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Many people purchase stocks, bonds, or tangible valuables such as gold and silver as their first investment purchase. Some people decide a house or a rental property should be their first dip in the investment pool. Not me, baby – I’m simply too nerdy for that.
My first investment purchase was…
THESE POWER RANGER ACTION FIGURES!
They’re designed by Tamashi Nations for their S.H. Figuarts line. These figures are so cool. They look like they’ve been pulled straight out of the tv show. The proportions are perfect, the figures expertly sculpted and painted with screen-accurate colors. The articulation they exhibit is incredible – you can put them into almost any pose from the television show. They include accessories, such as multiple hands and weapons. The weapons even combine to make the famous power blaster from the show! How cool is that?
IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!
I know it’s kinda dorky, but they were a huge part of my childhood – what with me being a 90’s kid and all (truly the best decade ever). Every 90’s kid is familiar with the Power Rangers, and if you’re not, you can just leave right now. Seriously.
If you do happen to be one of those ‘-i-like-to-live-under-a-rock’ sort of people, then let me succinctly explain; the Power Rangers are a group of “teenagers with attitude” that are granted powers by this giant floating head-in-a-tube named Zordon so they can fight and defeat this evil female ruler named Rita Repulsa. Each episode followed the “monster-of-the-week” formula, usually ending with the Power Rangers pounding the monster into submission with their transformers-esque megazord.
As a 10 year old boy, I loved it. I thought the suits – especially the helmets – were so cool.
My room was a giant monument to the franchise (and my dorkiness).
My twin brother and I shared a room growing up, and my wall was covered, from top to bottom, in power rangers stuff. Posters, magazine clippings, my own drawings, anything PR related made that wall. I even had a life-sized cardboard helmet of the blue ranger. There was not a bare patch in sight.
GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL
When I first saw these coming out, I knew I wanted one, but I also thought it might be lame for a twenty-eight year old man to buy action figures. I also balked at the idea of paying forty dollars each, as that seemed like an unreasonable amount of money to pay for a single action figure.
I was such a fool.
Of course, they are now incredibly rare and incredibly expensive. These figures were originally forty dollars each and were released one at a time as a limited edition release starting in 2014. In the three years since, prices have skyrocketed for each figure. Most have nearly doubled in value. Other ones, like the pink, blue, white and green ranger are so rare that they’re going for almost quadruple their original value! Try getting that kind of return in the stock market!
In early 2015, I scoured the internet, searching for any remaining ones. I spent days looking.
I was so focused on finding these figures, later when I was describing the process to a friend, I characterized my fervent search as “research” – we both laughed as I grew red with embarrassment .
Fortunately, there were a few scattered around the country, and I was lucky enough to get a couple blue and pink rangers (the most expensive at the time) as well as a white and a green at a pretty decent price. I was even able to snag a full nine-piece set for $500.00 on ebay, only $140.00 dollars more than if I had purchased them separately at release. The sets are now going for almost $1,000.00, and I’m sure the price will only climb in the future. I’m planning on holding onto these babies for as long as I can. They’re wrapped in paper and vacuum sealed for their protection.
I should also clarify, lest you think I’m a colossal nerd, that I’m not really a memorabilia person at all. These are really the only items I have that could be considered that. They do hold a special place in my heart as I loved the franchise during my childhood, but I saw what a nice little investment opportunity this was and just pounced on it!
Do you remember what your first investment purchase was? Was it a wise and profitable one? Let me know in the comments!
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