Latest news with #collectibles
CNA
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - AI in pre-school classrooms: good or bad?
CNA938 Rewind - Gotta collect 'em all - Play Nation's Kopi Shop plushies In 'Destination Anywhere', Melanie Oliveiro finds out where Singaporeans can go to witness a lovable plushie tribute to Singapore's kopitiam culture. Kai Jun Wong, founder of local game-play and entertainment brand Play Nation will talk about Play Nation Kopi Shop. It's an experiential retail pop-up offering limited edition plushie collectibles inspired by local breakfast favourites like kaya butter toast, kopi and soft-boiled eggs. Wong will talk about how the kopitiam allows visitors to sit on traditional square tables and brightly coloured stools, and hang out at the serving counter where their orders are prepared - from the 'pouring' of kopi to the 'making' of kaya butter toast.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Enough with the popcorn buckets
I woke up one day and suddenly the world was 'on' popcorn buckets. I have a limit. This is it. It is no secret that J.R. Fickle enjoys kitsch as much as the next guy. But my kitsch has a purpose (e.g. historical significance or support of an artist). But $60 popcorn buckets? This all feels too…corporate. And far be it from me to knock someone else's hobby. If you are into popcorn buckets, I cannot and will not hold that against you. But I'm not jumping on board. Why? They're not super limited. We aren't even sure how many are made. They're everywhere. The fun in a Disney Figment bucket is you had to go to Disney and to one specific spot to find it. Finding the Trader Joe's mascot? You need to look for it! Mardi Gras Doubloons? You have to be not only in New Orleans, and not only at a parade, but you have to be at the right parade and be in the right place as they're thrown. Popcorn buckets? Just show up at the theater and be willing to pay $50 for a food holder that will forever remind you of a movie that got a 61 on the Tomatometer. Are these cool? Yes. The Superman newsstand one, especially. But I'm not sure they're collectible. You become 'the popcorn bucket guy' and you run out of room QUICKLY. Remember Funkos? They were fun and awesome…until everyone realized that they take up a lot of space. Cards are nice and flat. Pennants can fit on walls. But popcorn buckets? Start buying your big plastic storage tubs now. There are a lot of details we still need filled in on the Mister Mancave memorabilia scandal. So for now we are left to wildly speculate! As is tradition! In one of my group chats someone called Lemieux a scumbag, but… well… sure. He was probably/assuredly not a good guy, but when I hear scumbag, I think of a low-level huckster with bad intentions. This was sophisticated stuff, getting an auto-pen to recreate signatures is not something you do on a whim. Getting an auto-pen period is not something you do on a whim. Then to have the authenticators' holograms recreated — to the point where Fanatics changed theirs to combat this one guy — is pretty effective/elevated scamming. J.R. Fickle, believe it or not, is a studier of hoaxes and scams (and urban legends). I cannot recommend this graphic novel enough. And there is one scam that is brilliantly put together — the white van scam. It reminds me of this, a little bit. Both are bad. Both infuriate you. But the effort is above the usual low-level scam. In its essence, the white van scam is a sophisticated ruse where two guys who supposedly work at an electronics store pull up and offer to sell you speakers they stole from their racist boss (or some play on that trope). The next few details are where they get you, though. They show you an ad for the speakers. They usually have a manifest with orders. They will open the box and show you the front of the speakers, which usually look awesome. You say no thanks, they pressure and cajole, and before you know it you have spent $200 on speakers worth…$40? You'll see when you check out the back of the speakers. They are scummy, to be sure. But the sophistication at least commands some respect on an objective level. Lemieux also went down swinging and revealed everything he could before exiting. AGAIN, never nice to scam people. They are garbage. But at least Lemieux showed us, in his final salvo, how high-level collectible fraud can get. Have your guard up AT ALL TIMES. Check seller ratings. If a price is too good to be true, it likely is. I have seen a hilarious (NSFW) surprise in a video, and it is courtesy of JunkWaxSal on Instagram. This is a Sixth Sense-level twist. But with bilkinis. If I say anything else, I will spoil it. You don't need the sound on to get the full effect. A friend in Italy sent me a pack of Italian Brainrot cards. I don't know what's happening here (and the cards are in English), but it feels very much like a quick capitalization on a trend done on poor card stock with a very hard to follow set of game rules. Pokemon, but super confusing. Still, Europe is usually ahead of us, and these may be worth something…so I opened one pack and held onto the other. That's it for me this week, as I continue my quest to find the Lil' McDonald's Boo Bucket (which is trending down, as the store – predicted here TWO WEEKS AGO – rises in value. Good luck to my fellow Happy Meal hunters! Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Toy Industry Resilient Despite Tariffs; It's Game On For Holiday
