The Economics of the Fandom

It's not a good time to sell, but it's a great time to buy.

Much like the housing market, the Sailor Moon collectibles market seems to be in a depressive slump. As more and more people run into financial trouble, they have less money to spend on superfluous purchases like toys from a 90s show. Subsequently, there are less buyers out there for every item on the market. Less buyers means less demand, and less demand means falling prices.

I've seen it in my own personal purchases ($68 Starlight headset, most recently) as well as in auctions on eBay. Even in private sales it seems like people really aren't willing to pony up for items as quickly or as much as they used to compared to the last 3 years I've been collecting.

The "market value" for everything is declining. Of course, this also devalues - monetarily speaking - my collection. Knowing that I bought while the market was high has hurt on some items - I did just see a Cosmic Heart Locket sell for about half what I paid for it just a few short months ago - but the sentimental value of the collection thankfully doesn't change. ^o^ Some sellers haven't caught on that demand has dropped; or maybe they never knew the value of the item in the first place.

Though my wallet might be hurting, I'm pretty excited about the opportunity for good buys. I'm like a hawk on the wing, lurking over the fallen prey of the economic crisis for the shiny spoils.

Is that too gruesome? ^^;

All that being said, you know things will turn around eventually and we'll all be back to shelling out our cash for the pretty things we want. Until then, I think I'll hold off on some sales and look for some sweet steals. :3