Quitting/putting collecting on pause

yojoebro82 said:
Like clockwork, my BBTS fed Ex shipment goes from Maple Grove, MN (20 minutes away from me) to Kansas. Every time. Ugh.

Well, I should still get it tomorrow. Then after that I have nothing on preorder until April when the glorious Balrog and E Honda Jada figures are supposed to come in. There is really nothing on my radar between now and then. It's a good feeling and Imma do some saving.

Don't know why I decided to put this here......
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If it makes you feel any better, I once had a package that was at a hub about half an hour from me in NY, go back to the state it was shipped from (Kansas), then to Kentucky, then to Texas, back up to Kentucky, then to Wisconsin, then it finally got delivered, and was about as smashed up as you'd expect. This was maybe a decade ago now, and I still have no idea what the hell happened. I used to have the tracking info with the journey printed out, because it was the most bonkers thing I'd seen, and nobody at USPS could explain what happened.

My recent BBTS shipment went to Minnesota for a few days before heading out my way, to NY. Not the biggest deal, obviously, but weird that it would go the opposite direction. If your shipment ever gets stuck in Kansas again, let me know, and I'll tell my family to go grab it for ya and toss it your way! 🤪
 
First off, I've read this thread since it began, and it's honestly very helpful and comforting to read everyone's thoughts, and how they handle their collecting. Because while collecting is fun, it can be annoying, a hassle, and cause negative feelings sometimes.

And when that happens, you know you need to make changes. And that is definitely something I have done over the last couple years and am doing now as well.

I will never simply quit buying toys. It's always fun and feels good to pick up a toy or figure and mess with it. But I am 43 now. I don't want to full blown collect a bunch of lines and just keep accumulating tons of toys month after month the rest of my life.

So, I have really cut down (even though it may not sound like it) For modern toys all I get is MOTU Origins/Masterverse, GI Joe Classifieds, Marvel legends, Star Wars Black Series, and some here and there Batman figures.

I am not a completest with GI Joe, Star Wars, Marvel, or Batman/DC. I just get certain things. But even with that, I keep thinking, what do I like seeing the most? What gives me the best "feels" and looks the coolest to me?

And the answer was oddly simple. Masters of the Universe, and vintage toys from my childhood. I kept telling myself when Origins and Masterverse were done for MOTU, I'd be done with MOTU. But why? Why keep collecting other lines and put a cutoff on what has always meant the most.

Make no mistake, I don't NEED any more MOTU. I have damn near all of it from the 80's to now. But it's what I love.

So, I really think I will cut back even more on all the other lines, because I have enough and more than I ever thought I would and just focus more on what makes me happiest. MOTU and vintage. And isn't that what it's really all about? What makes you happiest. Not trying to feel some level of accomplishment, not trying to impress anyone, not trying to "get or chase it all". Just what you like to see and what makes you feel good.

Luckily, I have most of the vintage toys from the 80's and 90's I'd ever want. But they are the kind of thing surely here and there I'd always pick something up just because of good memories and nostalgia.

And when it comes to modern MOTU, I remember I even said on here, I would try and not get the Movie Masters of the Universe figures. Because I have enough. Yet, I was going to keep buying Marvel, DC, GI Joe, random other modern things, which don't get me wrong, I really like but aren't near as special or important as MOTU. Why would I do that? How could I wait my entire life for another MOTU film and not enjoy the toys and the moment?

I might be half an idiot folks. But I just sat and thought about it, I feel like for the most part with everything else I have enough and don't need to buy as much, and need to just put my money, time, and space what has meant the most since I was a kid.

I'll always buy Star Wars Black Series and Marvel legends, probably even GI Joe as long as the current lines are made. But I just feel I can get less, not be so completest, and just really put the most care and attention now to a much more refined, smaller group of things in MOTU and some here and there vintage toys.


I need to get rid of some stuff I have slowly too. Get rid of some old, take in less going forward, and just enjoy what means most.
 
