1 AM Rant: Insanity Over Star Wars? WTF happened at Heritage Auctions Signature Star Wars Sale?

Recorded at 1 AM EST in a quiet basement office somewhere outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Welcome back to Reserved Investments! The only non-hype driven collectibles finance channel that covers the entire antiques and collectibles trade. Star Wars mania is in full swing and as I stated before in a previous video, the vintage graded toy market is on fire. However, a lot of uneducated buyers have entered the market and the results of the May 31 Star Wars Signature Auction hosted by Heritage Auctions prove just that...(lots covered in this video and a brief description of each are noted below.)
Want to avoid overpaying at auction like the bidders in this sale? I offer consulting services. Just email me at [e-mail]
Patreon: / reservedinvestments
Lots covered in the video:
Lot 89154: Star Wars Prototype Rocket Firing Boba Fett action figure - AFA 60
Lot 89167: Star Wars Boba Fett 21 back carded action figure - AFA 95
Lot 89091: Star Wars Revenge of the Jedi Poster rolled - very fine/near mint condition
Lot 89173: Star Wars Imperial Shuttle AFA 85
Lot 89170: Revenge of the Jedi Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) Proof Card AFA 85
Disclaimer: Videos are not intended to provide direct investment advice. Please use caution if attempting to speculate and/or invest in antiques and collectibles, or if overpaying for your cherished collectibles. Investing and emotional attachment rarely ever work out in the end...which brings us to...
Let us not forget the wise words of Linkin Park from their hit song, 'In the End':
I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end it doesn't even matter
Always remember, I am just an illusion. I only appeared because you imagined me first...and in the end, it doesn't even matter... ;)

[@katielowen]

“Babe wake up Shawn just dropped new collectible financial advice!” -Timmy👑

[@custum18]

As someone who has several rooms full of 77 to 94 action figures he's right. They discolor, shrink, crack, snap, warp, stickers peel, oil seeps out, rubber dries....etc.

[@Z-713]

These prices are insane! I'm out here not able to own a home and people are out here spending $525k on vintage toys 😂

[@thefool00]

There is always something going on behind the scenes with HA. Shady af. Wouldn't buy anything from one of their "auctions".

[@matrix_comix]

For as smart as he is, blows my mind he thinks heritage is on the up and up

[@videozz2012]

100% scammers, con artists, and shill bidders at Heritage

[@fightersdestiny1691]

"But shawn, you dont understand!" - Timmy's last words.

[@tcgbuyersclub]

I’m one of the Pokemon guys here, but I love learning about the market for other collectible categories and found this analysis fascinating. Thanks Shawn!

[@ReservedInvestments]

Welcome!

[@jordanblack6787]

It's crazy to me how much hate and heat you get from people lol. You're in the business, educated, it's your informed opinion, it's just wild to me.

[@Car_Porn]

He talks about their investments and gives warnings to Timmy’s about them so you for sure will see a lot more hate towards Shawn in the future some ppl just can’t handle the truth but this channel is for ppl seeking the truth 99% of us love Shawn’s work 1% can’t stand him 🤣🤣🤣

[@forbeatssake1530]

He’s giving away game for free. Of course they’re gonna hate.

[@pigspigs76]

Meanwhile Star Wars ownership is brutalizing its own IP

[@pigspigs76]

At my work (an estate auction) there is currently a ton of start wars toys .. complete set of GI Joe style Star Wars guys in the dearth vadder head box, also a complete set in a space wars box lol

[@pigspigs76]

Also I’ll add to auction house behaviour.. allot of the customers are super old and honestly loosing their mental faculties .. an item can sell for 100 bucks one week and be re-listed the next week and sell for 300 .. some bidders are legit in seniors homes and have nowhere practical to be storing this stuff, it just becomes a lifestyle / drug

[@pigspigs76]

I am currently editing photos for an auction featuring rugs .. this sh!t retails for 10,000 and than sells for a few hundred at auction 😅 and legit these rugs could have taken 100s of hours of labour to make, markets are whatever the propagandists can get away with

