That’s it, I’m out. I’m done with toy collecting. After 46 years, I’m done. There are several reasons why:

10: I have stuff I don’t want. I have a lot of stuff that’s random stuff that I don’t want anymore and isn’t on display, so I’m not getting any enjoyment out of it. Like Ghostbusters. Don’t get me wrong, I like Ghostbusters, just not enough to have toys of them in my collection. But I do. I have all four of them with Slimer that all came in a four pack years ago. And I’ve never done anything with them. There’s other things too, like Donkey Kong, Kratos from God of War, a Creeper from Minecraft, Bender from Futurama, some Mortal Kombat figures… Yeah, they all need to go.

9: I don’t have time for it anymore. Collecting toys now days is so time consuming because long gone are the days when you could just go to your local store and find things in plentiful quantities. Now if you go to a store they’re likely to not have much, if anything at all. And it’s further likely that what they do have in abundance is the stuff you’re not interested in. Which means that if you want to find stuff in person, it means traveling. Probably in some outlying suburb with less people and therefore, less likely that the shelves have been picked over. I have better things I want to do with my time than run all over everywhere finding toys.

8: I don’t have the space. I live a roughly 900 square foot house with a two car garage. My wife and I both have cars, hers is in the garage, mine isn’t. We have two bedrooms, a master and a second that I’ve been calling the “Dorknasium” on account of that’s where the toy collection is. But, I have someone else in my life now and we need some of that space for her stuff.

7: I can’t afford it. It’s not so much that I can’t afford it, I just have other things I’d rather spend my money on. Like going places and doing things with my wife. And I don’t make enough to do that and maintain a massive toy collection.

6: I have no one to share this with. I used to enjoy setting up scenes and making cartoons like comic strips with my friends, but the friends I shared that with are no longer in my life. And the prominent people in my life, don’t share that sense of humor or interest. So yeah, it’s a solo experience for me and the minimal enjoyment that I get out of it personally just doesn’t justify the effort that goes into acquiring them.

5: Exclusives. I hate exclusives. I don’t mind so much if it’s like a one off obscure character or a variant version of a main character, but the regular version of a main character is… frustrating. And expensive. And often times hard to get. The minimal payoff for acquiring mass produced figures isn’t worth it so it’s even less worth it for exclusives.

4: Online retailers are now charging scalper’s prices: I first saw this with Masters of the Universe Origins with figures like Trap Jaw, Orko, Man E Faces and Scare Glow. Then it bled into other properties as well, like Transformers. And I’m not talking about 3rd party sellers, I mean on their main retail website. It’s infuriating to see MOTU figures for sale in store for (in theory) for $14.99, but to buy them from Walmart’s website directly, it would cost $34.99 for the same figure!? Yeah, no, I’m not supporting that. These corporations are greedy enough as it is, they don’t need to charge scalping prices too.

3: It gives me anxiety. I look around at the mountains of stuff and the mountain of packaging that goes with it and the idea of trying to organize and maintain all of it is overwhelming. So for my own sanity, most of it needs to go.

2: I don’t actually need any of this. Toys aren’t a necessity like food, water, shelter, health care, etc… I can survive perfectly fine without any of this crap. Some of it’s fun, yeah, but not fun enough for me to want to keep it.

And the #1 reason I’m giving this up: All of the other reasons combined. MOTU Origins Tri Klops and MOTU Mega Construx Amazon exclusive wave 5 with Trap Jaw and Man E Faces were really the breaking points. I found 1 Tri Klops at my local Target, which I bought. I was then asked to do some custom figures and needed the parts from Tri Klops. I spent the next two weeks traveling sometimes 45 minutes away (one way) to various Targets and Walmart in the four different compass directions looking for ONE. And never found one. This was back in April. I finally got one from Big Bad Toy Store a few weeks ago. That’s four months of not finding something that should have been as easy as just going down the street and buying it. All of that effort and for what? I opened him up, got him posed (into a fairly static pose as it was) and put him on a shelf. And that’s it. That one brief moment of fiddling with it to stand there doing nothing was absolutely not worth the time and frustration that went into getting him. And, add to that is the fact that at any given time during that four months I could have just gone on Amazon, paid twice as much and had one the next day. The problem is that I’m not going to reward Amazon, a RETAIL outlet that should only be charging MSRP for charging scalper prices. Then, I was going to keep the Mega Construx figures because those have been abundantly available, fun to fiddle with, and cheap. Until the Amazon exclusives. I went online the other day to order them only to find they’re not even on there anymore (not even a sold out listing) and are now going for $350-400 on ebay. For main characters. That so infuriated me that I can’t even look at a MOTU toy now without getting angry and pissed off. Now when I look at them, all I associate them with is everything that’s wrong with toy collecting today and I don’t need that stress in my life. And I don’t want it. So yeah, I’m selling off my collection. Most if it will be up on ebay within the week. I’ll just be glad to be rid of all of this.

