Answer: They could be, but it depends on a number of factors: the specific action figures, the demand for those figures, the popularity of the franchise, and you—yes, you—the person doing the collecting.

Are you considering starting an action figure collection as an investment toward the future? It seems like a cool and easy way to make some extra cash. We’ve all heard the stories of people who make hundreds or even thousands of dollars after selling an action figure they’ve had for a while. There are definitely cases like this, and you can go on to eBay right now and find some old Star Wars or Transformers figures that are selling for thousands of dollars. Sounds great, I guess it’s time to go to Target and pick up some random Transformers or Marvel figures, right? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s look at the facts and determine if action figures are really a good investment for you.

How long do I need to hold on to my action figure before it gains value?

The average action figure takes approximately 20 years after its release to gain significant value.

This is the estimated time it takes for an action figure to seem vintage or nostalgic to a now adult. It works something like this: kids own allot of action figures when they’re young and eventually grow out of them as they get a little older. Once they are adults with stable jobs, they start to feel nostalgic for the toys they grew up with. Now that they have money to spend, they’re willing to pay much more for the figure than its original worth.

How Much Can I Expect to Make on My Action Figures?

When it comes to action figures, there is no definitive answer. Some will see a 500% increase in value after 5-10 years, others might only double in value.  I can’t give you a precise answer to that question, unfortunately, because it depends heavily on the figure in question, and not all action figures are created equal. I’ve written a post dedicated to this question specifically. You can check it out here.

How Do I Determine the Value of My Action Figure?

Step 1: Determine Your Action Figure’s Current Condition.

There are plenty of guides online to help you check the condition of your action figure if you’re not sure how to grade them. In a nutshell, take note of scratched paint, faded colors, loose joints, missing parts and accessories, and other defects. It goes without saying, the better the condition the more money the figure will be worth. Of course, if you’re figure is still in its original packaging, it will likely always be worth more than that same figures out of box. Boxes can be graded as well. Look for bends, creases, tears, discoloration, and so on.

Step 2: Find the Current Value

The best way to determine an action figures value that I have found is eBay. I’ve mentioned this before in multiple posts, but I’ll mention it again: check the sold listings. The sold listings will show you what people actually have been paying for that figure. You might see unsold listings for very high prices—don’t let this fool you. No one may actually be willing to pay that amount for your figure. Check the sold listings.

Am I Guaranteed to Find a Buyer?

In most cases, yes, there will likely always be some people out there willing to buy your action figures off of you. The thing is, are you willing to sell your figures for the prices they are willing to purchase them for. Some figures will be worth much more than their retail prices after only a couple years, and others will take much longer to go up significantly in value, if at all.

It will be a lot easier to sell to a dealer or someone who sells action figures. But they aren’t usually willing to pay full price. In fact, sometimes they will offer to pay you half of the figures value. But that is their business plan, they must get it for a low enough price to resell it and make a profit.

There is no guarantee that you will find a buyer.

Investment Purpose: Why Are You Investing in Action Figures?

This is a question you need to answer for yourself. Are you collecting action figures purely for the profit that can potentially be made down the road, or is this a hobby of yours that you’d like to make some money on one day? Personally, I feel that the latter is the more ideal scenario of the two. As a fan you’re not only getting a level of enjoyment from collecting, but you naturally gain knowledge and understanding of the figures you’re collecting. That knowledge just won’t really be there if you’re collecting solely for the money. Can you make a decent amount of money off some of the figures? Yes, but the whole process will be much more enjoyable and profitable if you’re a collector.

Action Figure Maintenance

If you’re action figure needs serious maintenance, like repainted, a limb replacement, etc. you’ve already lost the fight. That figure’s value has dropped immensely and its unlikely you’re make a profit unless the figure in question is extremely rare. The best type of maintenance for action figures is preventative maintenance, and luckily that’s not too complicated. While displaying your action figures, keep them in a clean, relatively dry, moderate-temperature environment, and keep them out of the sunlight (avoid other UV rays as well). Give them a good dusting from time to time, and you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

So, Are action figures a good investment?

If you’ve read this whole post, you probably know that the answer to this question is not “yes” or “no”. It depends on the figure in question. Most  figures will take around 20 years or so to increase significantly in value; however, there are some figures that will experience a big increase in value in a much shorter amount of time. Its difficult to predict which figures will show this increase in the short term. Ultimately the best way to get educated about action figures to the point where you can predict future valuable ones is to be a fan of the franchise you are collecting figures from. A fan with a passion will have an edge on someone just coldly doing research and trying to predict which ones will be valuable.

Are action figures a good investment, in my opinion, if you’re a fan of that franchise, then, yes, they could be. If you’re not already a fan, then there are probably better things for your to invest in than action figures.

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