Toys to Retirement Weekly Wrap-Up #13
A quiet start to 2025
Hello friends,
Happy Friday! It has been a bit of a slow start to the year for toy news. A slow start for sales as well — I don’t remember ever having this much of a Christmas hangover. My inventory looks healthy, so I’m assuming it’s a combination of check-in times and the economy finally catching up to people post-holiday season.
Regardless, we truck on and keep finding other ways to squeeze profit out of our business. I know we’re all starting to get swamped with notifications about things like business insurance and taxes, but if you want to add another tedious exercise to your to-do list — check out this week’s video lesson:
![[VIDEO LESSON] A Very Profitable Homework Assignment](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F89e94733-516a-4198-aa6a-9b2920fb7f9f_500x500.png)
I’ve received a TON of positive feedback on this ‘homework assignment’ that should make you thousands of dollars this year. In the five years I’ve been selling on Amazon, I’d be surprised if the simple things I talk about in this video haven’t made me six figures of profit by now.
Highest grossing movies of 2024
You didn’t have to watch these to make money on them. At least five of the ten movies listed here had very profitable merch opportunities to sell on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. I cannot express the importance of paying attention to upcoming movie and show releases — if you ignore them in this niche then you are leaving thousands of dollars on the table. We have a big year of pop culture ahead of us, including some big names like Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and Jurassic World. I hope you’re keeping your eyes open!
Tip of the Week #10
You don’t always need to get the maximum value out of every single sale on a SKU.
This is a tip I have had a hard time applying myself. It’s so easy to have several hundred units of an item, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before it peaks in price and you get to feel that sweet pay off about having a very profitable prediction.
But the issue is you tie up so much capital waiting for that perfect moment — THEN you have to actually sell through the items.
Even though we are comfortable with longer hold times as toy investors, cash flow is still very important so that we don’t miss unexpected opportunities that arise.
The more I have started drip feeding my strongest holds, rather than just trying to wait for their peak price, the more ‘secure’ I have felt in my business.
Remember, even though we do our best to minimize risk with our holds — there are lots of variables outside of our control that can screw us over. Reprints, restrictions, a character falling out of favor, etc. If you have a SKU that has reached a healthy amount of profit, don’t be afraid to start letting it go a bit before its peak to keep the ball rolling.
A great example of this right now is ASIN: B0BRM3RMMB
You can sell it comfortably now for 100% ROI. What’s not to love? Will it continue to increase in price? Of course. But you also have to account for the large number of sellers who are also holding onto these and will be looking to unleash them during Q4, holding back the price. You can take this 100% ROI and invest it into other toys that could bring a higher return than what this set can bring over the next 11 months.
To be fair, this may be a bad example though because this set kind of does have very high potential and could climb freakishly high depending on supply.
But that’s why we drip feed instead of sending everything in at once, so we get the best of both worlds.
LEGO Gift with Purchase & Walmart/Target Clearance
A cute LEGO GWP is available for purchases over $70. While it’s nothing to write home about, there are still some retired sets available and on sale on the LEGO site so… might as well if you have the capital. Don’t forget to use your LEGO VIP points you accumulated over the holidays for things such as the Micro NINJAGO sets or just a flat out discount.
If you’re looking for other things to source, Walmart and Target are full steam ahead with in-store clearance. I’m hearing reports of some seriously discounted toys, as much as 75% off on some LEGO, and of course Walmart online continues to lower prices as well. It’s a good time to start building up inventory for the year if you have some down time and can hit the retail stores!
Another Subscriber Q&A
Since the year ended, we have a lot of new faces who have subscribed to Toys to Retirement. In the coming weeks, I’d like to do another Subscriber Q&A since there was a lot of positive reception to my previous one. For those who have questions, please direct message them to me on Substack, Instagram, or Twitter (@thetoyinvestor). Please keep in mind that the email you receive the newsletter from cannot see your responses, so only reach out to me at the above channels.
This newsletter is all about answering the questions you guys have about toy investing, and I want to make sure I’m providing my insights on things relevant to your interests. If you missed the first Q&A, here it is:
Alright friends, as I mentioned it has been a slow start for relevant news in our niche. I haven’t seen any major developments on the toy or movie front that significantly impact us. Keep sourcing, keep repricing, and keep prepping — 323 days until Black Friday and we need to make them all count!
