Collector Mentality

[palitoy]

On Friday, my wife asked if we could go look for Beach glass for a project she was working on. So the whole family carted down to the beach for the evening.

Finding beach glass isn't easy, you really have to look through a pile of stones to find a single piece. The coloured pieces are easier to see but the white ones really rare because you they're invisible.

I got totally lost in doing this, not even paying attention to time.

It dawned on me in the car, that vibe I was getting is the same reason I get up early and flea market, do toy shows and hit antique malls. It's why I collect old toys and not new ones, it's the hunt.

I'm sure motivations for collecting are different from person to person, but this little activity kind of taught me about mine.

Also, I learned I hate it when there is sand on the bed.

[Mikey]

I've always wondered what's the line between rare beach glass and litter ?

Or is the line in the of the beholder ?

[EMCE Hammer]

"I can't deny it, with that smile on my face. It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase."

I get really pumped when I find something. I love the thrifts and yard sales. I don't really expect to find anything good, just......something. This weekend I took home a free Peg Perego ride-on tractor with no hood and four busted wheels. Because I could.

[HardyGirl]

For me it's just the opposite, (big surprise, I always go against the grain!), I could care less about the hunt. I just want the toy. I want to get it home and play w/ it, display it, look at it. I don't wanna hunt for it. I'd rather see it readily available.

[Wee67]

For me its more of a mix. I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when I track something down or come across a find in the wild. I also love the feeling of finding a deal on someone else's "trash." On the other hand, if the find seems too difficult or unlikely, it may dissaude me from even trying. 12" GI Joe seems like a really cool line to which I do have some sentimental attachment, but getting all that stuff seems too daunting.

[SeattleEd]

I did this with my daughter when she was 3 and we scoured the local beaches. Common colors for us were white, amber and green. Hardest were cobalt blue and red.
We would only gather the ones that were smooth and opaque. Any sharp edges ones I would throw back into the ocean so that it would eventually smooth out over time and someone else can pick it up in the future.
Times does by fast for the fact of it being so relaxing. It taught my daughter to be patient and persistent in search, just like collecting and hunting for your hobby.
I too enjoy the old and hunting for the rare, like records, Rickenbacker basses and toys.

[megocrazy]

The Hunt, it's all about the hunt. I'd rather dig through a box, under a table, and find something way off the beaten path. I could have finished my WGSH collection a hundred times but just won't do it by simply spending the money. I need to find it and the better the deal the sweeter the purchase. I love finding vintage Star Wars action figures for a quarter, let's say, and I don't even collect them. I just trade em off for something I want. Flea markets, yard sales, ebay hidden auctions, second hand stores, doesn't matter. I'll hit em all in search of stuff, even stuff I don't collect myself. Somebody does and they might have what I want.

[spamn]

For me it's just the opposite, (big surprise, I always go against the grain!), I could care less about the hunt. I just want the toy. I want to get it home and play w/ it, display it, look at it. I don't wanna hunt for it. I'd rather see it readily available.

I'm in this camp as well. Ebay and this site turned me into a hardcore collector, but I'm really not about the thrill of the chase. In fact, hunting over hill and dale for the DC Universe and Marvel Legend figure line have pretty much cured me of the hunt. I put a lot of miles, gas, and hours into tracking that stuff down instead of paying an extra $5-10 for not having the hassle to get to the same place.

It might be different if I'd come up through the flea market/curio shop trade wheeling and dealing for my collection, but I didn't.

It's the having, not the getting, for me.

[vulcan2074]

When it comes to me and my collecting, I really Love the hunt.
It's such a great feeling for a long journey to come to the end.
It makes it more worth wild then being able to go anywhere and easily picking it up.
I feel like I've accomplished something great.
Sammy

[Meule]

To me the thrill of the hunt is half the fun of collecting

[cjefferys]

Yep the hunt is great. It's such a rush when you find something really good "in the wild". And that kinda makes up for all the other times of frustration when you come up empty. I just had a lot of that last week.

[DocDrako]

I'm all about the thrill of the hunt.

I always look for items of "Mego" use when shopping. I love the possibility of discovering something, like the accessories included with an action figure that might be WAY too big for the action figure but perfect for my "Megos" back home. It's a win/win. My son is happy with just the figure, I'm happy with just the accessories.

The hunt is where it's at!

[Blue Meanie]

Anyone that wants to see where the hunt leads you...should look at my tables at MegoMeet Seriously. If it weren't for the hunt I would have been done with Megos back in '04/'05. It's what keeps you going in collecting.

[Joe90]

The Thrill of the Hunt!

Interspersed with long periods of hunting and finding nothing.

I haven't done any garage sale/flea market hunting for a long, long time. There was so little of what I was after (GI Joe) and what was there was either trashed or crazy expensive. Once eBay hit the scene I decided to spend my money there, as opposed to my time and gas on driving.

I envy you folks who live in bigger centers where vintage toys are still quite plentiful. My hometown has grown from 250,000 in 1967 to over a million now. Most of the vintage stuff is long gone.

[mightyquinn]

The hunt make for a fun, but hard working day. I usually end up finding something neat that I wasn't even looking for.