WDCC Membership Worth It?

[consultant]

I'm thinking of investing in WDCC figurines. Gold Circle Limited Edition stuff, none of the common stuff. I don't want to fill my house up and storage room with tons of this stuff. Want to focus on the hard to get stuff that will appreciate the most.

Obviously the pieces that come with the $59 membership are virtually worthless, well not totally worthless. The Cinderella Wishful dreamer sells for about $29 on Ebay, making the membership actually cost about $30.

This is probably a stupid question, maybe not, but does the WDCC membership provide any REAL advantage as far as getting your hands on the very limited, very popular pieces compared to not having a membership?

I see last spring the Chernabog Symphony of Evil LE 1000 came out at $650 retail. It was NOT a members only piece as far as I could tell. So does a member not have any better chance in getting the piece than a non-member in that case?

By the way, that piece is selling for $350 now on E-bay. So with most of these pieces maybe its best to wait a year? Or I suppose if it is going to take off, it takes off right from the start and stays up there?


Are there any good examples of member-only pieces that went through the roof in recent years? Are member-only pieces typically open edition or do they do any small limited editions like 1000 or less for members only that have done well?

 

[DizneyDogs]

I have never been a member and usually buy my pieces on ebay for a lot cheaper than retail

To get an idea of secondary prices check out duckman's website at

http://www.wdccduckman.com/

 

[SandraVB79]

I'm a member, since many years.
I'm a member and I collect the figurines because I really like them, not because I want to make the most money out of it.
There are members-only pieces that are sold every year; I have never bought on of those though. The stores usually don't have a policy that gives members more advantage than other buyers to get those "hard to get" pieces (I just call in time to the store to have one "reserved" for me).
I like the Sketches magazine I get with the membership, I like the "worthless" figurines (your words), and I do have some pieces that are now being sold for a lot of money on eBay. Not that I intend to sell though.

 

[dis66]

I'm not a member either, I just buy the pieces of the movies I like best, and try to get every piece for that movie. I also have several Giuseppe Armani pieces, mostly the princesses. I also agree that the least expensive way to buy these things are in the secondary market. I do have a couple of other sculptures that I've purchased at the now defunct Disneyana conventions (I cannot understand why they nixed it, it was sooo popular).

 

[abbybeth]

If you're looking at doing this primarily or solely as an investment, I would probably advise against doing so. If you look at the secondary market, the collectibles industry as a whole is doing poorly - this includes WDCC figures. Yes, there are some individual pieces that are still bringing in a decent prices but that usually means there are additional circumstances in play - someone's favorite character or movie, a long sought after piece, maybe replacing something cherished that was broken.

What you see with Chernabog - buy for $650, sells for $350 is very typical in the collectibles secondary market right now. Many people are taking a big loss on items if they choose to sell. It has been in this downturn for a few years now and I don't expect it to turn around any time soon, especially as the economy causes people to tighten their belts and cut out what they might have spent on collectibles or other "non-necessities"

However, if you want to purchase the pieces because you like them and will enjoy them then by all means go ahead. They may be able to bring you a higher price a few years down the road, but I would be surprised if you're able to turn an instant profit.

JMHO

 

[consultant]

Thanks for the info. Very well said. I guess I'm looking for a balance. I'm going to buy 1-3 copies of the pieces that I both personally find interest in, and find them exceptional in other ways such as broad audience appeal, and visual detail/impressiveness. The thinking is that one piece will become something handed down to my kids in 50 years when I die (if I'm luck and they'll probably sell it anyway) The others I will make sure to get the best price (typically 50% retail) on and use as mid-term investments, 2-5 years with worse case scenario I get what I paid for, best case economy picks up and they appreciate and I can make a few bucks to subsidize the cost of the pieces I keep.

I think there is sort of a curve to the WDCC pieces, mainly the limited edition ones. People get excited when they come out and pay a premium (possibly full retail) to get there hand on it, especially if it is a piece right up there alley. They sell out and are hot for maybe a few months on E-bay then prices start to come down as some buyers or dealers need to generate cash (termed 'inventory term' on the dealer side). So it seems its almost always best to wait a year or two before buying a piece and just be patient to get that good deal. So I was looking at some of what I would expect to be the most popular pieces from 2004-2006. Here's some E-bay prices (and these are for mint pieces with box and COA)

Goofy "All Downhill" Retail $225 - Avg Ebay $115
De Vil On Wheels (Event Piece LE 500) $399 retail - Ebay $350-$375
Uninvited Guests $1250 retail - Ebay $950
Fireside Celebration $1250 retail - Ebay $700

I think another thing going against WDCC is they are making too many open edition pieces. Another consideration is on average, how many newer WDCC members will take the time to go back and examine every piece released since 1992 to see if there's something they want then take the time to track it down, some yes, everyone, no way. So age can help, but if it's an open edition item, and it was released say in 1994, 14 years ago, it is most likely selling for the same price right now it was 8 years ago.

My wife's going to kill me when she starts seeing these things arrive. Luckily I'm sticking to the creme de la creme so I won't have some curio cabinet full of a hundred pieces. If I had every piece I really wanted that was released since 1992, my collection size would be about 15 pieces right now, but the total retail would probably be close to $15K as I really like the very limited and very impressive ones which usually are $500-$2000 range. I better start saving up!

I never envisioned myself as accumulating a bunch of 'stuff' but me and my kids love Disney so much, these will be great memorabilia to pass down reminding us of all the fun times we had watching the movies and going to the theme parks.

 

[abbybeth]

I never envisioned myself as accumulating a bunch of 'stuff' but me and my kids love Disney so much, these will be great memorabilia to pass down reminding us of all the fun times we had watching the movies and going to the theme parks.

Sounds like you have a good game plan going in to this - and you're right that the WDCC pieces, expecially the higher end ones, are beautifully made and will certainly keep the magic around until such time comes that you choose to part with them.

Personally, I woud love to be able to get The Curse is Broken - the large scale Beauty and the Beast piece - it's incredible.

Good luck to you and enjoy! If you ever have any "worthless" WDCC club pieces from BATB, let me know!