Is this hobby way too overwhelming?

[questionman]

Hello Fellow Freaks!

I just was thinking how overwhelming this hobby is with all of these figures coming out! I have a big collection that takes up a lot of space and adding more figures won't help! I have sold my collection in the past and then up until a few years ago, I ended up purchasing many of the same figures again. Since then my collection has grown alot into the present day. I came to the conclusion today on how I just can't keep with the figures that are coming out from manfactures. For me this hobby is becoming way to expensive and I think my money would be better saved. I think I am going to give up on collecting figures but hold on to my collection to admire. I do not see this hobby as an investment but I do see this hobby as art in a way. I have one more figure on pre-order that I decided not to cancel and two figures that I already paid for that are pre orders. I think after that I am going to throw in the towel with collecting for good. Who feels the same way that I do about collecting or I am alone in this?

 

[Otomofan]

Hoarding/compulsive buying is a mental disorder. Some people handle it better than others. If you feel like you NEEEEDDDD toys/statues/etc to be "complete" then you probably have some kind of problem and all the toys in the world will never fix it.

I've enjoyed collecting a hell of a lot more in the last 20 years or so once I accepted that I could never have "everything" and I only buy what I truly want and love, and never buy stuff out of "obligation" or to "complete" a line.

I can control myself with toys, but there are other aspects of my life where I can't. I'm really partial to overdoing it with booze/food/drugs so I do my best to avoid it.

Maybe this is an addiction for you and you should just avoid it. I'm a person that can't have just "one" drink and stop.

Maybe you can't have just "a few" toys. Maybe you need to go cold turkey and stop buying toys all togeher and take up painting or fishing or something.

 

[a-dev]

 

[questionman]

I would not exactly call myself a hoarder because I don't have figures shipping to my place every week, that would be insane. I do realize that I have a problem with collecting. I did have an epiphany recently that I have gone to far. I am not in financial ruin or anything and I have to sell off my collection becuase of it. I just had a wtf kind of moment realizing it is a problem. I am glad I reached out to people in this forum who understand this kind of thing. Good folks here! I think what I am getting out of this is that I will have to quit cold turkey when it comes to collecting and maybe that is the best thing for me. And maybe downsizing would not be such a bad idea (not becuase collecting has made me broke).

 

[GeneralZodLives]

One of the best things you can do for yourself when it comes to this hobby is accept that you don't need to buy every collectible you see/like/want.

 

[EVILFACE]

It's fun to ride the hype. And the anticipation of the piece is an awesome feeling. But make sure you stay focused. Think about what you are really wanting in your collection. Do you really need 6 movie Thor dolls? If a collection is getting too much, prune it.

 

[RIDDICK]

the best things you can do is accept that you don't need to buy...

... any merchendise at all. It's all just worthless waste of resources, time and space. Then, when you're comfortable with this peace of mind, you may start collect things you actually want instead of things you're told to by marketing machines and such.

 

[xipotec]

One of the best things you can do for yourself when it comes to this hobby is accept that you don't need to buy every collectible you see/like/want.

So true....How that Pinball machine Zod?


My Rules to live by;
1. One iteration per character.
2. Stick to classic iconic characters.
3. Only buy the favorite character(s) from a film, not all the characters in the film. Don’t be a completist.

These have kept my collection fairly small. Also, if you want a new character and funds are stretched , sell an old one to pay for the new one. I have 7 detolf, that’s all I will ever have. If it doesn’t fit, no more buying. Right now that’s easy to say because I still have about 7 cubes left.

I also limit myself to about 3 per year. That’s makes deciding which to buy a serious decision. Just cancelled VTS Furiosa for this reason. It came out kinda crappy, and I would rather put the funds toward a figure that looks great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GeneralZodLives]

So true....How that Pinball machine Zod?


My Rules to live by;
1. One iteration per character.
2. Stick to classic iconic characters.
3. Only buy the favorite character(s) from a film, not all the characters in the film. Don’t be a completist.

These have kept my collection fairly small. Also, if you want a new character and funds are stretched , sell an old one to pay for the new one. I have 7 detolf, that’s all I will ever have. If it doesn’t fit, no more buying. Right now that’s easy to say because I still have about 7 cubes left.

I also limit myself to about 3 per year. That’s makes deciding which to buy a serious decision. Just cancelled VTS Furiosa for this reason. It came out kinda crappy, and I would rather put the funds toward a figure that looks great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love it. To paraphrase Kevin Spacey in American Beauty:

"1993 Star Trek The Next Generation Pinball Machine. The pinball machine I've always wanted, and now I have it."

