edd_jedi said:
The good news is that as long as you put in a bit of effort and buy wisely (eg avoid Bryans Toys) you're unlikely to lose much money on anything you buy, you may even make money on some things when the time comes to sell. So I wouldn't worry about, for example, spending your disposable income on the hobby as you can always sell later. Look at it like a savings account!
However what you really need to ensure you do is stay in control and don't buy above your means. Don't use credit cards, loans, borrow money, sell other stuff, deprive your kids of food etc to fund the hobby. THAT is when it is out of control. It may sound stupid, but there was a story a while back on RS about a guy that ended up having to sell his house after a divorce because he had spent so much money on toys
The voice of reason..hats off to you Edd...great advice, and worth paying attention to for anyone taking up the hobby.
Great advice to buy wisely, my advice would be to spend some time on this forum, looking at historical information and the experiences of the seasoned collectors on here, learn from that and take it on board.
Decide on an area you want to concentrate on, in line with your budget,
I.e. MOCS, loose figures, playsets, loose vehicles, boxed vehicles, or maybe childhood figures you had and you want to own again. DON'T buy on a whim, and try to be structured in your Approach, or you will find that you just own SW branded items, as opposed to starting a collection for you!
When you make purchases, ALWAYS look at the for sale threads on here, or put up a Wanted. Request for what your looking for, the guys on here will look after you and provide you with genuine SW pieces, and you are not taking a chance on eBay for example, whit repro weapons or dodgy deals.
There are some great sellers on here, very fair prices, and genuine SW goodness :!:
Personally for me, it's about owning a piece of SW history, and condition is not the priority,
The other thing to remember, is that there is a vast wealth of knowledge on this forum, and the guys on here are happy to answer questions, and it's surprising what you learn.
Aside from all of the advice....have fun with it, after all it's a hobby,
Welcome on board pal,
