Facts:
The original manufacturer of the Hummel figurines was the Goebel company from the town of Rödental-Oeslau. They filed for bankruptcy protection back in July 2006 and were 'taken over' (read as: financially backed) by Strategic Value Partner und Merrill Lynch. Main reason for their problems was that the market for Hummel figures had decayed and managers had failed to see the inevitable loss in profits. The business was restructured, stopping Hummel production in October 2008 and then selling the complete unprofitable Hummel assets to the "Hoechster Porzellanmanufaktur" group located in Frankfurt. That company also purchased part of the facilities from Goebel and in February 2009 took up production under the newly-founded company "Manufaktur Rödental GmbH".
Note: Goebel itself again became independent manufacturer and there now are two independent companies (Goebel as well as Manufaktur Rödental) registered and operating from the same premises (Coburger Str. 7 in D-96472 Rödental) as both companies use the same production facilities on a time sharing basis.
Value:
As noted under 'Facts', the reason for Goebel getting into trouble was the massive drop in demand regarding Hummels. One can clearly speak of market saturation: as more and more people started collecting them and saw a certain financial potential, more and more figures were kept in perfect condition over decades. Desireability however is connected with availability and logic dictates that a market swamped with dozens of pristine items will collapse sooner or later. So far the auction house is right, the market for Hummels in that form will indeed never return ... however that should not be left uncommented and/or unexplained to beginners, apparently what happened to you. On the other hand one must clearly admit that auction houses trying to explain correctly are mainly misunderstood or accused of trying to interfere/pull a scam. With other words: it does not matter what they try, folks will always call 'em bummers.
So, why will that market never return? Since 1995 the complete collectibles market is in a ruffle thanks to eBay. Locally 'rare' items suddenly appeared to be not-so-rare-at-all as they were freely available all over the world, on the other hand some items surfaced in (rare?) localized editions (e.g. car models with unusual colors, advert prints, etc). At the same time it was a drastic (even historic) break in terms of evaluation as the former non-plus-ultra devices of 'collector value' and 'book value' suddenly literally evaporated as they became redundant due to the fact that they were absolutely unreliable at the (local and thus vital) point of sales. Even today (over ten years later!), many people still try to hang on to book values just because they can't accept the fact that their collection of 'rare' items is worth much less today. One might add that many people are sadly too blind to really understand the context of market development, inflation and real monetary value but that's another issue I can take up in another thread if required/asked for - perhaps one or other could save a buck or two in insurance fees, LOL!
That was factor #1, the second is the new positioning of both 'old' and 'new' Hummels. One should remember that a certain percentage of collectors invested tons of $$$ after hearing that Hummels were going to be discontinued, smelling a fat profit. Needless to say those folks are now sitting on a bunch of overpriced items. See market saturation. The new Hummels are so far not really worth mentioning as they are too new and not 'the real thing' in the eyes of an old collector ... or are they? Not now, at least. But if the new manufacturer croaks it after five years the items *could* become collectible earlier than otherwise. But who can tell? As for the old Hummels, the facts are that there are still far too many people out there with items in good condition that frantically hold on to the old reputation and a value estimate that has long passed away. It will take a time (a few years) before the overall loss of items (heirs dumping them, breakage, fire etc.) has a cleansing effect on the market and creates a new interest.
So why did you get such a 'low' offer? The auction house is playing safe, taking into account what I mentioned above and thus knowing the current sales margin, not forgetting their effort needed for categorizing/evaluating all items. Also they can't keep the items for years before the prices actually start to recover, hence their offer is a take-or-leave as it most probably will drop even further as more people try to sell after realizing the value is crash-diving. It's comparable with panic sales and the inevitable secondary market saturation which causes a complete collapse, well-known reason for stock-market crashes.
If you can, keep them well stored under good conditions and hope that they will recover one day.
