My Beginner's Collection

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Fat Head

Freaked Out
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
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I got around to re-arranging my place, and this is a partial result. There are still areas that need major cleaning and stuff still needs to be hung, but I'm happy with it so far.




Let me know what you think so far, and I'd be happy to hear any suggestions if you have them!
 
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And soon you'll have a nice Emma Frost exclusive to add to that!
 
My suggestion.


Stop while you still can!!!


You may think I am joking but honestly I am not. Save your money and enjoy the things you have now and walk away a healthier man. This is an addiction!!!
 
My suggestion.


Stop while you still can!!!


You may think I am joking but honestly I am not. Save your money and enjoy the things you have now and walk away a healthier man. This is an addiction!!!

:lol:lol:lol:lol.... Too True!!!!

Now this is the only thing I think about on a daily basis!!! Well... maybe the second thing!:monkey3
 
My suggestion.


Stop while you still can!!!


You may think I am joking but honestly I am not. Save your money and enjoy the things you have now and walk away a healthier man. This is an addiction!!!

Two days ago, after I looked at what I spent, I cut up my credit card. Then deleted it from anything I had it stored in online. I didn't cancel the pre-orders I already nailed down, but I think I'm done until I get everything paid off. I feel like a complete idiot, but strangely I don't regret it. I think that's what scares me most. Once I have a piece in hand, any question I had about spending that money is gone.
 
Two days ago, after I looked at what I spent, I cut up my credit card. Then deleted it from anything I had it stored in online. I didn't cancel the pre-orders I already nailed down, but I think I'm done until I get everything paid off. I feel like a complete idiot, but strangely I don't regret it. I think that's what scares me most. Once I have a piece in hand, any question I had about spending that money is gone.

We all feel the same way. Sorry to turn your collection thread into this but I felt it was important to say. Most of us want out but we are too deep into it. We can still save you from this hobby. You have already made a step most of us could never take.

Don't get me wrong, it can be rewarding at times but ultimately too expensive.

Great to have you around though and welcome! :rock
 
We all feel the same way. Sorry to turn your collection thread into this but I felt it was important to say. Most of us want out but we are too deep into it. We can still save you from this hobby. You have already made a step most of us could never take.

Don't get me wrong, it can be rewarding at times but ultimately too expensive.

Great to have you around though and welcome! :rock

Too True, welcome to the board!!!

Just remember.... buy what you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want and you'll be a happy collector, don't ever fall into the "Well I have BATMAN, but ROBIN would look good on the shelf next to him", trap. If you don't like ROBIN, DON'T BUY HIM! Just cause BATMAN looks lonely doesn't mean you have to buy him! :lol
 
great collection! now start using imageshack.us to post pictures i can actually see. :)
 
Too True, welcome to the board!!!

Just remember.... buy what you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want and you'll be a happy collector, don't ever fall into the "Well I have BATMAN, but ROBIN would look good on the shelf next to him", trap. If you don't like ROBIN, DON'T BUY HIM! Just cause BATMAN looks lonely doesn't mean you have to buy him! :lol


I only ever buy what I really really want. Problem is, I really really want a lot of stuff. And I don't have much self control when it comes to buying stuff. I don't buy pieces just to be companion pieces, they have to be something I really like. I had to cut up my card at the insistance of a very good friend of mine who basically said "All this stuff is REALLY cool...but what the hell is wrong with you?"

I'll fix the pics when I get home from work.
 
Two days ago, after I looked at what I spent, I cut up my credit card. Then deleted it from anything I had it stored in online. I didn't cancel the pre-orders I already nailed down, but I think I'm done until I get everything paid off. I feel like a complete idiot, but strangely I don't regret it. I think that's what scares me most. Once I have a piece in hand, any question I had about spending that money is gone.
My best advice to you is this, get ONLY what you really want and love, don't buy things 'cause everyone else is or to keep up. This hobby should bring you happiness, not stress and financial troubles. I realized this a while back and that is why I started to sell some of my stuff, not 'cause I was having money issues, 'cause I had waaay too much. So now I'm scaling down my collection and canceling a lot of pre-orders. Remember, get only what you really want and make sure they are Quality pieces. :D

By the way...:welcome
 
Good advice everyone is giving. Yes, I can only agree that only buy what you really been wanting, and never try to keep up with the "Jones's."

And bienvenido!
 
I love hearing all these horror stories about buying too much too fast. Let's me know I wasn't alone :lol

I have sold off a lot of stuff in the last few months and really narrowed my focus to just a few lines and I am much happier for it.
 
Is that the Delorean from Back to the Future? I like it.

Why yes, yes it is. I forgot the scale on it, but it is made of stainless steel, like the actual car, and Mr. Fusion is on the back and the wheels fold up and down.
 
I love hearing all these horror stories about buying too much too fast. Let's me know I wasn't alone :lol

I have sold off a lot of stuff in the last few months and really narrowed my focus to just a few lines and I am much happier for it.

