Post #776236 by Prikli Pear on Wed, May 24, 2017 2:54 PM

Newcomers to tiki (or any culture, really) take a while to get up to speed on history. Someone new to wine will be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a $50 bottle of pinot noir and Two Buck Chuck, and may well prefer the Chuck, since their tastes haven't been refined.

Likewise, with anything that has "collectibles" associated with it, initial growth in popularity will always attract the speculators, who snap up more uncommon (as well as newer products) as an investment. The investors drive up prices, and then, at some point, it reaches saturation and prices begin declining. I've seen it happen with baseball cards, comic books and other things. I believe Tikiskip made the analogy of Beanie Babies earlier in this thread--that and the tulip craze are extreme examples. People with no personal investment in the overall history of a movement try to cash in and make a buck. I'm not saying that's what's happening with tiki mugs (is there a corresponding price drop for Witcos and other art forms associated with tiki?) but it wouldn't surprise me if that's playing a part. If speculators realize they're not going to see an appreciable return on investment, they're liable to dump their collection and get what they can for it, further depressing prices on the open market.

On the bright side, this just makes things more affordable for those of us who want the mugs for what they are, not how much they might bring in the future. :)