 

[karamazov80]

 

[RIDDICK]

 

[Shawpaw]

I sense internal control issues/behavioral disinhibition. The nature of the OP’s narrative, paired with the creation of a new thread for the sole reason to address subjective impulse control, paints the picture.

 

[questionman]

I am sure I am not the only one who has posted a thread about this subject. I am certain many people on this forum have had similar thoughts about this hobby the same way I do. I think it doesn't make me impulsive for simply asking these questions, quite the opposite actually. I think we all have questions about this hobby one way or another. Thanks again for the advice everyone!

 

[Otomofan]

I always refer to this blog post when this topic comes up.

If you find yourself buying stuff cause you "have to" and not cause you really want to....and then have closets full of unopened boxes that bring you know joy....if the anticipation of buying something is better than when it actually arrives? Those are the signs of an addiction I think.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/5963592/the...ng-a-toy-collector-are-mostly-terrifying-lows

 

[crows]

Hello Fellow Freaks!

I just was thinking how overwhelming this hobby is with all of these figures coming out! I have a big collection that takes up a lot of space and adding more figures won't help! I have sold my collection in the past and then up until a few years ago, I ended up purchasing many of the same figures again. Since then my collection has grown alot into the present day. I came to the conclusion today on how I just can't keep with the figures that are coming out from manfactures. For me this hobby is becoming way to expensive and I think my money would be better saved. I think I am going to give up on collecting figures but hold on to my collection to admire. I do not see this hobby as an investment but I do see this hobby as art in a way. I have one more figure on pre-order that I decided not to cancel and two figures that I already paid for that are pre orders. I think after that I am going to throw in the towel with collecting for good. Who feels the same way that I do about collecting or I am alone in this?

I remember reading an article on hoarders and compulsive buyers and they had a couple of easy questions to decide if you have a real problem

1 do you hide purchases from your family or spouse or loved ones?
do you buy stuff and not let anyone know that you bought it? OR do you feel guilty or embarrassed of what people might think of the stuff you keep buying?

2, do you lie about the price or the quantity of your collection?
do you tell people you have less things that you actually do?

3, do you ever regret buying something and have to convince yourself that you like it?
do you have to come up with reasons of why you bought this stuff? do you feel like you have to trick yourself into accepting something that you did not like?

4, Are you Running out of Room?
do you keep buying things but dont have a room where to put them? do you find yourself Piling up the boxes and having a hard time finding a way to organize them or how to display everything? are the figures overlaping?

5, do you buy the same thing over and over?
do you buy the same character over and over and over? different sizes, different styles?
do you buy repeats of the same thing? that was a big red flag

This has NOTHING to do with "Buying figures every week" it could be every month, every two months.

if you answer Yes to ANY of these questions (even just one) then you might have a problem

 

[Mr. Green]

Cold turkey here.....no shame in it. Nothing to look at peep, move along.

 

[questionman]

thanks again for the insight everyone, it means a lot.

 

[a-dev]

5, do you buy the same thing over and over?
do you buy the same character over and over and over? different sizes, different styles?
do you buy repeats of the same thing? that was a big red flag

I do this but for me it was my way of limiting myself - variety is limitless.

 

[crows]

I do this but for me it was my way of limiting myself - variety is limitless.

the article says that buying the same product or merch of the same character is like an impulse. like someone betting on the same horse just to bet,

its like the need to buy and own is so strong in some people that they even keep cereal boxes and fast food cups with pics of the character ,

its about the impulse, like if you saw a snickers bar that had the terminator on it and you buy it and not eat it.... or if you keep a coca cola bottle just because the terminator is in it, basically keeping garbage

 

[a-dev]

the article says that buying the same product or merch of the same character is like an impulse. like someone betting on the same horse just to bet,

its like the need to buy and own is so strong in some people that they even keep cereal boxes and fast food cups with pics of the character ,

its about the impulse, like if you saw a snickers bar that had the terminator on it and you buy it and not eat it.... or if you keep a coca cola bottle just because the terminator is in it, basically keeping garbage

Not quite me then, I only buy action figures, and not even all the action figures - like I didn't buy those retro Terminator figures that were released. And I sold off/still want to sell my Hot Toys T4 stuff and Guardian T-800. I didn't bother buying the Genisys Endo at all.