How has collecting changed in the last 30 years for you?

[TrueDave]

I started collecting as a hobby in the mid 1980s. Sometimes I miss The Toy newspaper, scouring the classified in my local paper, sending out S.A.S.Es and long distance phone calls .

Back then I made more great finds and actually made a profit on dealing. And it was almost solely Vintage.

[Mikey]

I almost miss the old days collecting pre-internet.

For me collecting was more intense.

From a collecting standpoint it was a lonely time but it paid off in different ways.

Hard to explain

[Cmonster]

The answer to that question for me isn't a post, it's a novel. Maybe some day I'll write it.

SC

[Doc]

Instant, short packed collectibles on a new line. Thats ridiculous.

[SeattleEd]

Lazy.
With the advent of the internet coming into the equation, and getting older, I've just lost all interest in the pursuit. Once in a blue moon if something is rare, and it's been a long time for me with toys, I pursue it. If it's on Ebay.
In the wild, if I see something along my trip ventures then I'll pick it up but only if it's worth it.
Only things I collect now are records and toys of interest. Sold a lot of my records and toys but only kept the rare ones or sentimental ones. I plan on passing these along to my kids.
I use to collect Rickenbacker basses, mostly the rare 4005 hollowbody model but that got too expensive. Sold all those as well.
I guess just like having a small concentrated collection of things that mean something since I don't literally own them, they are "borrowed" until the next person/people "borrows" them. But for now, I enjoy them and let my kids see that as well.

[Brue]

in the past 30 years?

1980 I was hunting down mego WGSH but they we rarely went places where they were sold. In 81 I found an ad in a comic -you know the ones with the artwork- i got Green Goblin and Wonder girl. I was still adding some figs to my star wars collection too. Within a year after that I put my toys away. I wound up with 15 megos and 2 cars. I had a few dozen SW figures the MF and a couple accessories. I was into collecting Trading Cards - I had/have the yellow and green series complete, superman and other things. I had less than a long box of comics - all well read. I had collected some other random Superhero and Sci Fi stuff nut without a much money or ability to get stuff my collection was limited.

1982-1993 the decade+ of not collecting. Partly due to lost interest but also because I thought my circle of friends wouldn't really relate. And what girl in college is impressed with your doll collection?

1989 batman started to turn public opinion of super heros. i came out of the closet and announce i was a geek. it would still be a few years before the collection came out and started to grow.

1990 or so I put up 13 of my 15 megos (isis and WG did not make the trip through time) - at a party in college conan was stolen and Joker was destroyed. I packed them away again.

1994 me, my girlfriend and her best friend started watching x-men, spider-man, batman and tick animated weekly. i set up my remaining 11 WGSH. i also set up the first 21 SW figs and accessories.
My wife picked up a SW fig for me at a vintage toy store. I started buying some other things.

Then I went hay wire - I was stopping at multiple stores multiple times a week. I was buying up everything DC and marvel. I got obsessive. I picked up an Aquaman from a magazine ad and a couple othe megos and SW toys from used toy shops and the EBAY in 1997 the megoing commenced. I was also scouring through discount comics and back issues.
by 1999 I had filled a house with this stuff. It got to the point that some things would not be able to be displayed. I was not borrowing money to buy toys but i had outstanding debt so it mad no sense to keep buying stuff. i was being irresponsible. i had a ton of fun hunting down stuff and I loved that period of my life. I still have some of it. but ...

I decided that starting in 2000 I would be reducing the size of my collection.
Selling on eBay was fun for a while but as i dealt withe the rare but ruin it for everyone type buyer and ebay's ever changing rules it lost its luster. I also sold off comics. i actually made a profit on some items but as a whole i lost money. - since it was for a personal collection and not for profit to start with i was happy to just lose a little.

As i sold stuff in general my mego collection grew.

I continued to buy stuff on ebay and on the museum. i love CTVT and bought all the Mego replicas they made.

buy 2009 my kids started taking up more room and i lost some interest in mego completeness. for me a lot of the joy in the collection was the collecting so once i had all the figures i wanted i just started selling them off.

now i am down to the 37 WGSH , treks, apes, oz, chips, dukes, and a few others - about 100 megos. i have only star wars figures from star wars and empire strikes back. I have THe falcon and the enterprise anging. There are some random othe figs on display and my kids have all of my mattel DC heroes in their toybox - they play with them regularly.

This year I hope to get a table at an aug toy show locally to unload my comics (7 long boxes) - in '11 i'll bring the remnants of my toys to mego meet again.

my WGSH (minus maybe TT and SIs) and first 21 SW + Falcon are not going anywhere for a long time but everything else is subject to possible reduction.

Now I still like to collect so it is fun to get the free cards that are free and take up little space. I find other little things to collect as well. I also have cycled back to athletics again - which is where I went when I first left collecting. I am obsessive with my training logs - basically collecting mileage. Collecting is in our genes no denying it.

[fallensaviour]

The ability to use the Internet for collecting purposes has been both a blessing and a curse.
It has given us the ability to gain access to items you would probably never see or obtain in your area.
Unfortunately it has made every person out there believe there broken toys and torn comics are worth millions and super or Very,very RARE!!!

[BlackKnight]

I rarely ever find a Piece in the store today, that I purchase. Most items are boughten on the Internet. I also have a Comicbook store I frequent ..., I never had 1 of those when I was a Kid...., I woulda lost my mind in there, like my Son does today.

[highquality]

1982-1989: Vintage Comics Collector. I bought most of my stuff from comic shops and Mile High.

1989-1995: Vintage Star Wars Collector. I bought most of my stuff from Toy Shops and Trade Ads.

1995-1997: Mego Collector. I bought most of my stuff from Toy Shops, Trade Mags and Toy Shows.

1997- 2008: Mego Collector. Nearly all of my toys were purchased on ebay.

2008 - 2010: Mego and Foreign Mego Collector. I buy sell and trade most of my toys right here at the Mego Museum. Ebay now charges a fortune and is hardly worth it anymore.

[TrueDave]

"now I collect milage!" GREAT!

With EBay making things easier Theres little "hunt" anymore.

" A thing in the hand isnt as sweet as the pursuit"

I remember the first and only time I bribed a Toy Store guy for a Batman Animated figure.