happening currently to Funko Pops.
How many of the Pops based on current hit tv shows/films are going to be relevant in 10-20 years? There will always be some sort of market for classics like Star Wars/Star Trek/Harry Potter But it's hard to tell if shows like Black List, OITNB, Duck Dynasty will have an enduring legacy.
By that logic nothing based on a pop culture franchise would ever hit the bargain bin.
I'm wondering what you think of Littlest Pet Shops. I collect the 1-2st generation (2000s, discontinued) for their whimsy but also because maybe later I could profit from them. Some of them sell for insane amounts of money.
Def only buy some of the Pops line because i just like the line: Thundercats, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters. I watched some videos on Harry & really enjoyed them. Really enjoying getting some of the books you said to read as well.
100% true, no one is going to want a matte pink pickle rick in 2035 just because it's rare.
A matte pink pickle rick? Damn, I don’t know if I’m supposed to want one of those now, let alone several decades from now.
I own some Funkos from way back in 2011/12. when everyone thought they looked weird and didn’t care. Wonder if some of them are worth anything.
They will be! They’ll be worth a lot right now dependent on if they’re ‘vaulted’
Just search for them on eBay and see what they’re selling for.
I asked the guy at the front, "so these funko pops are just figures with big heads" , the look he gave me lol
MOst people will smoke a joint once in their life....I think we can forgive you. The important part is that you "didn't inhale".....
This came on my feed (longtime subscriber btw). For the youtube archive: Funko has send millions of pops to the landfill this week.
I did a video on it just recently.
@@ReservedInvestments I know;)
I've bought one Funko Pop in my life and I'm giving it away to a co worker who collects them lol
Lol I typed in funko pop bubble and your video was at the top
Once again great video!
I was and still Kind of a funko pop collector at one point I had all the harry potter funko pop (#1-#100 or so) then I asked my self like do I really need all these.
At the time of purchasing I justified it by saying it's it's "investment" knowing that these could in fact go to 0 in the next day.
That's when I made the purge of selling off the vast majority of them. I've "made" money from selling them off becuase at the time I bought large lots and sold the ones that I didn't need.
The ones that I did keep either I like them or they paired will with my other harry potter items I've collected over the years.
Also want to bring up the point of funko collectors and then you talk about the "investment " side of it they tend to shut you down and yell in your face lol to make a point.
I do beleive that 98-99% of them are going to be worthless in the near future becuase look at the amount of stuff that is being made these days. Thousands and thousands of product
Any ways thanks again!
3 years later funko pop still here 😀😀
Which means absolutely nothing from an investment standpoint…
That’s why they always say there’s a sucker born every minute......
Commenting every video starting from 1:
I have no idea what these are outside of seeing random pictures of them and seeing "FUNKO POPS HERE" on LGS signs.
I guess they're cool ornamental figures without any utility? At least Amiibos have some utility with their codes in game.
Great video. I would love it if you could speculate whether Nendoroid are on that same path or if they will stand the test of time
That’s a very niche market. Be careful if investing for the long term in that realm...
Reserved Investments thanks for the quick response. I’m not investing on it for the long haul. I found that the second you start seeing them as a way to make a profit instead of for the love of the hobby the bubble bursts. Atm Nendoroid are in a very interesting position as they have certain items that can never be redistributed. But even with rereleases they hold a decent amount of value. Sometimes tripling the amount paid initially.
7:21 For that much money it has to be investment, I've bought really nice (anime) figures for say $100 that look 1000x better then a pop, and I'm sure other series are similar, IK plenty of other series have them.
2023 the funko bubble has popped
Time to sell the only one I have worth any money.
So what you are saying is that my Bea Arthur / Dorothy Zbornak Golden Girls Pop figure probably won’t be worth $10k in 5 years?!
I am discovering your channel. I collect videogames but I am not a speculator. It's for my own pleasure. I have other investments and I only consider my videogame collection and its value as a safety net if shit hits the fan. But I am glad I am watching your videos. I am learning a lot. Thank you sir!
Rinker is a legend. Been reading his articles for years.....Try to watch the episode from "3rd Rock From the Sun" which made fun of Beanie Babies....it WAS HILARIOUS!
Rinker is truly incredible!
@@ReservedInvestments I seem to recall his annual toy buying investment experiment when he would spend X amount of dollars every year on a batch of toys and would try to speculate what toys would be worth money later on. I wonder how he did with that in the end? Any ideas? I'd be VERY curious to find out....
We always REGRET what we didn't buy: I remember when Star Wars came out. I was in Junior HIgh...and then of course Empire came out when I was in high school. I and my friend who was BIG into collecting comics, non-sport cards, James Bond, Beatles, etc. and other collectibles BOTH said to each other "I wish I had extra spending money...this Star Wars shit is going to be worth a ton years later." Unfortunately, we were more focused on dating, buying albums, collecting OTHER stuff, illegally buying beer, etc. My brother-in-law however went ahead and did just that - he bought Star Wars toys as they were on-SALE at K-Mart and such... He's sitting on a nice investment I believe. Many of his pieces have never been opened.
Perhaps I should attempt to do a similar experiment live on this channel at some point…hmm…🤔
I have two funko pops. One of Stephen king and one of Pennywise because I collect Stephen king books and I’m trying to find as many first edition first prints as I can find because I love Stephen King. My cat likes knocking things off my shelves and I would rather she know my funko pops down than my books.
Lol! I own some Stephen King first editions myself. You have good tastes.
