Related websites:
Ny Form Troll website Ny Form Troll Value Estimator
Why Ny Form Trolls have become international collectables.
There are probably several reasons why people collect Ny Form trolls. Many people collect them because they simply like the look of the trolls. Some people collect the trolls because they are related to Norway and Norwegian culture. Others again collect the trolls because (it is said that) they believe trolls bring good luck (the more trolls the more good luck).
Important reasons why the Ny Form trolls have become collectables are due to their uniqueness in look and shape. Our trolls are created using a blend of natural materials. The main ingredients originate from a certain type of tree and elements from the earth. All are cast and decorated entirely by hand.
The Ny Form Trolls have been on the market for as long as 40 years and they are distributed globally through a hand picked network of distributors. The trolls have never been marketed as a mass product that you can find everywhere, which is probably a main reason for their vitality in the market.
When new trolls have been added to the Ny Form troll family, some trolls have also been discontinued to avoid that the product line has become too large to handle in the production. When the availability of these trolls has decreased, the collector’s interest for them has increased.
The global distributor, “Brødrene Flaarønning as” in Norway, noticed the high interest for collecting the Ny Form trolls, they decided to start the Ny Form Troll International Collector’s Club in 1997. From that year the Ny Form company started to make an annual limited edition club troll, and the global distributor started to publish the Ny Form Troll Collector’s Club Magazine twice a year. The collector’s club has created a lot of new troll collector’s as well as increased the focus on the collector’s value of the trolls.
What is the value of my Ny Form troll/trolls?
This is one of the most
frequent questions we receive from troll collectors. If the troll is
still in production, we answer that the value of the troll is similar to
the trolls’ retail price .
If the troll is presented in the current Ny Form troll catalogue, the
troll is still in production, unless it has been discontinued very
recently. To be 100% sure you can find an overview over
all
the trolls in production, as well as discontinued trolls.
If the requested troll is a discontinued troll, it has been difficult to give a good answer on the troll-value-question. We have usually referred to eBay, an internet auction, where we often find discontinued trolls for sale.
The best way to find Ny Form
trolls on eBay is to visit www.ebay.com
and search for “Nyform”. Be aware that some e-bay sellers use the Nyform
name to list trolls that are not original Nyform trolls. To make sure if
it is a original Ny Form troll, you should check the overview of
all
the trolls and se if you find the troll there. It’s also a
good idea to look for tags on the troll that indicate if is a real Ny
Form troll. If there is short
time left of the auction, and the troll has many bidders, some
discontinued Ny Form trolls have been sold on e-bay for quite high
amounts, as you can see from the photos at the
end of this article.
In many cases you will probably not find the troll you are looking for on e-bay, simply because it is not listed, or it is not in the ending phase of the auction. The price similar trolls are sold for on eBay can vary quite a lot, and it is probably a limited number of collector’s who see the different listings. For reasons like this e-Bay values should only be used as a reference for what the troll might be worth.
The online Ny Form Troll Value Estimator
We have now developed an
online Ny Form Troll Value Estimator to help estimating the Collector’s
value, and to be able to provide better answers on questions regarding
the value of Ny Form trolls.
In the value estimator you will meet troll number 111– one of the first
Ny Form Trolls that was made in the 1960s Since this troll is in
production today, it represents the knowledge we have collected on the
different troll models that have been made at the Ny Form factory over
the past 40 years.
By entering the item number
of the troll, and then the type of tag (if any) that is attached to the
troll, the value estimator estimates a collector’s value based on
a) the estimated retail price
b) the availability of the troll
c) the age of the troll
d) the physical condition of the troll
The estimator estimates the collector’s value according to the physical
condition of the troll in US-dollars, British Pounds and Euros, and it
shows how the different factors above affects the collector’s value. The
Troll Value Estimator includes a help-function that explains how to
enter the information and explains how the collector’s value is
calculated.
Early version of 111
Troll number 111 today
A) The estimated retail price
The price of the Ny Form trolls is not based on the size of the troll only, but also how complex the troll is to make. Some times several different moulds are necessary to make one troll model.
The estimated retail price is an estimated price for the troll in a retail store as if the discontinued troll was not discontinued. The average annual increase of price of the Ny Form Trolls has over time been 4,5% pr. year. The estimated retail price is estimated by adding the average yearly increase of the price to the retail price the year the troll was discontinued.
Formula for estimated retail price:
ERP = RPD x (1+AIP)YSD
Definitions:
ERP: Estimated Retail Price
RPD: Retail Price when Discontinued
AIP: Annual Increase of Price %
YSD: Years Since Discontinued
The Ny Form club troll from 1998
B) How availability affects the collector’s value of discontinued Ny Form trolls
The harder it is to get the troll, the more the troll collector’s are willing to pay for it. The troll value estimator uses two factors for availability, which both affects the collector’s value.
1. The number of years the troll has
been in production.
This factor represents the rareness of the troll model. The fewer years the
troll has been in production, the smaller quantity has been made of the troll.
This means that the troll is harder to obtain and it makes the estimator
increase the collector’s value. Examples of trolls with a high collector’s value
based on how long the troll was in production are the limited edition club
trolls.
2. How many years since the troll was
discontinued
This other factor on availability indicates something about how likely you are
to find the troll on the market. The longer time since the troll was
discontinued; the less likely you are to find it on the market and the more it
affects the additional collector’s value. Some of the really old trolls you can
only find on second hand markets like eBay.
C) How the age of the troll affects the collector’s value
The same way age is affecting the
value on coins and stamps, we can assume that it is similar for trolls – even
though the troll is a discontinued model or not.
What we mean with the age of the troll is how long ago the exact troll you have
was made.
Unfortunately the age of Ny Form trolls is not so easy to determine, because the
production year is not marked on the troll. What we do know is that different
tags have been used on the Nyform troll, and if the tag is not removed from the
troll it gives us an indication on which time period the troll was manufactured.
The Troll Value Estimator estimates an additional collector’s value based on the
tag the troll has attached to it. If the tag is removed, the estimator cannot
take this factor into consideration.
It might be possible to estimate the time period when the troll was made based
on the shape and texture of the troll, but the value estimator doesn’t have this
functionality (yet?).
1965-1978
1978-1992
1992-2004
2004 =>
D) The physical condition of the troll
The physical condition of the troll
also affects the collector’s value of the troll. The better quality condition
the troll has, the less this factor decreases the collector’s value. The
estimator estimates 3 different collector’s values based on the condition of the
troll.
Perfect Condition: The troll has no cracks, no colour damages and has the same
condition as trolls you would expect to find in the store.
Medium Condition: The troll is in ok condition, but you can see that it is not
brand new.
Bad Condition: The troll has colour damages, a lot of cracks and has broken
parts.
Final thoughts and considerations about the collector’s value
It is important to keep in mind that the value estimator is only a price guide based on the factors presented above. It is the market forces that decide the real collector’s value on collectables – how much the collectors are willing to pay for the troll.
Since there are several reasons why people collect trolls, there are probably different and quite subjective perceptions of the collector’s value. For some people it is more important that the troll is nice looking, and for others again they find the troll more valuable for them if it is rare and hard to obtain.
It is also worth to keep in mind that the Ny Form Troll Value Estimator is released just recently, and that there might be some adjustments on the degree the different value factors affects the total values. The estimator will be updated with more historic information about the trolls when available, and there the help-functionality will also be developed with more information.
Many collectors have noticed there are some animal figures on the second hand market with Ny Form tags on them. The value estimator don’t include these figures, but if the collectors find the estimator useful, we might as well develop a Ny Form Animal Value Estimator.