Wigglitz, tiny 3D-printed collectible figures, were one of the viral hits influencers were eager to ... More get their hands on at The Toy Insider toy showcase. Toy manufacturers and toy sellers are facing pricing and supply chain concerns due to tariff uncertainty but they are encouraged by signs that demand for toys and collectibles appears to be strong as the industry prepares for the holiday season. At the annual July toy showcase hosted last week by toy news and reviews website The Toy Insider, more than 60 toy companies displayed the products they are betting on to boost sales to an enthusiastic crowd of several hundred toy influencers. The number of innovative products on display, and the amount of engagement with the toys by the attendees 'was exciting to see because it's sort of the opposite of what folks would expect to find from the toy industry this summer,' said James Zahn, Editor-in-Chief of trade publication The Toy Book, and a senior editor at The Toy Insider. The industry has been battered this year by dramatic shifts in tariffs, first being hit in April by a 145% tariffs on goods made in China. That rate was lowered in May to 30%, pending further negotiations. The 30% rate is set to expire in mid-August, and could be increased again. Close to 80% of the toys sold in this country are made in China. DoodleFace, one of the companies that exhibited at The Toy Insider event, makes all of its products ... More in upstate New York. The imposition of the short-lived 145% rate caused some companies to temporarily halt production of new products. That could result in shortages later in the year. Toy makers are responding to the tariff pressure by focusing on lower cost toys that are still affordable even with a tariff-driven price increase, or by shifting production to countries with lower U.S. tariffs. Other companies shipped product to the U.S. in advance of the imposition of the new tariffs. The industry's response, and the innovative lineup of toys being released for the holiday is 'another great example of the resilience we always talk about every time there's a new challenge that pops up,' Zahn said. 'You have all these creative people that come together and they try to make the best play experiences possible and deliver that. And they're doing that,' he said. Spinmaster's Melissa & Doug brand was showing playsets that let kids "cook" food with water at The ... More Toy Insider toy showcase. Juli Lennett, vice president and toy industry advisor, at market research firm Circana, also described the toy industry as resilient in reporting that U.S. toy sales rose 6% during the first four months of this year. 'The good news is consumers are signaling that they will spend on the things they need and those that make them happy,' Lennett said when releasing the data. The industry also is getting a boost from the growing number of adults who are purchasing toys for themselves. In the first quarter of this year, toy sales for adults 18 and up grew by 12% compared to the same period last year. Adults spent $1.8 billion on toys in the first quarter, the highest spending of all age groups. Attendees at the Toy Insider event mentioned the most viral collectible toy craze of the moment - the Labubu dolls sold by Chinese company Pop Mart - as a sign that Gen Z consumers still have lots of money to spend on trends and quirky collectibles. The small dolls are sold in blind boxes, meaning buyers don't know which doll they are getting until they open the box, which drives more sales if someone is seeking a particular design or color. Sales of the dolls, which retail for about $30, with rare, limited edition dolls fetching hundred on the resale market, have soared this year. Pop Mart reported last week that it expects its profits for the first six months of the year to be up 350%. One of the most popular booths at The Toy Insider event was the Nintendo exhibit, where they were demonstrating the Nintendo Switch 2. The new version of the Switch, which sells for $450, broke sales records when it was released in June, selling 3.5 million units in four days, becoming the fastest selling video game console of all time. The Chinese tariffs are expected to have a bigger impact on companies that sell mid-priced toys, in the $25 to $100 range, rather than those that sell big-ticket items like the Nintendo Switch 2, or those that sell items that are priced under $10. Josh Loerzel, president of Sky Castle Toys, at The Toy Insider event with one of the company's new ... More releases in the viral Sticki Rolls line. a Jumbo sticker for decorating a room or a school locker. Josh Loerzel, President of Sky Castle Toys, maker of viral hit toy Sticki Rolls, which are bracelets with shareable, collectible mini stickers that can be peeled off and used for decorating, or trading, said at The Toy Insider event that fact that a number of the company's new releases this year are priced at $4.99 minimizes the tariff impact. 'When you have a $5 item you can whether the tariff storm,' Loerzel said. The company tightened up its cost controls to ensure it could sell its new items - Jumbo Stickis, jumbo stickers that can be used for removeable room or school locker decor, and Sticki Rolls Creepies, inspired by the Japanese kimo-kawaii (creepy-cute) art trend, at $4.99. The Chinese tariff pressure is creating an opportunity for toy startups making toys in this country. Two of those, Wigglitz and Doodle Face, attracted a lot of social media and influencer attention at The Toy Insider showcase. Wigglitz are small 3D-printed plastic figures of animals and other creatures, with moveable parts, that sell for $2.99 each, or by the bag for $24.99. The company prints the figure in Utah, where it is headquartered. DoodleFace, a company that makes wall art and play figures that kids can color, erase, and re-color thanks to a specially coated cardboard, does all of its manufacturing in its upstate New York facility. For the companies that do have to worry about tariffs, one of the big concerns for the holiday season is running out of inventory due to production slowdowns when the 145% tariffs were imposed, Zahn said. 'Even companies that have solid inventory levels right now might have a hard time reacting if there's a surprise hit for the season,' he said. The unpredictability of the tariffs rates, and the widely fluctuating rates for all the countries where toys are made 'makes it hard for anybody to plan and forecast,' Zahn said. 'Companies are trying to figure out what their margin is going to be, but then the price changes,' he said.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Family Office Learnings From This Year's Most Noteworthy Collectible Sales
