Somebody stop me!! Or at least slow me down...

Every time i see the title of this thread i see this

PGowdy said:

Joe said:

I don't mind saying that £100-150 A month is usually my limit, that's 2-3 MOC if you play your cards right and after all this is not a race!

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That is SO not my monthly limit... :lol:

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****ing hell :lol: :lol:

Include off-ebay deals and forum purchases and the number starts getting really serious! :lol:

I think I am going to start buying and selling stickers!!! :lol:

Joe said:

PGowdy said:

Joe said:

I don't mind saying that £100-150 A month is usually my limit, that's 2-3 MOC if you play your cards right and after all this is not a race!

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That is SO not my monthly limit... :lol:

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****ing hell :lol: :lol:

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I hope that's in pennies or you need to move a decimal point!

PGowdy said:

Joe said:

I don't mind saying that £100-150 A month is usually my limit, that's 2-3 MOC if you play your cards right and after all this is not a race!

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That is SO not my monthly limit... :lol:

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:shock:

All I can say mate is take it easy. The only way this path goes is the bits get more expensive and finding them gets harder. Savour the begining of the journey as its one of the best bits

Dom said:

All I can say mate is take it easy. The only way this path goes is the bits get more expensive and finding them gets harder. Savour the begining of the journey as its one of the best bits

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That comment followed by your tag line is ironic as hell Dom! :lol:

I know i comment before,but seriously you have to put collecting at the back of your life when it comes to money.Make sure your bills are paid,there is food and drink in the cupboards and you are comfortable before you spend.Getting into any sort of debt(unless its an organised payment plan with a seller)is not the way to go,and it will lead you into the dark path or panic and worry.Ok,you may well find that one piece you have wanted for ages,but i can assure you that once you have it in your hands for a few days/weeks then the joy wears off if you havent paid for it outright.Credit cards and borrowing is not the way to go-trust me on this,ive done it and been there.I sold a fairly large and expensive collection of toys(inc protos)props and autogaphs in the past because something came up on me when i was unaware(well-a slag of an ex wife really).I seriously lost everything,and it was all because i used to rush in and try to get things straight away with money that wasnt technically mine(CC etc)and you come down with a bang when you learn that you either cant afford to pay the money off,or the item you have purchased has ended up costing you double in the long term.

Now my collection flourishes because i take my time,and look around and work to a budget.I do have a very,very comfortable lifestyle and it is due to my present wife's hard work in the past.Im not saying im a millionaire(far from it)but i am just more thrifty nowadays.If i purchase something costly,i will get a payment plan sorted or save up the cash(or even sell some stuff that i wouldnt miss)and take it from there.

Honestly,just slow down and take your time.What Joe said was 100% correct-budget yourself each month,and if you somehow have a quite month when nothing pops up either let it roll over,or treat yourself to something else.

Lee

I dont care what anyone says, toy collecting is an addiction

I think it's neurological. Like a character trait, partly generic and partly nurtured.

I wouldn't discount escapism and thrill sealing as well.

And stuff. I'm no psychologist.

It can become like an addiction, especially if you don't have clear goals and clear limitations.

I found for me at first I'd spend a few pounds at carboot sales. Then that would go up to a tenner each time ( I know that doesn;t sound a lot, but this was in the early 90's and a £10 would buy you loads!! Especially when i picked up a lotof the last 17 including Yak and Luke Stormtrooper, for 50p each!)

Then in the late 90's it moved to £50 a go, as I discovered collectors shops.

Then it slowly began to move to a few hundred at fairs, then eventually £1000 at each show ( which were luckily only 3-4 a year.

And then there was eBay :twisted: The easier it gets, the easier it is to spend.

I always found there was a threshold, which, once I crossed I would easily do so again. So for example The first time I paid £25 for a figure. Once I had done, I continued to do so. It became the norm. Then I crossed the £100 threshold, then the £500, then the £1000. It just keeps on going.

Until one day I crossed the £17.5K threshold!! :? I must have spend around 25k that year all in all!!

So basically what I am saying is, if you think you have a developing issue with spending so much, pull back, take a break. Assess what it is you hope to achieve and can sensibly afford to achieve. Then go slowly.

I have known collectors from years ago who nearly lost everything because of their collection. They spent so much building it up then in the end they had to sell it all. Scary!!

2 grand a month for a year? That's pretty hard core Gary!



Jason

As Joe already mentioned either here or in another thread. This sounds like the first 1 or 2 stages out of the 6 stages of collecting. All the best with your new found Star Wars addiction. 8)

mr_palitoy said:

2 grand a month for a year? That's pretty hard core Gary!



Jason

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It was 17.5k in one day!! The rest was spread over a few months. It was one of those years where everything I wanted suddenly turned up!!

I think another important thing to mention is: Don't spend above your means just to show off, this is the kind of "keeping up with the neighbours" mentality that really won't get anyone anywhere at all.

We all see people with amazing items that cost a bomb on the boards but that doesn't mean anyone thinks any less of you or your collection because its not in the same league, these are after all just toys.

You can live through other peoples buys and congratulate them and enjoy them from their pictures, or if you get lucky - even meet up and see them in person, it doesn't mean because you don't have something that amazing/rare/expensive that you are less of a collector or do not have the same "worth" as a collector. It's a passion whether you are spending £2k on items or £2.

I enjoy seeing people pick up a few loose figures grinning ear to ear as much as I do seeing someone limelight a one of a kind pre production piece, in fact it's probably even more satisfying to see someone really enjoy something so simple as a loose figure than it is someone bragging about something they know others can't own!

Agreed.

I think you've got to self analyse your reasoning and honestly discover if your actions stem from something negative like greed or insecurity, or from something positive, like the fun of it, or a passion for the subject/collectables.

If the process comes from negative actions, it's not gonna have happy times.

All the more reason to be very clear on why you are collecting.

I've fallen into the 'I have to have this piece in order to be taken as a serious collector' trap

And then you realise, 'these are toys, how the **** does 'serious' come into it!!' :lol:

I think there is another thread on here where people give advice on what to collect. I think the basic summary was collect what makes you happy. That might be good advice here too. Collect what would make you happy and clearly the amount you spend will have an impact on the happiness you feel. Having a massive collection that cost you the earth is not going to make you happy if every minute you are worrying about the amount being spent, or certain bills can't be paid. As sad as it is, even collectors have to live in the real world.

For example.

I collect everything star wars because I have a really tiny penis.

So I'm going have a negative collecting awakening. :lol:

sith-smith said:

I've fallen into the 'I have to have this piece in order to be taken as a serious collector' trap

And then you realise, 'these are toys, how the **** does 'serious' come into it!!' :lol:

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I agree with that. There's no such thing as a serious toy collector. :lol:

But 17.5k in one day!! That's awesome. :lol: