How do you really feel about collecting?

[plantman]

Just though i'd pose this question as i myself go through periods of not enjoying/wanting to sell/feeling burned out ect whilst collecting.

Ive even sat back and though "am i sad?" "should i really be enjoying what im doing?"

Recently ive stoppped buying Star Wars and moved onto He-Man as its a fair bit cheaper and my son also loves it, with all the forums, all the debates, all the scamming ect i became a bit down about it and listed a lot of stuff (albeit that it was all in the loft anyway)

Ive found that buying loose stuff for a few quid and letting my son have it all is a bit more enjoyable, as im getting to play inadvertantly with my old toys and not distancing myself away from my family by reading posts and chatting on forums ect.

So what phases do you all go through, ill be the first to admit im not an "all out" collector, but i love what i do. I have many toy lines in my collection ranging from Terrahawks, Clash of the Titans, WWF and Star Wars.

Andy

 

[PGowdy]

I think it's all about perspective mate. It wouldn't matter if you were into fishing, cars, stamps, gardening, birdwatching, whatever. If you spend way to much time doing it, reading about it and chatting about it on forums and getting on your family's nerves then i guess it ends up being "sad". A hobby's a hobby and they're supposed to be fun. A distraction. One great thing i've found about the hobby is unlike almost any other, for the most part, you don't really lose any money. Almost every other hobby you plough money in just the same as we do but you don't get to sell things on like we do. You can spend 5 grand on SW junk, enjoy it for a year or two (even 10) and when you get bored, sell it. You may even make money. That always makes me feel pretty secure in the sometimes silly money i spend on it.
One last thing. My younger brother (only by a year) came round the other day and when he saw my collection gasped and stood staring at it for nearly 20 minutes. Asking questions about various pieces. That gave me a lot of joy. I think it's important to get to share the experience when possible.

 

[weasel]

Ive even sat back and though "am i sad?" "should i really be enjoying what im doing?"

Is that just after you've whacked off to the "other" Animal farm for the third time in twenty minutes!? :lol:

 

[plantman]

No that was after letting your missus lick my arse like she asked

 

[poncho]

there are months or a couple of years that go by sometime that i cant be bothered with the hobby. but you cant help but look at your collection at times and smile and say this collecting hobby is cool especially if you had them as a child growing up.

 

[Paul-itoy]

I usually find I peak and then lay low for a while. It's often after a high price purchase and I feel bad about it. Just the other night the wife and i were talking and it dawned on me that my collecting habits are quite selfish as money that could be used for the family is just spent on my whims. The same applies to my bikes too. My forum time shifts a bit throughout the year too. Sites like this are more of a winter thing and the mountain bikes seem to take over come summertime. Some days I do think I should just sell it all but I honestly think i'd really regret it (and miss it). On the plus side, I don't go out boozing on a regular basis and i spend a lot of time at home with the family which is more than can be said for some dads. I think I have the balance just about right and I have to agree with Pete too about the longer term security of a collection - should something unforseen crop up, my collection is just like a savings account but a lot more fun.

Regarding it been 'sad'. In some peoples eyes it is, and deep down a part of me knows it is as i'm selective to who finds out i'm a toy collector. My close mates are all cool with it (some are also just as 'sad'), but the 'lads lads' at work are kept in the dark - they'll never understand.

 

[Caswellbot]

A very good question Andy and its got me thinking.

There are ocassions where I question what the hell am I doing collecting old toys and spending hard earned money in the process. I think the key for me is that I do actually enjoy it. I enjoy the feeling of finding a piece, winning an auction, adding to my run and working towards a goal. I dont see the harm in that.

Is it sad? To some perhaps but I think its healthy to have interests. There are times when I think, if only I spent the same amount of time studying and reading then I may be earning better money but Im not so hat just tells me that Im more interested in what Im doing.

"should i really be enjoying what im doing?" Of course. You cant help what you enjoy. I dont think people who go fishing are sad, they just have a different interest to me. All of my mates know I collect Star Wars stuff and Im not embarrassed. Why should I be? They are my mates and they arent going to judge me on something like that. Ive known them since forever and collecting toys is not going to change their opinion of me.

I think what you say about how you are getting more involved with your kids through collecting is a great thing and there are plenty of others who do the same. Hust look at Burnsy buying his boy a Jawa costume so they can go trooping together. Is that a bad thing?


My mum is an antiques dealer and I have grown up around collecting. In fact, she started me off collecting. She took me to toy fairs when I was 12 and I used to spend birthday and christmas money on Star Wars. I still have a boxed Palitoy Imperial Troop Transporter that she bought me when I was about 15.


You are a much more experienced collector than myself Andy and you have reached some of your collecting goals so your outlook will obviously be different to mine.

 

[tiefighterboy]

Life is short....so whatever anybody does is not a waste of time. I sometimes get bored, but I do collect more than Star wars and that keeps my collecting hobby going. Some guys fish, hunt, gamble....I just collect harmless toys....so with that I see nothing wrong in it. It is hard sometimes to be collecting vintage star wars with all the anal whining braggart greedy people that seem to infest this hobby....but I try to stay clear of them and stick with people like me who like to collect but are somewhat based in reality.

 

[burnsy]

Great thread.

I can totally relate to your thoughts Andy, especially about getting Weasel's missus to lick my arse

I went through a period last year of about 4-5 months where I didn't buy any vintage, where as during the 3 years previous
to that I think I bought something vintage every bloody week.

I find that I drift off into different focuses which I think is healthy for a collector to keep interest.

Last year was all about getting my costumes done, then had some big vintage purchases at the end of the year.
At the moment I'm obsessed about bloody Star Wars Lego!

I don't think I'm sad, I think most of my mates are little bit envious to be honest :lol: :lol:

I have every now again over the last year stood back and looked at what I do and how much money I have spent, and I have had serious thoughts about selling part of the collection off.

I have tried curbing use of the forums as it was getting bloody silly last year as I was actively using around 6-7 forums which was just
silly as I was on the laptop all bloody night, not healthy for any relationship.

I'm a collector and it is a slight addiction. It's a harmless hobby as long as I keep to my spending limits and don't put the family in debt.

The biggest risk is my wife's tolearance levels. For example our dining room is currently covered and I seriously mean covered in boxes
of Star Wars Lego as I bought a huge job lot on Saturday. It has has three trunks of costuming gear and a huge box of Transformers that I need to sell.

I also now lose some weekends to trooping which doesn't always go down well.

Luckily I have great relationship with the missus and if I see signs that it is affecting us, I'll jack it all in.

My name is Stuart and I'm a geek and I love it 8)

Peace out

 

[Paul-itoy]

....and regarding spending time on the forums. At least you're reading about things that interest you.
I'd rather be doing this over been sat in front of Facebook all night reading about who just had a dump or whos cat just farted.

 

[Joe]

....and regarding spending time on the forums. At least you're reading about things that interest you.
I'd rather be doing this over been sat in front of Facebook all night reading about who just had a dump or whos cat just farted.

:mrgreen:

Haha


I love collecting, I loved it when I wasn't on a forum, I love it even more since 2004 when I got on a forum, I have gone and come back a few times over those years, one time I sold up for good but it always pulls me back, I think the relationship thing is important to get in check- if you are single, nobody is going to care if you are on the pc all day and night (except maybe you when you realise it wasn't a good idea) but if you have a family, especially with kids then you have to be realistic with how much of your time you put in..

At the moment I am married with no kids- I do most of my browsing whilst I am working (work on the pc) when I am not working we go out and spend time together- besides our other halves have to be kept sweet otherwise they stop us spending :lol:

 

[Imperial nut]

It was funny you posted this when you did.
As it crossed my mind too.

i have had a few star wars figures around since i was a kid but never got the out of their box, till april when i saw a shop selling vintage, i felt the urge to buy a figure "At-At commander-general Veers" which i did complete for €10, a day later i bought a beat up at-at. a week later a potf2 tie and then it all started happening.

I found this forum (after looking at rebelscum and laugh my ass off at what seemed to be hundreds of comic book store guys argueing over miniscule variations of one figure i didnt even remember from when i was a kid)
And once i had read a few posts i joined up and asked all the usual nooby questions etc.
But i loved the feeling mentioned by nurnsey, the auction win , finding a bargain, hunting down the last few.

I would sit in the pub some nights talking about whitewater kayaking and mountaineering with my mates and i sometimes felt the urge to show them a pic of the growing imperial army , or tell em about my bargain yak, but i knew they would just look at me puzzled and ask why didnt i just buy a ticket to the white nile instead??Or see it as a "investment"

And during christmas i actually thought that i should get out or calm down as in the run up to christmas went a bit nuts with the collecting.(for me)

But i think i will keep my focus and i love the imperials all lined up and i will display them soon.

I still dont get the MISB and MOC prices and their attraction , and i dont think i ever will as i dont have the disposable income, and i just prefer loose and played with as i remember them.

Nor do i get the rare/bootleg/preprod stuff collectors collecting to show other collectors. "is'nt it beautiful it's one of a kind?" "yeah i know i sold it to you" :lol:

My girlfriend reckons its a phase of aquisition of childhood memories designed to gather items which identify me,,, i reckon its a better habit than heroin.

 

[PGowdy]

Agree with so many points here i can't mention them all. The gist seems to be the same from everyone. Collecting is a hobby, hobbies are great fun and for the most part keep us all sane. I was talking in the pub about this tonight with some friends (birthday drinks) and the one thing everyone agreed on is men tend to do this kind of thing... we like things... we like to collect, to show, to have, to know about etc etc. It's part of the fun of being a guy. Whether it's football, cars, old toys whatever. I've only been collecting 9 months but i'm glad i took it up. It's been a lot of fun and i've acquired a good little collection (something i've always wanted to have) of the SW figs i grew up with and had a lot of fun learning and bantering with likeminded fools on these forums. Here's to the next 9 months and beyond...

 

[edd_jedi]

Agreed, it's all about keeping the perspective. I've read a couple of threads over on RS recently where it looks like people have run up such huge debts collecting toys that their wives have divorced them. That is crazy IMO - collecting can be fun, but it shouldn't rule your life. No grown man can put toys before more important things in life.

I actually didn't miss my stuff that much when I sold it. I'm considering starting a new small focus of some kind but I'll almost certainly keep it low key. The fun is all in the chase for me. The novelty of actually owning the stuff wears off pretty quickly.

I don't think it's sad to collect toys, but equally I think it is sad if you let it become your number one priority.

 

[plantman]

Stu, i nealry pissed myself at your reply

This is exactly the response i wanted, i needed to see how other people really felt about their collecting habits, i myself was logging onto forums all day at work (not good) and then when i got back home (which is also not good)

Ive curbed everything now and i feel much happier, and ill never stop collecting toys, i just found that going too deep into star wars turned me into something that i didnt want to be, a bit obsessive really.

The bounty hunter proof collection has highlighted how deep i will go, i dont want endless varations, colour differences ect, i just want a neat small reminder (AND NOT TO FORGET INVESTMENT)

I never wanted to sell my 21 back Fett but i sat and looked at it and thought, its very expensive, the bubble will degrade over time and/or fall off then it will be worth jack ****. So reluctantly ive had it up for sale

Wheras the proof i bought will not degrade and hold its value as its non-production material....i win both ways.

Thanks for the replies guys its good to hear them all.

Andy

 

[Josh]

.

 

[AssyrianDrummer]

I may have only just started my collecting... but i love it! Sometimes i feel like **** about lots of hobby stuff, but i just focus on something else until i get back into the swing of things.

Although my collection on loose figures needs some work. My Zuckuss is the only ****ing thing in the loose collection lol

 

[tatsie]

This is an interesting thread.

I can collect anything. Recently I came into luck with massive pile of pre decimal coins from UK, Aus, NZ and South Africa. Some of these bad boys were worth good money (especially pre 1946)

So I got reading, on forums, dealing with a bunch of old geeks and I began to get into THIS! I sold the lot and made $2000.

I watch Antiques Roadshow too and I seriously think I could get into bloody cupboards or pots or comics or paintings. Literally anything collectable and I'm down.

So apart from Star Wars and skateboards decks, I'm ready for more.

My mrs loves Tintin, so I am into finding her really old Tintin toys too. I get more enjoyment out of it than she does I think.

All in all, it's healthy to have something to keep your mind occupied and to not think about the serious things in life too much. As that'll kill you.

 

[Imperial nut]

yeah tatsie,,, everything gives you cancer,,, except cancer. focus then refocus.

although having said that i am considering keeping my loose run and one or two ships and selling a pile of other bits,, just to ease the january finances.

 

[TWOFOOT]

As I have only be recollecting for a few months I have come to a decision that it was more fun the last time I was collecting. So I have decided not to get to carried away with my loose collection this time and focus on my full size collection again.
Some of you may remember my full size stormtrooper, sand person and jawa.
To be honest these gave me far more enjoyment than my vintage collection as you can actually interact with them (and now I have kids they will love them).
So as much as I love my vintage figures I think I will put the collecting of them on hold for a while before I go down the dark route of mint, baggies and variants again.