[@jaybjorklund7338]

Great video. I bid on several of the items in this auction but knew when to quit. Walked away empty handed

[@phillipbyrnes2885]

@@pigspigs76that’s true and about a year later they then try to sell.I can’t understand why they bought the stuff in the first place

[@UKDark_Mark]

An unexpected but welcome extra video in the week? Thank you. 👍 Really interesting content - collectibles seem to be even more unpredictable now than they were even a year ago. Strange times…… And you are completely right about the plastic ‘lifetime’ that these items are made of. I predict this won’t be a collectible category in under 10 years as all the early stuff will be literally crumbling away…….

[@ActionFigureGrader]

The AFA 90 12 Back Luke Skywalker was definitely yellowed/degrading as well. It was a brutal mistake by someone, and I think the item is more like a 75+ now. Ouchy.

[@lukebobb]

Appreciate the update, man!

[@Hurricanelive]

I'm dumping TCG right now. I have figure collections with bubbles that have all yellowed like crazy over 20+ 40+ years stored as best as I can. Plastics, rubber and cardboard were never meant to last forever, let alone two generations if just stored as carefully as can be. Games, VHS, CDs, electronic components, it's pretty much just the box art in the long game, and that's still plastic or cardboard.. When I ever see crazy bidding my mind goes to... this is either a scam or someone is laundering money.

[@fatheadcat9958]

A lot of auction houses employ shill bidders to drive the price up. It's very common in the art market to artificially inflate hammer prices of new artists galleries, auction houses and collector syndicates want to bring to the frontline. The same happens in the antique markets. Not sure about the US , but it is an illegal practice in the UK, but they still do it.

[@RayQ101]

Anytime someone brings up money laundering on these videos I immediately think “guy must be new to the hobby”

[@chrisjoyce6610]

I once sent a 21 Back Fett on a Canadian card to AFA. The gun was taped to the side of the bubble. When it came back, it was graded as an AFA 85, but some where along the way, the dry tape gave out, and the gun was loose in the bubble. I contacted AFA to try to find out if the grade was given while the gun was still attached or after. They did not seem to want to get into the conversation and I dropped it. I was just genuinely curious about grading standards when it came to this situation. This issue seems to be inevitable if these items are being moved around too much.

[@jakobh6257]

Great insight Shawn, thank you

[@Barada73]

If someone takes an AFA 95 action figure and stores it in a non-climate controlled shed for 20 years, it’s not still going to be an AFA 95 after that. This is why I personally think grading plastic action figures is a waste of money.

[@rocketfighter8]

If you're having it graded to resell it you'll get more bang for your buck.

[@MetalBum]

Time to dump toys!

[@tomneijnens4048]

Thank you very much

[@KeyKiller74]

I feel like AFA needs to add a recallable stickers to their slabs for regrading every 5 years. This will help maintaining the grade if something went wrong in years to come. I see a lot of new collectors coming in buying up graded vintage toys & displaying them on their self like a trophy. 🌞😂

[@Kiryu_YTgt]

If AFA deems it a 95, than it’s a 95. All hail the AFA! Jk, I don’t collect action figures, but this is great information. Thanks Shawn.

[@PM-xc8oo]

Timmies gonna Timmy.

[@TravisSurtr]

Basically, the reality is these items are physically depreciating assets. It may have been graded highly at one point in time, but discoloration and deterioration continues as time goes on and would grade lower if resubmitted. 😂 Makes me think that the future is going to be full of "Schrödinger's Graded Video Games" where graded games are simultaneously in a state of being deteriorated and not deteriorated until you actually open the game to check its condition.

[@kurjan1]

Wonder what my fully cast signed Star Wars, Empire and Return movie posters are worth? I won the set in a competition run by Hoyts cinemas back in 1983 to celebrate the launch of Return of The Jedi in Australia. They played all three movies back to back. It was fricken awesome. I was 13 and sat in the front row... haha! Anyway, I decided to have the posters framed to museum standard. Due to the cost of framing and time frame I sent them off to the states to be authenticated, which of course they were, all good. So yeah, I had them framed to museum standards and they've been hanging in my theatre room ever since. Watching this video, I wonder if they have much value. I have them on my insurance for AUD$3000. Would that be right I should have them appraised professionally?

[@wheeljack0]

I go to weekly auctions in the U.K. I work out what the top price i can buy it for to sell. A lot of the times it sells for double or treble for what its worth. I have over heard them saying they will not be outbid on the item for their pride

[@wayneburbrink1215]

Same thing happened with basketball cards there still high but 128 thousand for my quad auto i paid 2700 for it had to let go

[@thewealthofnations4827]

Shawn didn't mention in that list at the end of the video, Magic the Gathering. What does that tell you?

[@LastOfTheRockStars]

I've enjoyed your channel over the last few months. It is great how in depth you explain things to people. I hope you have a good rest of your week.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Thank you!

[@lerak8452]

I heard that Heritage usually throws other items in. From a few different people. That would make sense for those prices. I can't imagine those bidders have that lind of money but are not knowledgeable about pricing to bid on items.

[@chaosdimension6433]

everything HA does fills me with a feeling of distrust now

[@elgordo9525]

Get'em Shawn, get'em!!

[@BColemanEsq]

I suspect the people buying SW action figures for $80k or $500k are not concerned about the interest they could have earned on that money in the S&P500. Their great grandfathers interest paying for those toys..

[@NOLA-vv3sz]

I will not say I have substantiated the claim, but Ebay did kick PWC (now Heritage) off of the site for shill and un natural bidding. I had perfectly fine experiences with PWC when they were on ebay. But, that did happen.

[@ReservedInvestments]

PWCC is not part of Heritage.

[@onetime3137]

Gentlemen ( I use that term loosely) theres this thing called shilled bidding and fake comps. Its rampid in the industry. Buyer beware.

[@kenrogers1948]

rampid(adj.) all-pervasive AND bad-smelling simultaneously. I like it!

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

There are generally two types of buyers that show at collectibles auctions. Investors and dealers, if they know bidders are mostly collectors, may not even show up at the auction. A dealer will always get outbid by a collector who is buying on emotion and needs it for his collection. So you kind of have to look at it from two points of view. A collector doesn't often care if he gets the item at a price with room to resell and make money. This bidder is going to buy it and tuck it away, with his personal pride of ownership baked into the bill.

[@MetalBum]

Be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy. -Warren Buffett Time to dump all your toys! 😅😅😅😅

[@vintagecardcollector433]

I’m just curious, do you intentionally mispronounce Boba Fett? Is Boba, not Baba… 😂

[@PurpleFoxArcade]

Same thing bothered me. He has to be...

[@warehousedave7937]

I would say video game collecting is the hottest right now.

[@MuslimDraco]

Volume wise it’s tcg

[@davidschnebly3818]

accept now we have "May the fourth be with you". This was not a thing 10 years ago. The whole SW industry has gone nuts in the last decade.

[@warehousedave7937]

I do not accept

[@sidneyrivera3578]

Sell into the hype! Sounds like you missed your opportunity to cash-in on that poster?

[@ReservedInvestments]

Nobody could have predicted that price.

[@sidneyrivera3578]

@@ReservedInvestments Ah! OK. Case of the “Right Timmy at the Right Time”

[@TheStabilio]

bobba

[@ReservedInvestments]

Bubba Fatt 😉

[@chrisbooth478]

O' Riley

[@DracoBigD]

Perhaps overly pedantic (and admittedly not the focus of your video) but Vanguard US REIT Fund owns companies that own / manage residential real estate (eg AvalonBay), so indirectly they are buying / bidding up residential property

[@ReservedInvestments]

But saying that’s Vanguard doing it is a lie. Corporations have every right to own property.

[@bobthebadguy6876]

I swear you mispronounce that name on purpose...

[@Kevin-fn1rn]

It’s a made up name, so what difference does it make?

[@bobthebadguy6876]

@@Kevin-fn1rn sure thing Kvin.