I just came across your video and it's very informed and you seem to know your trade. But several months ago I sold particular funko pops I got my hands on.I couldn't post them fast enough because it was a hot item that was a Target exclusive. Now I sold these for a minimum of 50 to 75 each and made a great deal of money on them. So my question to you is this video is 3 years old and even with all that's went on with funko in the past month I see people still buying them as much as ever. So my question is when is this bubble going to burst? Because it's 3 years later and my local shop still sells the hell out of them. I'm in no way disagreeing with you because it's logical that everything runs its course
Jerry Waits, he put out a video in March of 2023 readdressing his prediction and the landfill dump of thousands of pops
I agree with you partially. The crazy expensive ones are not worth it and a complete waste of money. But with how long these have lasted I can see in 20-30 years a lot of these cheaper pops being worth money once people have them destroyed or lost
They said the same about Beanie Babies too! 😉
A hard lesson awaits for the greed and the gullible.
Interesting video
I am curious to note if you still hold the same opinion today? since the pandemic fundamentalist investing has become non existant. When people use the term "Bubble" it's literally just the interest or disinterest in that hype train.
every investment we have ever made more or less runs on that principle, I reckon Funko Pops has a very long run before it pops, currently the climate of investing has changed, technology has created FOMO, ways of investing, WallstreetBets, FAD investing, not to mention people are becoming more and more numb to robotic assets such as stocks/crypto/NFT's.
If people are willing to spend Thousands/Millions on a JPEG image then I'm pretty sure the FUNKO POP Market will be able to last another 5/10 years as an IP asset that is a collectible, besides Funko has done a very smart job at "diversifying" it's market.
It’s Beanie Babies 2.0. The fundamentals haven’t changed…😉
@@ReservedInvestments difference between Funko and TY is that Funko has a HUGE market advantage and has layed out a foundation ahead of them. TY toys were just PURE speculation on ONE product (not various licenses with HUGE names) 1990s/2000s was just the beginning of compounding speculation via techology
Have you considered the SP appreciation recently and Funko being an investible company on the SM. Look at the analytics behind recent Quarters.
Guess you would of said the same behind Pokemon in the 1990s/2000s ;) "no real value behind the speculation" but what drives it is more than FOMO or hype.. it's become generational.
Nope. Pokemon is different. Sorry. Go back and read the article I wrote in 1999 about Pokemon. Yes, I’m that old. FunkoPops are shit long term from an investment standpoint, with few exceptions.
@@ReservedInvestments Hi Shawn, where can one find this article? I couldnt find it through googling :/
It is not a fad or trend because it has been popular for quite a few years and it is going to be the next pez . It will be popular for years and years. There are star wars pops, marvel,DC , pokemon pops, scooby doom. These brands have millions of fans and will make pops popular for a long time maybe not forever but for a long time.
Speculative bubbles can last years or decades...
Still feel the same today?😅
Funko's being beanie babies is a false equivalent. This man is educated and old enough to know this. Beanie babies came out around 93 hit its apex around 95 and was dead by 97 or 98. The big head Funko pops as we know them now, came out around 2010 and are still doing just fine currently in 2023. This video came out 3 years ago. If you bought Funko's 3 years ago they would be worth money today. If you bought the first beanie babies that came out and were ahead of the game, they were absolutely worthless 3 years later. Some people have, and are still making money on Funko's. Nobody made a dime off of beanie babies. In saying that, Funko's are absolutely not a long term investment. It is a fad just like all collectables are. The company is also greedy and Horribly mismanaged. It is not a matter of if the bubble is going to bust it is a matter of when. If you are reselling Funko's on the side of other short term flips there is money to be made. But If you are putting your house up on a second mortgage and filling up the garage with star wars Funko's, to one day pay for your kid's college tuition. That is not going to happen. Saying Funko's are beanie babies in a video 3 years ago, is like saying "hey guys I can predict the future, its going to rain" Then when it rains 3 weeks later, you go back out in the streets screaming "I told you guys I can predict the future! who wants to pay me for stock advice!? Pretty much saying Funko's are just beanie babies is just reductionist, ignorant and makes you look weirdly bitter. Also buying up all of the Funko's, thinking they are going to be the key to your retirement is just stupid. It is almost like the world is nuanced or something.
It’s Beanie Babies 2.0. Exactly the same. You’re welcome. Your analysis of the Beanie Baby bubble is 100% wrong. May I suggest a book on the subject? The Great Beanie Baby Bubble. Look it up. Your answer is there. A lot of false information is in your post.
You lose all your credibility when you started to compare funko pops into beanie babies...
With all due respect, please watch my other videos. The comparison is valid. You are not understanding long term organic collectibility versus mass produced scarcity. No one is going to care about Funko Pops 10 to 20 years from now.
@@ReservedInvestments i do actually see your point and there will be a time that people would lose interest on funko. Im just saying that you cant compare funko to beanie babies especially when beaie babies are just plush toys without anything to attach to, unlike funko with hundreds of licenses
And those licenses mean nothing. There are thousands of items produced each year that are licensed and are just about ‘worthless.’
@@ReservedInvestments so do you believe that Funko would fall exponentially as the beanie babies did back then, each pop would cost cents to a dollar?
@@marcjosephespino6974 First of all, you get several facts completely incorrect. To this day, there are still Beanie Babies that continue to sell for hundreds of dollars a piece. 1%-3% of all Beanie Babies still have value on the secondary market today. The difference that you are referring to is that roughly 97% to 99% of all Beanie Babies are selling for less than original retail price, when they premiered on the market back in the 1990's/2000's. Do I see that scenario playing out with the FunkoPop market as a whole some time in the future? ABSOLUTELY! It is a flash in the pan, mass market produced and manipulated market created by the manufacturer to get you to believe you are buying a truly 'scarce' item that has demand and value. THIS TOO SHALL PASS! That said, will there be some FunkoPops that do have value on the secondary market decades from now, just like Beanie Babies? There is a possibility that a few will have value.