For me, I have a goal...and that is to complete the G1 Cartoon figures....I been in the game for 5 years now...I have learn if you're patient enough and hunt very well, you can get great deals...but I also learned, some things you have to get early....but in the end it all depends what YOU want to do....since I been in Herc has been the most I spent...but I also found G1 Snarl for 2$ at a thrift store....but for me in retail, I won't spend no more than 15$ ( they always have sales) 3RD Party its a 100$ depending, who it is, how it looks and if its on my checklist....hey as long you are not selling yourself, i guess it ok....right?

 

For me, on a single figure....NO LIMIT (Considering I am saving for a G1 Fortress Maximus that run $700 - $1500). Overall, too much is when I dont have money to pay bills or buy food. Thats too much spending for me (I think most of us have done that once or twice).

 

It really depends on the figure, but it's going to take something really special for me to spend over $200 for one figure. Even a masterpiece for that price is a little too much. If I didn't get MP10 as a present I probably wouldn't have bought him. MP Ultra Magnus is an exception to this rule though.

I'm glad I don't have a "holy grail", because it seems like people are willing to spend stupid amounts on those, just because they've decided they're "grails". I'm not paying $200 plus for a 25 year old figure "just 'cause".
But of course, if your economy allows you to spend that kind of money on toys, all the more power to ya  
It's all down to personal preference, personal economy and what your current situation allows you to spend. When I first started collecting as and adult, I thought $40 for a deluxe sized figure was way too much. Now I don't have a problem spending almost $100 for voyager sized TFC bots.

 

For a single figure, I think $200 is the limit for me.

I'm mostly into Deluxe & Voyager sized figures, nothing bigger.
So, higher than 200 for a single voyager sized figure would be a bit
absurd imo.

 

This.

 

FYI there are numerous threads on this topic already. Maybe titles of this nature should be stickied? On topic and to answer the OPs question...I have no limit when it comes to getting what I want. Esp G1 toys. Most currently paying is for Guard City at US$1,500

 

It depends on the figure. For instance, is it older, an exclusive, or a Japanese import? All of those things factor into what I'm willing to spend. To date, though, I have not spent more than $100 on a figure and I don't think that will change any time soon.

I'd rather buy a bunch of figures for less money, than buy one figure for the price of all those other figures combined.

 

To be completely honest, my limit is what my current situation is like at home with my family.

Are the bills paid? Does my daughter have everything she needs? Are we saving enough? Etc.

I'll be the first person to drop 2K on a Grand Maximus if I have that all saved up. It's just a matter of making sure priorities are right.

 

I try my hardest not to pay more than $60 for a deluxe.

 

At once, I've shelled out $375 for MakeToys Yellow Giant. Over time, with months to budget and save, ~$600 for TFC Hercules. The latter is the most I've spent on a figure or set.

 

I try to get deals on normal figures sold at retail unless it's something hard to find (like an RID Vehicon). Otherwise I have a hard time spending TRU/KMart/Shopko retail prices when I compare it to Target/Walmart stuff.

For imports/3rd party, that's a little harder to nail down. I've had some luck in getting stuff used (either eBay or TFW junkion subforum), but for the most part, I'm paying whatever the lowest price is online  

 

Old limit was $30.

MP's pushed that higher - I wanted to try one so I spent $50 on Skywarp second hand. Now I've spent $100 on US MP Prime (pre-ordered.)

$30 is STILL a lot for a single non-MP IMHO though I am currently on the fence about MP SW. To me $200 IS a lot for a single fig MP or not. Frick, I can prolly grab a PS Vita bundle for that on Black Friday.

 

Depends on how bad I want something. I've been wanting a Fort Max for a while but can't seem to pull the trigger. So I guess my limit is somewhere below a grand.

 

To see in one thread members who won't spend over $15 and some that will spend $1500 is EXTREMELY interesting to me. Seeing in the minds of collectors helps me to decide what level I will be comfortable at myself.

I will be totally honest with you guys, if I REALLY wanted everything there was to have, I could purchase it right this moment. But what the hell is the fun in that? Isn't a big part of this the anticipation, speculation, searching and trading?

I guess the best example I could come up with is building a custom car for yourself over time instead of buying a bad ass car from the factory in one swoop. What would I do with a Lamborghini Gallardo? Well a twin turbo kit, lol, but that's a different story.

Can I ask you guys what is "deluxe" and "voyager"? Scale right? I see it on some of the boxes, but not all. How long has this designation been in use? Do it refer to the general size scale of any TF toy?

Thanks for all the candid and honest posts. The psychology behind collecting is very interesting to me.  

 

Deluxe and Voyager refer to size classes. And they've been around since basically day 1 with the TF toy line.

 

I agree that it's really interesting to see that. I like to click on the profile for a member who has made a particularly large purchase and more often than not, they're usually 28+. But since we are talking about kids toys, it's a pretty big age range we're talking about so price is definitely subjective  

If you've just gotten back into the hobby, it's more of a size class thing than scale. I haven't been back into it for very long either, but it sounds like they adopted this naming scheme around the Armada/Cybertron/Energon days but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a couple years earlier than that  . I know I'm going to miss some, but the sizes go from:

Cyberverse < Commander/Scout < Deluxe < Voyager < Ultra < Leader < Supreme

I know I'm probably missing a couple (or I might be mixing the order of Leader/Surpreme) but at least you get the idea  

Edit: Sorry I should probably arrange those brackets the other way -- I meant to use them more for arrows so I just corrected them  

 

$100.01 is too much for me. US TRU MP-10 is the most I've paid for a figure. Prior to that it was $60

 

Exactly. Everyone is making a big deal about these new $15 GDO figures at TRU, and I'm thinking, that's cool and all, but I don't want to spend $15 on something the size of a hotwheel! I like larger robots for display.

Different Strokes, right? LOL!

 

$15 for a deluxe?

HAHAHAHAHAHA NO.

 

As much as I hate to say it, there really hasn't been a ton of inflation on TF over the years in the US. The rest of the world gets it pretty bad though. You should've seen the look on my face when I was in Seoul and saw a DOTM deluxe going for $22  .

I do agree that Hasbro shouldn't be double-dipping and cheaping out on the plastic too though :\