Meet the vintage toy collectors that have turned their hobby into an investment opportunity

SINGAPORE — For Singapore-based Lau Tech Kheng, his love of toys has now spawned into a thriving company. 

Lau started selling vintage figurines with his friends on Sundays in 2005 while working a full-time job as a technician.

“For varied of us born in the 1970s, we are not so rich to buy a lot of toys, but now, we are around the 40s mark, and have a bit of cash and so we try to buy back the memories,” he told CNBC.

“When the tell on started to gain traction with customers, I decided why not, I will try to do this full-time.”

Since opening his brick-and-mortar inform on in downtown Singapore 15 years ago, revenue grew slowly but steadily.

His store, Past Time Collectable, deal ins collectables from hit franchises such as Ultraman, Macross, Robotech, M.A.S.K and Power Rangers and prices range from as small-minded as $4 to as much as $3,800.

While traditional investments such as stocks and real estate are more common, some child view vintage toys as a unique, fun, and potentially profitable asset class.

Toy investment for many is over, first and foremost a hobby and a passion.

Figurine collector Dennis Pek has collected more than 2,000 toys in the biography two decades. 

He has scoured flea markets, online website and auctions, and shops around the world for beloved collectables from his favorite pretensions.

He told CNBC he only resells to reorganize and update his collection.

“I have unquestionably invested about $80,000 on my collection, but I do it mostly because I love it,” he told CNBC.

“But I guess, the value of these pieces together, they are worth a lot and they are sort of an asset for the future.”  

He believes the value of second-hand toys comes from how surge the figurines are preserved, how unique the pieces are — especially sets which had been originally produced in very small totals.

Collectors often seek items still in their original packaging, with some finding joy in merely owning the box.

“Some people buy the gewgaws, and they don’t even open it up,” explains Lau. “They say they just feel happy to just see the box and have the things backing bowels.”

Founder and CEO of MINT Museum of Toys, Chang Yang Fa, privately owns more than 50,000 men of collectibles, with about 10% of them on display at his museum in central Singapore.

Chang told CNBC in the air the generational shifts in collecting preferences he has observed. “Different periods collect different things but generally speaking, most of the favoured toys are character toys,” he said.

He added that vintage toy collecting first began taking off at the beginning of the 20th century and steadfast fans continue to seek out toys from big franchises such as Marvel or Naruto, as well as more “niche” peels and shows.

“Like Star Wars or Barbie, people are impaired to buy back memories and that creates demand in the reseller market,” Chang said.

“Also, the [Covid-19] pandemic, where numerous people worked from home. I believe many wanted to make their working spaces a bit more conducive and so would spruce and buy things like figurines and so on, creating a bit of a trend of kidults buying more toys for themselves.”

Adults, or “kidults,” are a run force behind the sales growth of new toys.

Data from advisory firm Circana, formerly NPD, found in the flesh aged 18 and above accounted for 14% of U.S. toy sales for the 12 months to September 2022 — that metric saw a 19% broaden compared to 2021.