I'm 32. My interests directly correlate to what's going on in my life in terms of being busy, happy, or stressed. However, I'm not really a typical collector. I was reminded of that when the first ROTF hit the shelves. I had to have all of the Animated and Classics and cool 3rd party items. When I started to gobble up all of the ROTF in a similar manner, I felt a lot of regret for buying a lot of crap I didn't like much or need.

I was buying the new waves as soon as I spotted them. It was a small thrill to hunt for them, but after literally a day, I wanted nothing to do with almost any of the figures. Leader Prime and the HA's aside, everything else could be boxed up and never looked at again and I'd be fine. They certainly don't hold the same value as my Classics/Henkei, MPs, or Alternators which I'd really hate to lose.

I pretty much think about everything I want to buy now.

Do I want it and is it worth it? The Wal-mart Exclusive Universe Ultra repaints weren't a $30 item to me, so I was able to be patient and wait for them to drop to $15. I have a Takara MP Skywarp, but I'd be willing to put $30 for a Hasbro one to fiddle with at work. I know I wanted Bludgeon, so I just grabbed him at full price. There's a lot of somewhat neat figures out or coming out, but if I can only see them eating valuable shelf-space and shrinking my wallet, I just pass.

So I keep my eye on what's going to be coming out and just focus on those. It's very minimal time and money invested in hunting and the figures I really like will be there when I get the urge to do something with them.

 

I am 24 and I just don't have the excitement I used to have when it comes to transformers. I guess since I am about to start my full time career and graduate from college, transformers just seem to be on the back burner. I have been buying some older toys mostly trying to complate my combaticon collection haha

 

I'm 27 in january and I feel like it's beginning to dwindle. Don't get me wrong I love the franchise and such but I don't know I guess there isn't that spark there anymore

 

I'm 33 and I have been collecting in one form or another since high school. I mainly purchase import items (hokuto no ken, godzilla, action figures, statues, dolls). All being older has done for me is let me afford the nicer bigger ticket items. I'm not as hardcore as I used to be but I don't feel like it's fading.

The excitement of newer toys, newer designs and newer toy engineering keep me constantly thrilled at the new stuff that comes out from Japan, HK and even in America. You even have 3rd party licenses making these great high quality items that make you enjoy the TF stuff even more. Things just get better and we're living in an awesome age of toys now.

 

I was in my late 20's when Transformers started back in 1984. I still get excited over new Transformers. Collecting Transformers has become a lifetime hobby for me. I also don't see Transformers as toys. You play with toys, you collect Action Figures.  

 

my interest is really based upon my mood, which is dependent upon my health at the time.

i gave away almost all of my TFs a while back for a good reason, then got back into it again because i really like them.
but these days, i can't see what i am doing with em (fuck, i can't transform Dune Runner or the Barricade I just got) and i get upset. i can hold em and see what mode they are in and i am okay, but it gets annoying to have leader Prime and know he's staying in Bot mode.

i will grab an older fig from the shelf and transform him with my eyes closed, like i did as a kid back in the day and that feeling is still there, so i keep collecting.
i don't collect all willy-nilly now, but i collect.

will i stop? i hope not. afraid to think about why i would have to.

i just hope that we don't have a TF11 directed by a fan of H.R. Giger when we finally get a Fort Max or Omega Supreme, because i know i am screwed then. i know i won't be able to transform those figs.

 

I have to say I am the perfect example to consider before selling your TFS. Im 29 and I never loved a cartoon and toy line more than Transformers in my entire childhood. I have seen all the other cartoons non TF related as a child and atleast had a toy or two from each cartoon, but TF takes the cake. When I was around 19 to 20 years old, I found out about older people collecting toys and laughed. I didnt think I would ever collect them, but then I remembered TF and searched ebay for them. I thought I could pick some up for pennies (literally), but I was VERY WRONG. It blew my mind to see TFs sell for a couple hundred or grand. I settled for Robots in Disguise, bought 2 very small ones. Did not keep them over a couple of years. I still kept interest in TFs not as actively as today. Couple years later I searched again, too much money still. Couple years after that I found out about reissues and went crazy. I purchased 4 from TRU and collected some other stuff like comics. I had something happen to me and had to sell pretty much everything I owned to relocate, including my reissue TFs. I could have kept them, but I thought I probably will never collect TFs again because of priorities and sort of lost interest. Today, I regret selling those reissues. I could have and should have kept them. Now my collecting is still small but, I have a shelf full now and collect the comics. Take Barrelks' advice. Take a break (couple of years), why not they arent going anywhere, you can even put them in a box for a couple of years and put thm away until u forget you have them. If 3 to 4 years pass and you come across the box one spring cleaning and have forgotten all about them then sell them (or send them to me LOL). Recently, I wanted Skywarp form walmart and searched the stoire and website almost every other day. Now they are in stock but 60 bucks at my local store and they have PLENTY and I didnt buy one. Most of the other toys that are not g1 reissue, henkei, and MPs, Im not that interested. I now am careful with shopping for TFs I ask myself each time I consider buying a TF, Do I really want this or would I rather put this money that I would have spent towards MP grimlock, or another g1 I dont have. If my answer is yes, then I will put the money aside until I have enough or have the urge to buy something I truly want.

