Anyone else at a toy collecting crossroads?

[powersthatbe]

Due to the seriousness of Covid and other world events,I'm actually enjoying toys and comics more now as an escape. I was getting to a point of overwhelming stuff I have so like in my storage place I condensed a whole bunch of figures and dipped into reading old comics(the Stargirl show for instance got me into reading all star squadron and infinity inc

[hedrap]

SELL.

You need to know it's point. Is it an investment? A flip? A display piece? Nostalgia?

I have a ton of stuff I've been meaning to list for months. Has to be done. Sucks a boatload of time, but it has to be grinded out.

Once you get stuff moving out of the way, you'll feel better. It's like The Purge, but with plastic people.

[rykerw1701]

It's like The Purge, but with plastic people.

Love this comparison!

[Mr.Marion]

I haven't bought much since April, not many things are on my want list. I'm happy with what I already have (said no collector ever)

[Myoldtoys]

I haven't bought much since April, not many things are on my want list. I'm happy with what I already have (said no collector ever)

You writing about not buying much prompted me to go check my eBay purchase history. Couple of broken GI Joe figures for repair projects, 2 x 3.75 mego draco‘s (carded one I bought was all rusty. Bought second to transfer cape to), knievel helmet to replace another, original stunt cycle instructions, and an original mego tricorder for uhura. Very short amount of enjoyment from those items.

This weekend might be rainy. If so, I will take the advice and start looking through for things to sell.

[Makernaut]

I'm winding down. I want to get some reproduction boxes for some GI JOE, Captain Action and Mego WGSH figures that I want to keep and get some comics bagged and boarded.

Next phase is going to be to start selling off a bunch of miscellaneous things I had fun collecting, but don't have room to display as nicely as I'd like. More to the point, things I don't feel connected to enough to feel motivated to make room for displaying. I went through a 15 year phase where I had a lot of fun playing the long game of waiting to find various bits and pieces to clean up, repair, or get high-quality reproduction bits to cobble together a nice, loose figure. That was pretty fulfilling but at the end of that road there are a lot of loose figures and bits for customizing and repair that are just sitting in boxes when someone else could use it for building their collection. I'd rather see someone else enjoy them than just have it all boxed up.

[PNGwynne]

I guess I'm winding down, but I still want vintage SMDM, more DC Imaginext, and MOTU Origins.

And I still have two vintage Mego "grail" items that I want.

[hedrap]

I'm winding down. I want to get some reproduction boxes for some GI JOE, Captain Action and Mego WGSH figures that I want to keep and get some comics bagged and boarded.

Next phase is going to be to start selling off a bunch of miscellaneous things I had fun collecting, but don't have room to display as nicely as I'd like. More to the point, things I don't feel connected to enough to feel motivated to make room for displaying. I went through a 15 year phase where I had a lot of fun playing the long game of waiting to find various bits and pieces to clean up, repair, or get high-quality reproduction bits to cobble together a nice, loose figure. That was pretty fulfilling but at the end of that road there are a lot of loose figures and bits for customizing and repair that are just sitting in boxes when someone else could use it for building their collection. I'd rather see someone else enjoy them than just have it all boxed up.

This is sooo close to where I've been. The one thing I truly miss is rebuilding. Nothing was better than buying a lot, finding the other pieces and cleaning it up. I completed every line I wanted this way. Now, lot prices have gone psychotic and the parts division is a nightmare. A few weeks ago, I started doing totally random searches, and I realized afterwards it was because I miss the high from finding hidden auctions.

I keep expecting to focus more on customizing but each time I get close to finishing one, I don't a similar feeling like I did nearly twenty years when I was cutting and gluing figures together.

[mike69]

I too believe that this pandemic has put a damper on a lot of us!!! I was buying the new Mego monsters from Target and Walmart. Now everything is back ordered or not available anymore. It's very hard to find things now!! I know you can buy things on Ebay but, who wants to spend 3 or 4 times the amount that a retailer charges.. On one hand, I have been thinking about either down sizing or just sell everything I have. Then on the other hand, I look at how long and how much I spent to get my collection!

[cjefferys]

I've been winding down for awhile now, and this year I came to the decision I'm about done buying old toys (I haven't bought modern stuff in years and definitely have no desire to do so now), except perhaps for the odd inexpensive piece that really strikes my fancy. It's a combination of burnout, a very uncertain future for the world, and I'm now at the age where I'm beginning the "you can't take it with you" line of thinking. I'll always keep a small core of my collection, I could never get rid of everything, but the rest will be sold to help with my kids' college tuition and for the eventual downsizing once the kids move out. We have plans how and where we will want to live when that time comes, and I honestly don't think a room chock full of old toys is in that future. But I'm going to need to wait until shipping gets back to "normal" (especially in the US!) and toy shows are viable for me again, before I can start the downsizing process. It's definitely coming though.

[melstapler]

You nailed it. That is another part of where i’m at that I didn’t mention. I don’t have any friends that share this hobby. No one else that can relate or I can share with in person. That is why I am on this forum. For that camaraderie. When I don’t interact with this group, it is just a bunch of stuff in the closet.

That makes sense, as most of my friends either collect records, guitars and amps or parts for building kit cars and restoring classic cars. I don't have many friends who collect figures apart from one or two who buy comic books and busts. I used to collect in previous decades, but had stopped until about 2012 thanks to an obsession with customizing and also new lines by companies such as NECA. I've been a record collector for several decades, focusing heavily on vinyl and CDs especially in the genres of jazz, rock, classic country and blues. With tens of thousands of music titles, I'm no stranger to clutter or the art of organizing and curating a large collection. This means having one room devoted to music and another devoted to figures. With the deaths of many musicians I enjoy in recent years and not to mention the 2020 pandemic which has decimated the music industry and put a halt on many in-person live concerts, this year has allowed me to shift the focus to more customizing and buying modern figure lines by FTC, Hasbro and Mezco 1:12. Although the modern figure lines don't have the sentimental value of the classic ones, I've been very impressed with the way certain characters have been represented by toy companies in recent years. Not to mention, the articulation and detail has improved a great deal and for that reason, it's a great time to be part of the action.