You Always Remember Your First Love... of Collecting!

[Wee67]

WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING YOU COLLECTED?

I don't really consider trying to get all the Mego WGSH when I was a kid collecting. I did want them all, but that was so I could play with them, not simply for the sake of having them. I never thought I could realistically get all the Wacky Packages so, while I bought them when I could get some change, I never made a sincere effort to collect them all.

For some reason, I did think I could manage to round up all the Canada Dry ginger ale cans with pictures of the Stanley Cup Champion Philadelphia Flyers. I would sift through the cans at Wawa, trying to find another I didn't have. Of course, I didn't have the funds or the time to collect them all, but it is the first thing I remember making a conscious effort to collect.

[PNGwynne]

The first things I collected were Star Wars figures, they lured me from Mego. The carry-cases and annual JCPenney catalogue sets made me want to "collect them all."

[MRP]

Collecting was never a realistic concern when I was a kid because a) we were usually broke and I was lucky to get what little I did, and b) we moved a lot, and every time we did I had to get rid of a bunch of the stuff that had accrued since the last time we moved, often books and toys. It wasn't until I was in high school and working to make my own money that the possibility of collecting became a reality, and by that time I was heavy into comics and trying to get a full run of Avengers was my goal. However, the one thing I was trying to get all of as a kid was the Hardy Boys books. It was more an attempt to read them all than own them all though. I had a checklist and had checked off the ones I owned, and then put a different mark next to ones I had read from the library or borrowed from schoolmates. Around the same time, I also used to try to get all the baseball cards of Red Sox players in each year's Topps release, but again these were limited attempts due to circumstances.

-M

[DaniellePlaysWithToys]

Strawberry Shortcake. The 80s version. Started when I was 7 and saw Cherry Cuddler in a modern (at the time) Strawberry Shortcake book. Looking her up, I came across Mint Tulip's Garden Tea Party (may that site RIP) and eventually got my mom to buy a few dolls off eBay, which included Apple Dumplin' and the Purple Pieman. Next time I bought a batch of SSC dolls, it had Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, and came with the strawberry carrying case. My mom continued buying dolls for me until 2013. I WILL buy the remaining dolls someday.

[Nostalgiabuff]

yeah, Star Wars was probably the first for me too. I was 5 when the movie came out, 6 when the figures finally hit, and yeah, I wanted them all. By the time the line ended I pretty much had them all too. I was missing a few ships and play sets and the Yak Face figure, which I never even knew existed at that time

[ToyTalk]

My family didn't really have any money so collecting anything was kind of difficult so I kept it cheap, comic books. At the time I started they were .15 cents per book. I could afford to get Captain America each month.

[msenger76]

while wanting all my toys, i too never consider it as a "collect them all" type thing. Now the first thing that i spent so much time and so many quarters trying to collect were the Coca-Cola Walt Disney World 15th anniversary cans and small bottles with the foam sleeves. i never wanted anything diet or minute maid or tab....but you had to do it to collect them all.

and i never finished either set

[Paperback hero]

Had some Megos, Big Jim, Star Wars and GiJoe RAH, but hockey sticker albums were my first "gotta get em all" thing. We didn't have much money, and my parents weren't hunting toy stores for every figure. Sticker albums were cheap, and you could see the end product by filling in all the spots.

I think my first complete line of figures was Secret Wars....an easy 8.

[glimpy]

The 1st thing I ever started to collect were wacky packages trading card stickers. However I really got serious in 1977 with Star Wars action figures.

[J.B.]

Never saw this commercial, but it was the very first thing I started collecting.

[Bruce Banner]

Mego's 3.75" Comic Action Heroes line was the first thing I ever collected, followed shortly thereafter by Kenner Star Wars.

[Timothy2251]

Same as most here - Megos were my first ever "Collect 'Em All!", followed by Star Wars.

[RonnyG]

I think the very first thing I remember collecting in an obsessive manner were Bubblegum trading cards. I would spend my allowance each week on Bionic Woman card packs until I got a complete set. It was my favorite TV show as a kid, and I still have them to this day. I also collected Charlie's Angels, Star Wars, and Grease trading cards. I also collected the Star Wars figures until I had a complete set of the original 12.

[rayray]

The very, very, very first things I remember collecting were shells on Rockaway Beach. Then I started to collect the Upsy Downsy toys and the Kooky Spookys. Never did get them all!

[J.B.]

The very, very, very first things I remember collecting were shells on Rockaway Beach.

Dee Dee sells seashells by the seashore.