Thomas H. Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP®, Founder & CEO, Destiny Family Office. Million-dollar collectible sales write splashy headlines, but as family office professionals, they capture our attention not for the dollar figures but for what we can learn from them. Each headline sale is brimming with valuable lessons for high-net-worth collectors. In servicing our clients, we monitor industry activity closely to understand how they can better optimize their collections for financial success. Thus far in 2025, various significant collectibles have dazzled with their sales prices, and I've synthesized several key themes that demand consideration from collectors and their advisors. The highest standards of authentication are a necessity. This spring delivered two remarkable game-worn NBA jersey sales, highlighted by the staggering magnitude of their capital appreciation. In March, Sotheby's sold a Chicago Bulls jersey worn in the preseason of Michael Jordan's rookie year for $4,215,000. The jersey last sold in 2009 for just $66,000. Not to be outdone, Kobe Bryant's regular season debut jersey notched a sale price of $7,004,000 in April. It last crossed the auction block in 2013, selling for $115,242. How did these museum-quality pieces multiply in value by factors of more than 60? The elevation of the market for game-worn sports memorabilia certainly played a role. High-end sports artifacts have risen in stature and sales prices to a tier previously reserved for fine art. As recently as early 2022, the record for the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia was $5.6 million. Today, that record is $24.1 million, supercharged by the sale of Babe Ruth's 'Called Shot' jersey in 2024. But the meteoric rise of the two game-worn jerseys sold this spring is not merely the result of broader market appreciation. When these jerseys came to market previously, they did so without stringent third-party authentication substantiating their in-game use. Upon their return to auction this year, both lots improved upon more informal photo-matching efforts offered in their prior listings, presenting thorough photo-matching authentication from multiple providers. A glance at any ranking of the most expensive game-worn items ever sold reveals that a vast majority of them were authenticated using this method, in which reputable authenticators match unique characteristics of a garment to their appearance in period-specific photographs. The lesson is essential for collectors: Pursuit of the highest available authentication standards is of paramount importance to an item's marketability. Even collectors who have no immediate intention of selling should heed that lesson. By confirming their items' authenticity, collectors ensure their families can realize full value for them in their absence. Failure to authenticate an item and preserve the accompanying documentation leaves inexperienced heirs with a steep learning curve to climb. Regardless of circumstance, obtaining the most stringent authentication could represent the difference between an item worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and one worth millions. Asset sales while living are a critical component of planning. Early 2025 saw Bernie Ecclestone, one of the godfathers of F1, sell his unparalleled collection of Formula One cars—reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars—through high-end dealer Tom Hartley Jr. Ecclestone explained the impetus for the sale: 'After collecting and owning [my cars] for so long, I would like to know where they have gone, and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.' His thought process should resonate with collectors whose heirs have little knowledge of their collections, as a proactive sale can create simplicity and reduce undue burdens in estate planning. While owning collections through death can offer financial benefits, the right choice for each collector is highly circumstantial and deeply personal. For Ecclestone, gaining certainty about the collection's next chapter while simultaneously ensuring his family would be unburdened by it was a tidy outcome. Collectors can use passion assets to leave a legacy. In February, Sotheby's sold a violin crafted by Antonio Stradivarius in 1714 for $11,250,000. The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, named for prior owners and prolific violinists, Joseph Joachim and Si-Hon Ma, is the latest in a remarkable string of Stradivarius violins to reach eight-figure prices. Though the sale is over, the proceeds will shape the future of music for decades to come. Si-Hon Ma passed away in 2009, and per his wishes, his estate donated his Stradivarius to the New England Conservatory, where he was a student in the 1950s. That donation came with the stipulation that the conservatory could one day sell the instrument, provided it used the proceeds to fund student scholarships. After several years of use by advanced students, the Conservatory consigned the violin this winter, generating funds that will enable the establishment of the largest named scholarship program in the Conservatory's history. When estate planning, many collectors face a series of difficult decisions. Bequeath to heirs or sell now? Keep or donate? And if donating, to whom and for what? Si-Hon Ma's Stradivarius illustrates the capacity of passion assets to cement lasting legacies when collectors plan thoughtfully. In pursuing the items meaningful to them, collectors compose a rich personal story. However, by planning diligently, they can ensure that the final chapter is the most rewarding. Beneath the surface of every multimillion-dollar collectible headline, collectors can find myriad valuable lessons on collection stewardship. Just as assembling the perfect collection requires attention to detail and nuance, so too does its ongoing management. Exercising diligence in collection-related organization and planning can be the difference in unlocking and preserving millions of dollars in value for the purpose of the collector's choosing. The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation. Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?
