Affording the good stuff ??

[timbo72]

So im assuming that everyone who posts on here has

Mortgage/Rent
Kids
Household bills
Car,tax,mot,petrol
etc, etc

The question is, the real top end gear isnt cheap (well to me it's not). So do you all just save like mad and hope when you have enough, the figures/vehicles you are after will still be there. Or is everyone on here loaded ??

There is loads i would like to buy, but im gonna have to put in extra shifts and save like crazy or just win the the euro millions to get it :roll: :roll:

 

[sith-smith]

I don't have kids and don't have a wife to consider. With Girlfriends it's always been a case of 'it's my money, you do what you want with your own'

I also don't drink or smoke so that helps.


When I first started collecting, items were super cheap as I could get them all from car boot sales. What you have to watch is when you make your first sizeable purchase. For me it was the jump from 50p a figure to £25. That was painful at first, but eventually it becomes the norm and then comes the next big jump which was £50 and then on from there.

The stuff I want doesn't come up very often, so I have time to save up

 

[itfciain]

I think it is all about patience. You don't need to have the 'good stuff' immediately to enjoy this hobby.

I started with a very modest collection from my childhood and went from there. Firstly I bought a lot of loose figures and just watched ebay for some good deals. I got a feel for prices and although I did make mistakes along the way (getting repro weapons mainly!) I built up a decent knowledge. I then moved onto getting better condition figures and trying to find the loose weapons that I was missing. Finally I have moved onto the carded figures.

I did this over a good few years and I tried to trade away what I didn't want in order to buy new things.

I think the mistake a lot of people make is wanting to have a minty, high value collection straight away. I have seen a chap on ebay buy and sell an almost full Tri Logo collection in the past 6 months - buying at high prices and selling for £100's less than he paid. That is the quickest way to lose money and lose interest.

 

[momike]

Tim I think we all have things we would like to buy in this hobby but can not afford due to bills and such. I think the main thing is to just enjoy it. When you see what some people have in there collections its incredible and you think I want that and that! I am sure there are guys who earn big money on here and guys that don't! Try and pick some bargains up along the way and if you feel like treating yourself and you have to save for it even better! It's all about the chase for me! You will get that one piece you want but there will always be that other one you want and the other one! IT'S THE BUG! I just stay in my comfort zone in regards to money and most importantly enjoy it

Tim i posted your figures today mate :wink:

 

[PGowdy]

No kids or mortgage.... or wife... wait, i've just realised how completely empty my life is... :lol:
Am starting a business tho which has slowed up my vintage purchases some what.

 

[timbo72]

Thanks guys, i guess it's also good to remember it's not 1982 anymore and those prices are long gone !!!!!!

so it's time to work out a plan of what i really want to get, and stick with it...........also keep geeting some cool loose figures on the way

Cheers mike........looking forward to opening them

 

[Dom]

I save like crazy, deal and some times rob Peter to pay Paul. My collecting is an addiction and I need my fix. If I manage to get off the wagon them im good. When im properly on it then im ****ing terrible.

 

[sith-smith]

I know that feeling

Once I summoned up the courage to buy a high priced item, it soon became easier to buy items of that value regularly.

It really is an addiction!

 

[Caswellbot]

Yep. Ditto. It's a slippery slope.

 

[phantom]

I just started colleting again after I sold my collection when I was 16 ish.
For me these days its all about creating my childhood memories, so at the moment Im collecting a loose collection consisting of fairly cheap ones in various conditions, and the try and upgrade them as I get a better feel for the marked itself and after I see over time that Im really as dedicated as I feel today.

For me its all about taking it slow and not rush into it all. Even though I, like everyone else want a complete MOC collection Im just as excited everytime I open a package from the good people of this forum even thou its only 10 loose figures.

When my first carded figures (thanks itfciain) arrived I was over the moon, even thou it wasnt afa 80 ones.

But I guess as one builds a bigger and better collection there will be a bigger focus on those rare/mint ones.

But, I will before Im 30 (two months) try my best to get a carded Stormtrooper as its within my budget and Ill then complete another goal I have before 30 (another goal was to join the 501st).

 

[e30318is]

It's an interesting question. Sometimes I get tunnel vision and become blinkered to "real life". It can be an all consuming hobby, I do love it though.

For the first year or so I didn't break the hundred pound barrier, then went to £250..... Then last year broke into four figures...... It gets surprisingly easy.

I have always made sure I have cash for life's essentials though. I don't want to end up homeless and single with a big collection lol- My mocs would get wet!!

Without a doubt my favourite stage of collecting was putting together my loose run- it was great watching them multiply!
Enjoy and don't go banzai on the spending- just buy what you can afford

 

[sith-smith]

I think definitely in the early days I wasted a lot of money buying without researching, by being impatient and not always being certain on my goals.

Now, thanks to the internet, collecting can be much easier and cheaper, though on the downside the availability can make it easily go out of control or leave you open to being conned if you aren't careful.

For me, once I have paid off all the essentials, everything else goes into savings which i'll use to buy things I want. My collection is important to me so certainly that's the main area where it gets spent.

Thinking of the title of this thread, a lot could depend on what you consider to be the good stuff!! When I started collecting seriously, with some sort of goal, MOC seemed to be the real good stuff that i would never afford!

 

[Jez]

I have a fairly regular job. I get paid by the government (for a f##k load less than i deserve), i have to pay my on line tax return and my wife has a shopping addition. I have twins who have every conceivable after school hobby and i enjoy the occasional bottle of wine or 8.
This is my hobby though and i f##ing love it. I feel that i have a complete affinity with the guys on this forum, even though i haven't met them (apart from itfcian). My wife knows that this is what makes me happy (she does to). I could play golf every day etc etc.

Yes i have a bit of an addictive personality and i always want something Tigerham or casswelbot or itfciain or sith smith or Gary Smith etc etc has but i have to be patient.

This is a great hobby and i love it. Don't rush it dude, cuz you don't want it to finish straight away! Oh actually, it'll never finish, your now addicted and it's worse than crack!

 

[sith-smith]

sith smith or Gary Smith

Both of those are dodgy guys though!!

I figure one day the Mrs will want kids ( unless I get a new Mrs!) So i'd better buy as much as I can now while I have complete control over my money! :lol:

 

[timbo72]

Some really good advice guys............Just one more thing


Do you ever get tempted to just open a carded figure ????

 

[sith-smith]

NO

 

[Jez]

No man, thats like dissing the Queen. You just don't do it

 

[timbo72]

I knew that was going to be pretty much everybodys answer !!!!

 

[Dom]

I have done it. :twisted:

Years ago trying to find a loose set of Droids and Ewoks figures was like finding rocking horse ****. Finding carded was really easy and thats where a lot of the loose stuff is from. Last figure i opened was a POTF A Wing pilot about 5 years ago, the bubble was dented and cracked and the card was defaced.

U grades are a completely different story though, they are ****

 

[e30318is]

No mate, never. There is a thousand loose figures for every carded- and if you wait a week chances are a dozen loose figures will have come up for sale.
I wouldn't even open a cut card.
I can't even open up modern figures...... :roll: