Anyone here ever lose his or her "toy collecting spirit"?

[jds1911a1]

I have never lost my love for toys, the remogo era has been alot of fun and the first time in several years, I have been excited for newly produced toys, that said I would have loved to be able go into a toy store and buy them off the shelf for that nostalgic feel (which was the only good that came from the mattel retro line) buying from a comic store, or the web today just isn't the same. And it's great to play megos with my kids. Repros make the play safe LOL

The 12 in ch anniversary reissue joes were fun unitl they got lazy and just started to reissue what had already been reissued as new store exclusives (of course I had already bought many vintage joes at high dollar price in the 5 years before the reissue came out so it shot my "value" out of the water for many of them) That pain was like what many harcore vintage collectors of mego fans felt with the modern reissues. I am actually glad that the Joe reissues happened when they did it got that venom out my system to let me enjoy the re-mego era alot more.

The bad thing about getting to the point when you only need a couple of rare grail items there is alot of looking and no payoff- it's kind of like saying Boy if I could just get that Aquaman and the great white shark my colleciton would be completed.

I was able to complete my Super powers "extended" line last year when I got the Estrella brazil BLACK 89 film super powers mold batman (think if the prototype on the back of the toybiz card but not a hand paint) and gulliver's el Capitan Rey a couple years back (an odd superman redeco took me a decade to find)
There are still a handfull of Foreign produced joes I need/want but they NEVER come up for sale including 3 funskool 3 Inch RAH style joes to replace ones I had to sell when money was too tight a few years back (but they are just too rare), I still look regualrly but they just aren't there.

[cjefferys]

Over the past 30 years or so of collecting, I've certainly gone into periods of slowdown (I'm kind of in one now, buying wise) and periods of outright dormancy, but I've never tossed in the towel and sold everything I had. I always know I'll be coming back. I don't buy very much new stuff these days (thank god, because the amount of new product these days is overwhelming!). I really haven't since the 90's, luckily I stopped before the modern Star Wars stuff hit, so I didn't waste any money there. I mostly focus on vintage, and luckily there are still tons of vintage items I want and don't have, so I'll likely never lose interest in hunting down stuff I need.

[Goblin19]

Mine has never gone away, but it has gone up and down. I usually focus on a different toy collection, but sometimes take as little break.

[MegoMoe]

Mine has never gone away, but it has gone up and down. I usually focus on a different toy collection, but sometimes take as little break.

Same here... Two years ago I only focused on Universal Monsters, last year it was X-Plus Godzilla (that was pricey), and this year it will be mostly Megos. But some of the NECA Aliens and PotAs will suck me in too.

[Iron Mego]

I lost mine last year a little bit, and ironically it was taken away by the same thing that took it away when I was a kid. We go to the coast almost every year for the 4th of July and I kind of got hooked on old surf design and culture again, just like I did back when Fast Times at Ridgemont High came out. It was really weird to have it happen again, but it didn't last that long and now I'm pretty much back into the toys.

[Chippupperty]

Mine is on the down side right now......I selectively went thru things and started selling some

[Dark Shadow]

Yes. And these are some of the reasons why:

Lines introduced, then canceled before making it to production.
Lines making it to production, then canceled after 1 or 2 waves.
Increasing poor production quality in surviving lines (paint detail especially).
Ever rising prices (coupled with lower quality).
Products not available in brick and mortar stores (can't examine item prior to purchase).
Products not living up to the anticipated prototype designs.

What used to be fun & rewarding seems to have become a game of chance with way too many disappointments in between noteworthy scores.

[samurainoir]

I think I got burned out after the glut of Star Wars stuff in the late nineties. My main hobbies in the early 2000's were training and competing in athletic activities. Eventually found my way back to toys through Megos.

I probably would have lost interest again if it was just vintage stuff, but between the ReMegos and such a lively costume community, it feels like every dream figure is in reach these days.

That is the beauty of Mego being a FORMAT rather than just one property (like Star Wars or GI Joe). It encompasses so many different properties and genres.

[raycastile]

I think I got burned out on collecting some time in the 90s. But I'm still here.

[Gorn Captain]

Some great insights here, and they do help me put it into perspective.

After many years of collecting, you do get a feeling of "been there done that". I don't get that rush anymore of finding something that seemed impossible to find, like it was years back. Now it's a matter of money, and how much you can spend.

There's also so much on offer, sometimes all you can see is "the stuff you can't get because you already bought this or that". Like, I bought one SW figure but had to leave nine on the shelf.
In the end, you feel you missed out on too much.

It's also a period in my life that I'm forced to sell some great pieces to make ends meet. And sometimes even for a price I feel is just too low (darn economy!!!).
What I basically do, is when I sell something for $100, I use $10 of that for a new purchase. To soften to blow. You lose something, put $90 in the bank, and you get a little something in return that you didn't have (but is a lot cheaper).

It's a combination of factors, I guess.

I think I'm going to dial it all down, especially the new stuff which is endless, and focus (modestly) on vintage Mego. I have plenty of these, but still missing some. It's a finite collection, and you know that there aren't any new surprises down the road. And with Mego, I have to say, I still feel the love, that hasn't gone away.

[enyawd72]

^Just guzzle the blood of a newborn baby during the next full moon and you'll consume it's precious soul and be completely re-energized. Mwahahahahahahaha! Uhh...that's what I heard anyway.

[kerowack]

There are rare moments when I'm totally content with my collection and not buy stuff for long stretches. But then I'll see another persons collection online and a seed will grow. If I don't see myself reselling the new want(history if that), I dive in. Currently looking for big rubber ljn wrestlers.

[palitoy]

Many times, sometimes because I feel I had too much (which would see a purge), sometimes because of a run in with another collector (emotional immaturity is my kryptonite) or just the overall malaise.

I took a page out of someone smarter's book that I should be collecting friends more than toys and while I still have collecting goals, I sort of view myself as semi retired.

Customs have been sort of my recent focus, so instead of getting big boxes of toys, I get big boxes of chemicals and fabric. There isn't really a wrong way to do things, as long as it's a source of joy.

[ScottA]

I think it's pretty common. It happened to me especially when my collection was in storage for so long. It just made me sad I couldn't see and enjoy it. Now that I'm working on my toy room the fire burns bright. Sure, I'm still selling off things I've decided I don't want anymore or discovered I have doubles on, but that just makes the room that much better.

There are few new lines I care about now that the DCUC is over. The DC Total Heroes have my attention though.

[Godzilla]

Over the last couple of years I've shifted my collecting focus. I work with a charity in southern Ohio (really poor Appalachia country) that collects and donates gently used toys for kids at Christmas. They fill their building with stuff and around the beginning of December parents can come in and pick out things for their kids. I buy boxes of Legos and my kids help me sort through them and clean them up. Plus they can pick out a couple of things for themselves. I think it's an absolute blast and the sorting is so much fun my wife, who is not info toys, has volunteered to help out.My kids are excited this weekend to go through 2 boxes of legos I got in the mail yesterday.

Like others I still have a few things I collect for myself, but I really enjoy collecting for the charity more.