And I purchased some of it! And am much broker for it.

Yeah, I mostly stick to comic and movie lines. More comics, but as you see I have a few terminator items and such. I can't say I really like anything out of the LOTR lines or anything else for that matter. It tends to just be stuff I loved growing up as a kid, that retained its cool factor into becoming an adult.
 
I only ever buy what I really really want. Problem is, I really really want a lot of stuff. And I don't have much self control when it comes to buying stuff. I don't buy pieces just to be companion pieces, they have to be something I really like. I had to cut up my card at the insistance of a very good friend of mine who basically said "All this stuff is REALLY cool...but what the hell is wrong with you?"

I'll fix the pics when I get home from work.

You have a very good friend that is looking out for you. Very nice collection and great attitude. Welcome aboard!:fireworks:fest
 
You have a very good friend that is looking out for you. Very nice collection and great attitude. Welcome aboard!:fireworks:fest

I know. Good friends like that are rare. I consider myself lucky because while I do have a number of people I call friends, I do have two really close friends who look out for me like that, and I in turn return the favor.
 
Welcome to the hobby. I have been collecting statues since 1991 and I think the trick is moderation. Do not go into debt to support your hobby. Create a budget and allocate a percentage to it. You do not have to buy everything.
 
Okay, I got to chime in here. For me, this thread has turned into a support group for collector addicts. Everything I'm hearing is what I went through and still am going through. I've always been a packrat, how I was raised. Then along comes this hobby. I started out on Mezco Family Guy. Saw them in the store, hit Ebay to get earlier series, and was hooked. From there it turned into the muppet palisades line. I even got the Mezco Popeye and edward scissorhands line. Then the Alice (dark video game) figures. A lot of this I planned on flipping on Ebay for a profit, which I did. Sold the Muppet palisades line for maybe 2-3X what I paid (Red Zoot went for $358!!!, I paid maybe $30). All of these were very affordable for me. I even hit spencers for some of the DC direct and corpse bride stuff, mostly on clearnace, for the sole purpose of turning a profit. I think the beginning of my addition was the dark crystal Plan B busts, which I picked up. Then I saw someone sell a lot of 20 SSW LOTR busts, which included greats such as both gandalfs, lurtz, Merry, Aragorn, arwen, etc. etc. etc. I paid a little over $1k, but figured at least half were going for $80-$100 so I could easily recover my costs, because I was planning on flipping at that time too. When I finally got them in (2 LARGE boxes), I opened to inspect. It was then that I realized that these were not toys, but ART. I was done with toys, mostly, and I was hooked. I've continued to pick up nearly all of the SSW LOTR pieces, with excpetion of the $600+ early statues. However I was able to pick up orc swordsman, boromir, wraith/steed, aragorn, and gimli statues, all for under another $1k. How did I justify spending $1000 on these, cuz i knew they were easily worth double that, but I doubted I would sell. I foudn another lot sale of harry potter busts (10 total, with the rarest pieces) for $600. Again, easily be able to recover that cost, but still planning on keeping. I've since kept those collections going, well SSW LOTR is done, but it turned into the GG LOTR stuff. Since then I've added the SS premium format line and some of the Marvel stuff. And most recently the 12" horror and dead line. I've sold maybe half of my earlier toys, and have made a good chunk of change to help support newer purchases, but the stuff I'm getting now, I don't want to turn over. But I'm assuming I eventually will, because I see a few people on here do it, probably to buy new things.

I still have a hard time not buying doubles. I have two Ex PF Lurtz. Paid $450 (too much) for the first cauze I wanted it bad, but then saw a low # for $350 BIN shipped on Ebay. I had to buy it, simply cause it was a better deal. They haven't risen in value as quickly as I would have liked, but do plan on turning one as soon as I can recover the initial $450 or more.

So here's my advice, from a beginnign collecotr who started off collecting toys to make $ maybe a year ago but now collect mostly higher end statues/busts for enjoyment:

1) Being a geek helps. :D

2) this hobby is expensive. I have a decent job and make sure to pay my bills first, put very little on credit card before paying off immediately. I can't imagine paying $300 for a statue when that was my rent in college.

3) But, you can probably recover most of that cost, and make a profit, if you are selective in your choices.

4) I probably shouldn't have bought as many doubles, you'll have less $ to get other stuff. But it's hard when you see something for less than what you paid and if you anticipate a big price value increase.

5) Pay the extra few dollars for insurance if you buy from Ebay

6) I said it earlier tonight, but it's very difficult to pic just a few lines to stick with. Good luck with that.

I'm still working on displaying my pieces. I'm hemming and hawing about tiling my floor, and don't want to set everything up, just to take down again. When I get that done, I'll be sure to share. But I'm not nearly motivated enough to do it just yet. I plan on getting a bunch of the Ikea glass cases to show them off, I'm too lazy to dust regularly and worried what that could do to them.

I probably should have saved this for an introduction, too late now.

Welcome to the hobby. Very nice start of a great collection.
 
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