That's a really good point... I mean, Black Series and Legends I set caps. I made a list and once it's done, i can stop and just enjoy having. Classified, i made a list of what I wanted but there were so many others I was into and kist jad a lot of fun adding to the collection. I've said before but that line gave me joy the way the others haven't in years, so like @Super Camel said, why limit that? Yeah, i have only so much shelf space but beyond that, fuck it.
 
There's a toy show locally in mid June that I had a table at a few years ago, when it was at a much smaller location.
It's at one of the state fairgrounds now, and I can get a 10ft x 10ft space, which would save me on having to ship multiple online sales items.
I also found some of the 3 3/4" modern Joes I had been getting from the 25th anniversary/ROC era that I had bagged and priced for that previous show, that didn't sell, when I was moving things to a new storage unit for moving into the new house next month.

Moving into the house in March would give me half of that month, plus April and May to sort through things to bring to the show to sell.
 
Right now I'm very close to the end of my pre-order lists. There's a couple still waiting to come in on BBTS and two on Amazon, plus that Savage Crucible Elric, but that's effectively the end of my list for the lines I'm collecting. There's stuff I could go for, but it's all niche and may never be produced, and if it is it'll take months or years to all come out, and that's ok. I made a pseudo impulse buy on Enfys Nest, but I'd been eyeballing her for years and I spent less money on her than a coke from the vending machine, so it was an easy call. My final total will be just over 160 figures. I could see pushing as high as 175 through one-offs that catch my eye, but I really want to stick to that cap if possible. We'll see how this year goes for my collecting and if I can stick to it.

I've made the shift so my money is now diverting to diorama and display materials. We've got pretty much all the figures, time to give them nice homes to live in. I feel like that will take me a good long while and be a fun, fulfilling new hobby. The sentinel factory I think will be my big ongoing project, with small dios along the way to test builds (I'll definitely be putting together an armory in the next few months since I 100% have all the necessary stuff for that).
 
The only preorders that look to be coming in within the next month at BBTS are the Ramen Toys sewer lair (if it's on track) and the 4H Mythic Legions bear, and Mondo's RGB Winston (I would wager within a month), and that Blackstone Conan whenever he ships. I have about 6 preorders at 5K Toys (the Monkey King monkey minions, and a few anime girls) that should be hitting any time now.

I have 2 KS projects that are close. The Laurel & Hardy figures are in the US now, and shipping will be charged within a few days, and I have an art KS from YouTuber Jazza that's about ready to ship to the US and get sent out.

I have 4 AliExpress items already en route, a retro female Crimson Guard preordered at Amazon,, and another 5-6 preorders at BBTS, and the JoyToy TMNT turtle van on preorder at Bombusbee.

I'm trying NOT to preorder anything else right now.
 
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I lapsed recently and spent $90 on three figures. This hobby is too expensive.

Todd's page puncher Hal Green Lantern, Barry Flash, and Jay Flash.

Hal's price is already offset. I sold the golden age digital one for the cost of the newest one. That's a wash.

The Barry will either be returned or I'll sell the Flashpoint version that I have which is essentially the same figure with differences so minuscule it makes me embarrassed that I'm even playing this game.

Jay is cool but I have a minimal connection to the character. So I guess I'm deciding if I want $60 back or be happy with $30 back and one figure.

Overall this is the kind of stuff I want to quit doing all together.
 
YES!! I'm tired of the mental math of collecting.

I'm not a big fan of the new Spidey Retro wave characters. I like the Venom Spidey facesculpt, I don't have a 2099, and Owl and Cardiac always get talked about so they had my interest. I picked up three with good paint as I found them. Target finally listed the new Spidey Retro wave, of which I've only seen a few in store. This coincided with a 15% off coupon specific to me (I think) so I bought all six because it brought them down to $20.