 

Aged 34 and the only lines that do anything for me are the collector ones. Encore/Binal-tech/Alternity/Masterpiece. Everything else, even Classics, I can take or leave.

For me a big part of my interest in TFs is in the engineering and complexity of them. I don't transform them often, I don't "play" with them, I just display them and admire them. I'll leave the "toys" for other people to get excited about.

I'm also happily married and we just had our first child, a boy. He'll no doubt be getting a few robot toys himself once he's old enough as he's not getting his hands on mine, ha ha!

 

I'm not quite in my thirties just yet, but I'm definitely feeling the flame dwindling down. I don't like where Transformers is going with the movie line, so I have no desire at all to collect anything from RotF. I did buy HA BB and recently got Buster Optimus, which are good figures, with really amazing engineering, but just don't grab me as much as my Classicsverse or Animated figures do.

Since there's not really anything at all I'm interested in now and won't be anything for the forseeable future, I'm pretty much done with collecting. I might pick up the random figure here and there during Universe 3.0, but I think it's safe to say I'm pretty much done.

 

31 here. Just started again since Universe 2.0 & ROTF. No fading.

 

31 here and mine isn't fading but priorities in life have changed. I imagine that is probably what everyone is going through. I still love Transformers but I need room more than I need them with the little one here. A couple of years ago I snatched up complete movie line minus legends figures. I still love these figures but they got to go. Still gonna hold on to my encores though.

 

33 here. I'm definitely starting to fade.
Bought a lot of G1 and anything else with TFs on it back in 2000
I was a bit of a completionist from RID through TF1.
Then I sold about 30% of my collection to fund a nice LCD HDTV.
Everything from AEC went except for Unicron. (hell, i even sold my complete G1 Jetfire)
It was a freeing experience.
Once we got to Universe I got down to 1 of each mold - No Repaints!
I only picked up about 8-9 Animated figures.
TF2 brought me back a little - Love all of the HA!
But none of the N.E.S.T figures for 2010 really do anyhthing for me.
I'll definitely pick up Leader SS and the rest of the HA line but that may be it for me.

 

36 in a few weeks. Been in love with the franchise since '84. Kept my childhood G1s and started actively collecting during Beast Machines and bought everything released from 1998 to 2006. Then came marriage and kids.

Interests and priorities changed, had to put most of my collection in storage. I think that's when the flame dimmed so to speak. Started selling doubles, then recolors, then certain lines (BW, BM, etc.)

I am now down to less than 20 TFs, but plan on focusing on G1 and MP only. Still very much love the franchise, but don't have the time or funds to continue collecting like I used to.

 

32
I got my first transformer when I was about 8. Snarl didn't survive my childhood though.
My second & third transformer was actually Bayformers Barricade. I gave them both to my nephew.
My fourth transformer was a Star Wars Tie-fighter, I gave him to my girlfriends nephew.
My fifth transformer was Animated Lockdown he was supposed to be my last. Sadly I couldn’t contain myself and now I own most of the Animated Decepticons.

For now I do not intend to collect anything other then Animated Decepticons

 

I'm 32, and I think it's because I am married and have kids that I am collecting again. I need a hobby to keep me and my mind occupied. My dad collected Lionel Trains into his 60's. I believe collecting has nothing to do with a franchise so to say as it does a frame of mind. I always like being on the hunt for my next find as well.

 

I am 35.
I have just about finished collecting all that I want to collect. (G1 mostly). I am just in need of about a dozen parts and I am done. I also collect ROTF and have collected the ones I wanted to. I also have all of the Animated line MISB.I have not lost the feeling as of yet as I anxiously await the new line of Animated! Once that comes out who knows maybe I will be tired then. However TF3 comes out in 2011 and that means new figures!

 

I got into TFs with my older son, and now I can see he's gradually growing out of robot toys (he's just turned 11).

I still like TF toys a lot, but as my son's interest dwindles I definitely buy less these days. I probably spend just as much though, because now I buy more expensive stuff (imports) without worrying about if my kid will like it or not. But it's not that fun anymore  

 

37 I enjoy collecting, always have, it's a good hobby!

 

I turn 40 next week and no, my toy obsession hasn't faded at all. I feel 40 years young and see no end in sight for my hobby! In fact, I'm still feel like I did back when I was 20!  

 

Nearly 32 myself and my desire to collect is fading a bit. Funds may be a bit short over the next couple of months and, to tell the truth, unless some new Robot Heroes or the NEST Alliance figures show up in the UK I'm going to try and restrain myself. Space is also a problem - at least a third of my collection is in it's packaging as I have nowhere to display it, and I'm running out of room for packaged figures too.