The Verge
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The frenzied, gamified chase for Labubus
On Thursday night, I toggled endlessly between a TikTok Live stream and a shopping app in anticipation of 9:30PM. For 30 minutes, I hunted for an available listing; many expletives were uttered. I exhibited bot behavior and got iced out of the app multiple times. I tapped so many times my thumbs got sore. This is Labubu drop night. Something that's lost in the Labubu mania is that actually buying one from the source is, in one word, maddening. There are, of course, countless fake options ('Lafufus') that some collectors have come to embrace. But if you want a guaranteed real one, you have to go to the source. Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company that sells Labubu products, has created a series of Sisyphean tasks to subject shoppers to, a humiliation ritual with the chance of getting a little figurine at the end. Unlike many other rare, trendy, or collectible items, the barrier to entry for Labubus is not the cost of the item ($27.99) — it's everything you need to learn how to do before you buy them. I spent about a day researching how to actually purchase a legit Labubu from Pop Mart. It's not a straightforward shopping experience of simply clicking 'check out' faster than everyone else. Pop Mart has created a digital frenzy that somewhat resembles what shopping in-person on Black Friday is like: interactive illustrations show display cases stocked with up to six boxes of Labubus. Seconds after they hit the site, all of the boxes are grayed out, meaning someone has at least temporarily claimed them. If you haven't secured a Labubu, you must scroll through a seemingly endless list of display cases, looking for the rare box up for grabs; more often, though, you must tap constantly, looking for a gray box with a timer that is about to expire, at which point it will be released and available again. You have to play what is essentially a mobile game to even get a chance to buy a Labubu. The complexity and finickiness of the Pop Mart app mean that there is no shortage of content with tips, hints, and hacks for securing a Labubu. Some influencers have racked up millions of views almost exclusively making videos about how to score popular Pop Mart products. Some of the tips I studied ended up helping me: when I tapped too many times and was blocked by the app, turning Wi-Fi on and off did indeed fix the problem. But other suggestions from collectors were impossible to follow. Some fans swear by camping out on Pop Mart's hourslong TikTok live streams, waiting for the host to randomly list Labubus for sale on the platform's shopping page; the auctioneer-style monologues were simply too much for me to listen to. After about 30 minutes of uninterrupted two-handed tapping, close encounters, and error messages, I finally spammed a gray box right at the moment it was released. The mystery Labubu was mine. I 'shook' the virtual box, which gave me a hint as to what color character was inside: it was not orange or green (I didn't have a color preference, but other shoppers might at this point abandon a box that Pop Mart says does not contain their color of choice). After checkout, I opted to reveal which Labubu I had purchased — it was the blue one, named 'Hope.' It's not entirely surprising that Labubus have taken off like this: the more you are forced to look at them, the cuter they become (maybe). They're not the first so-called blind box toy to gain a cult following, and there's a somewhat dark comparison to be made between Labubus and gambling — for serious collectors, the thrill is in the reveal, the chance that you hit the rare color that Pop Mart says is in one out of 72 boxes. It's addictive, plain and simple. But the longer I spent on Labubu forums or on the Pop Mart site, the more I understood that the toy at the end is almost beside the point: legit Labubus represent the time and effort that came before the unboxing, along with the pure luck of what's inside. A friend who has scored dozens of Labubus for their network told me flipping the dolls isn't even worth it unless it's an unopened box or a rare color — the margins are too low to make real money. The pervasiveness of Lafufus no doubt helps to push prices down. The real value of Labubus is in the ridiculous hoops you have to jump through to get a shot at something collectible. According to Google Trends, search volume for 'Labubu' is as high as it's been. The TikTok livestreams will drone on, the bots will be deployed nightly, and the viral unboxings will pull in views. The hype will die down only when it's no longer torture to buy one, when the little guys (who are actually canonically girls) are just a toy, not a stand-in for your effort. When that will happen is anyone's guess; my Labubu is scheduled to ship out in September.
