Simply put, how do we help ourselves figure out if we really want something?

Like for me, it's usually pretty black & white in terms of what I wanna peruse & what I'm just not feeling, but sometimes there's conflicting emotions, and sometimes we're really torn between getting something fruitlessly & getting ourselves to miss out on what we're gonna end up hunting later on.

Some of the things I've done in the past are to give it a little time, at least a night or two to see if it remains relevant in my mind. If it goes away during that time, then my wallet can thank me, and if I'm still freaking the fuck out, then a least I've mentally got something to work off of. Along with that, I've also found that looking at other stuff can help me figure out just how strong the force is for the current subject, and the same goes for evaluating what sort of presence it would have in my collection or what other reasons are driving me to it in the firstplace.

In either case, I've learned the hard way that half measures aren't the best way to go about it when what I really want is still within my price range, as I've still come out being unhappy in the end. Similarly speaking, weighing the other things that the money would go to has helped me as well, as it does a pretty good job of getting my priories straight.


... so TFW, how do you know if you really want something?

 

Very good question...
One for which I have no real answer. XD It's kind of confusing, actually. I just... know. I don't know how I know, but I do.

 

I think I just know, you know?

Over the years I've become pretty good at judging whether I'll like a figure or not. I'm not a completist, and I do have a price ceiling, so I'm usually pretty decisive.

That said, I'm not adverse to an impulse buy in the shops if I'm bored and need a hit.

 

I'm pretty careful about buying stuff. I tend to 'want' a lot of the deluxe CHUGURTS, but buy very few. I 'NEED' all the Masterpiece stuff, so that takes precedence.

 

I'm normally pretty good with that too (not wanting shit simply for the sake of wanting), but someone asked me if a certain figure was worth buying yesterday, and I just couldn't come up with a helpful answer other than to basically suggest that they think about it some more instead of spending money before they're sure (as my opinions are really just mine)... which lead me to think about some less subjective ways of going about it.

 

<£10 deluxe
<£20 voyager

Character I like (within my own perculiar multiverse, which heavily favours G1 ideals of characters, with slight nods to current iterations).

Toy looks interesting.

Not a mold I own.

Not likely to get a better paintjob down the line.

All criteria met? Toy bought.

For example:
TFP Wheeljack - suits my ideal of Wheeljack, toy looks fun, don't own the mold, can't imagine it getting a repaint that would interest me more. Will wait for it to hit £9.99 or under.

TFP Vehicon - I like the Vehicons, and the paintjob looks spot-on from preview images, the kibble of the FE version has gone but... Will wait for reviews and to hold it in hand before I can say the toy interests me.

FOC Swindle - will never replace TFA Swindle on my shelf, doesn't look that interesting to mess with. Pass.

FOC Brawl - need a Brawl for my shelf, toy looks quite fun, may wait to see how good the paintjob is, or if there's news for a repaint into a more interesting character. Wait.

 

Logic.

And no, I'm not a Shockwave fan. xD

 

Advance warning of products, photos, video reviews are usually sufficient to make an informed choice.

This is as opposed to people who don't bother with any of the above, then return a toy simply because they don't like it.

 

I pretty much go with how I feel when I see the toy. If I'm excited, I'll get it. If I'm not all that thrilled, I leave it.

 

As far as TFs (and other toys) go, I have a very simple checklist.

1 - Do I care about the character represented?
2 - Does the toy strike me as something that would add to my collection?
3 - Is the deco either understated in a way that makes it striking, or so ostentatious that it burns out retinas? (Yes, I work in extremes; also, this is usually in effect for repaints/redecos/retools)
4 - If I buy this now, will I regret it later (IE if another version of the same toy comes out)
5 - Can I afford it?

Also, keep in mind that all but the last point are questions I can answer in an instant, mentally. If a toy makes me pause and think hard, I usually have to leave it and come back.

 

If I like it, I will get it. Simple as that.

 

Technical and aesthetic aspects. What determines whether or not I'm going to get a Transformer is going to fall on the technical aspect, such as engineering and complexity of Transformation, and articulation. Secondary to that is how good it looks. The recent example of the latter is Prime Soundwave. Very simple and easy as shit figure to transform...but he looks fantastic. I got Prime Wheeljack at the same time I got Soundwave, but due to him lacking a bit in the articulation department I traded mine away.

So that's pretty much it for me.

 

Don't really have a price ceiling if I'm after something, and I'm not into lucky draws or whatever, so the most expensive TFS I could be after, theoretically, are Masterpieces and Botcon exclusives.

Toy technology and engineering play a big role in my collecting, so unless something has a great sentimental value, I'm usually not after older lines. So this eliminates almost everything before Cybertron. Movie 1 toys became obsolete [almost] after ROTF, DOTM didn't top that in my opinion so I'm not too fussed about 95 percent of DOTM.

There's lines like Animated, which I love and have only a very few figures missing, so any "logic" or prices went out of the window.

That being said, I bought like 8 figures on release and very patiently and slowly got the rest. Didn't have a complete autobot cast until well after the series ended.

Nowadays I'm much more careful though, I'm not getting much PRIME until we're well into the line as I'm not keen on double dipping on a figure only to have something better come out a few months later [say, Weaponizer Prime isntead of the Powerizer].

 

price doesn't matter that much as long as I can tell I am not getting gouged.

first it has to catch my eye, secondly it helps to be a character I like.

the mold does not necessarily have to be good, i have bought a couple of figure based on TJ Omega Plastic addict reviews .

in Short beyond these few factors its a gut feeling.

 

this

 

new classics g1 figure/character. or nice g1 figure is instantly bought, movie toys, i buy certain ones, but much more selective

 

Here is the problem I have, especially when collecting TFers:

- Initially I don't want it because I want something else more
- Eventually I get that something else
- then I want the thing I didn't initially want
- the price on the thing I didn't initially want is now 2x-3x more then before

Not sure what to take from that, just my experiences so far. I guess, buy something if you kinda like it, because you may regret it later. If anything you can sell it later.

 

I'm usually black and white about most things I want. Sometimes I'll have to really give thought to the options (in the case of a computer or rather large purchases) but that is just being a smart consumer.

 

Can it combine?

If yes then fuck yeah

If no then probs not

 

I keep a list, and prioritize it.

On any given day the list has a dozen or so figures from past lines that I'm on the lookout for - it's stuff that's not hard to find, but I wait for a deal that's too good to pass up. There's also a list of figures that I really want; things that would be central to my collection. I'll typically adjust those purchases based on release schedules of other things or how many great deals I have found recently. Then there's a list of upcoming stuff yet to be released. That gets a little harder, especially dealing with third parties and preorders.

A lot of it is a guessing game - I might preorder something because I think it will be hard to get, not because I have to have it as soon as possible. Other stuff I'll pass on because I think it will be easy to pick up later (or even found on clearance much later). A lot of things (especially third party stuff) I'll keep an eye on and wait for reviews or more pictures/videos to come out before making a decision. I've done a lot better in the last two years by waiting for that, and it really hasn't been hard to find that kind of info and make a decision before preorders start shipping.

A majority of the time, anything that is going to be released at retail is the lowest priority, unless we already know that something will be an exclusive, or shortpacked. I'll pay more attention to first-wave figures as well, since those have a tendency to be hard to find (thus more expensive) later on.