I really don't think I want Nightcrawler at all and Hypno Hustler does nothing for me, especially with the visible mold line running down the center of his afro - that's offensive engineering. But I figured better to grab them all at this low price now and have four months to figure out if I want to keep them. Also, I'm not opening them because work is very slow and I may have to return them on that front. I have hope things will pick up, but if they don't...

But that's the game these days. And without BAF pieces, I can't even make any money back on these. And that's the "fun" of my collecting at the moment and I hate it.
 
JakeEkiss said:
Right now I'm very close to the end of my pre-order lists. There's a couple still waiting to come in on BBTS and two on Amazon, plus that Savage Crucible Elric, but that's effectively the end of my list for the lines I'm collecting. There's stuff I could go for, but it's all niche and may never be produced, and if it is it'll take months or years to all come out, and that's ok. I made a pseudo impulse buy on Enfys Nest, but I'd been eyeballing her for years and I spent less money on her than a coke from the vending machine, so it was an easy call. My final total will be just over 160 figures. I could see pushing as high as 175 through one-offs that catch my eye, but I really want to stick to that cap if possible. We'll see how this year goes for my collecting and if I can stick to it.

I've made the shift so my money is now diverting to diorama and display materials. We've got pretty much all the figures, time to give them nice homes to live in. I feel like that will take me a good long while and be a fun, fulfilling new hobby. The sentinel factory I think will be my big ongoing project, with small dios along the way to test builds (I'll definitely be putting together an armory in the next few months since I 100% have all the necessary stuff for that).
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That's kinda where I'm at too. I went from having like 3-4 pages of pre-ordered stuff on BBTS, but through a mix of cancelling pre-orders, having the product itself get cancelled, and shipping, I'm down to like 6 items, a couple of which I'm expecting to get cancelled by the manufacturer any minute. Have a few Black Series and MCU Legends pre-ordered through Amazon, but nowhere near the amount I used to. It's kinda nice, honestly. I don't feel that weight of "I want all this stuff, but how will I (smartly) pay for all this?" I only had 1 impulse purchase here recently, which was partly due to just forgetting about the pre-order, but it's one I've been eyeing for years, so I figured I'd just bite the bullet and get it.

I'm still going through the process of culling and trimming the fat here and there. I could probably go a lot faster than I am, partly due to ADHD taking over, but partly due to really considering each thing- just because I don't love it now, is it possible that I could fall back in love with it later? Having had more space to put some older, boxed up things out again, I feel like I fell back in love with a few older lines (that are luckily no longer produced, so no danger of falling back into a spending trap).

In the rollercoaster ride that is collecting, I feel like I'm nearing/on an upward climb, so I hope to make it last as long as I can. And to help supplement that, I too have been focusing a lot of funds on customizing lately- either painting/weathering figures, or creating little bases and things. Appreciating and prettying up what I have, rather than adding more and more on top of it.
 
joshsquash729 said:
I'm still going through the process of culling and trimming the fat here and there. I could probably go a lot faster than I am, partly due to ADHD taking over, but partly due to really considering each thing- just because I don't love it now, is it possible that I could fall back in love with it later? Having had more space to put some older, boxed up things out again, I feel like I fell back in love with a few older lines (that are luckily no longer produced, so no danger of falling back into a spending trap).

In the rollercoaster ride that is collecting, I feel like I'm nearing/on an upward climb, so I hope to make it last as long as I can. And to help supplement that, I too have been focusing a lot of funds on customizing lately- either painting/weathering figures, or creating little bases and things. Appreciating and prettying up what I have, rather than adding more and more on top of it.
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Yeah. There's still stuff I could cull from my collection, but I'm in the process of figuring out display, and I'm not going to do another big cull until some of that part is sorted. See how stuff looks in context and then I can make a few decisions. I could see dropping another 10-20 figures pretty easily, maybe more if I get really sell-happy.

I do think the customizing/dio building/display sub-hobby will be a nice segue for me. A way to get more joy from the collection I have without feeling the constant need to expand it.
 
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