That said, I do have a few things I’m keeping: My Shockwave shelf. Shockwave is my favorite Transformers character with Bumblebee being a close second (my last car was actually a yellow VW Beetle with an Autobot logo airbrushed and clear coated on the roof). So yeah, that’ll become the Shockwave/Bumblebee shelf. My Star Wars Hoth display. It’s finally finished, looks great, so I’m keeping it. Transformers Titan class city bots and the legends/core class figures to go with them. They’re on display and still fun to fiddle with, which I will do, so I’ll keep them. My Star Wars droids shelf. Mostly containing Astromech droids that were exclusive to Disneyland. Most of those were Christmas presents from my parents, while several others were from when my wife patiently waited for me to put them together at the build a droid kiosk at Star Tours in Disneyland right after I proposed to her. So they have sentimental value. Anything that was either a birthday or Xmas gift. Pretty self explanatory. My Transformers Beast Wars shelf. Mostly updated figures from Kingdom or Titans Return, but at least a couple of those were Xmas gifts from my wife on our first Xmas together as husband and wife. Some Star Trek Playmates figures. Basically enough for the bridges and that’s it.

TL;DR: Because of the toy industry nonsense, terrible distribution, overpriced and unavailable exclusives, no one to share this hobby with and other more prominent things taking precedence in my life is why I’m out of this hobby. I’ve had it, I don’t enjoy it and because of that I don’t want it anymore.

 

That's all fair, man. If it's not making you happy anymore, you have every right to get out. Collecting isn't necessarily a thing that lasts a lifetime, and like you said, you've got bigger things to worry about. Best of luck going forward.

 

All very reasonable points to why you are feeling like you should move on from collecting.

Over the years, I too have sold up my collections and it can be very liberating. I keep a very limited amount of collectables these days and any genre that starts becoming a chore to collect gets sold up.

Main thing is, if you get a decent price for things then you never really regret selling up. If you sell as job lots you can lose out.

If you keep some elements of the collection though, there is always the possibility this will spark your collecting again at some stage.

 

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and you will undoubtedly be missed from this hobby. Fair winds and smooth seas, friend.

 

Sounds terrible! You are making the right decision. Less IS more in the long run. You will be able to appreciate more what you keep. You can always come back to it if you miss certain parts of it. But never feel obligated to do anything or get everything. If you decide you want to only focus on Transformers who's name start with the letter Y then that's you!

Hope you find an amazing hobby

 

Sometimes I look at all the boxes (containers) of toys and collectables I have and dread having to move to an apartment with no room.

There's also lots of it that I'll never have on display, just storage.

 

Yeah, lack of money and space, along with how many things end up being exclusives that are overpriced, or unavailable in my country and finally, the general lack of originality and fun, as the toy industry becomes more focused on nostalgic adult collectors, is why I'm probably going to quit next year. LEGO's been boring for the past few years, Transformers just keeps becoming more G1-focused, more hard to find and worse quality and I can't find anything else I want to get into instead. It's a shame, because I used to love toy collecting.

 

This sounds like me in 2007. Under very similar circumstances, I sold off about 90% of what I had. I was burnt out. I had loads of stuff I didn't really care about, was tired of chasing stuff and wanted to spend more time on other things. Moving on from it made me feel like a new person. I was totally out of it...like 100% out of collecting and the fandom...for almost 11 years. I returned to it almost by chance, it seems. But I set some limits and rules aimed to avoid the mistakes of the past.

 

I’m constantly selling off figures and paring down the collection. I’ll also go through periods of not buying things. A few years ago I made the decision to collect very specific things and it helped rejuvenate my interest. Plus things are easy to get online now. I still stop in a few stores but long gone are the endless hunts. I eventually run into the figures I’m looking for without resorting to paying over retail.

 

to be fair, both Walmart and Amazon let other people sell on their site, its not the companies scalping, its others.

 

Excess stock of unwanted items. It might be related to some compulsory purchase habit, possibly as a coping mechanism.

I am not sure I follow. Online shopping is extremely common, and physical shops are progressively closing down. What is preventing you from doing your shopping online?

Excess stock, paired with lack of storage space.

Excess of stock, paired with lack of disposable income.
You also mention "maintain", as if it's an ongoing process with a monthly cost.

You posted this on one of the world's largest and oldest communities for TFans. We share our passion for the hobby every day. What is preventing you from doing so, as a user?

Shopping online makes it fairly easy to preorder almost all exclusives. As a European, I think some US TFans underestimate how much harder it can be for the international market.

BBTS, an online shop, is selling MOTU Origins Orko for $15.99. If you are buying it online, why don't you buy it where it's cheaper?

Excess of stock, lack of storage space, lack of disposable income, regular expenditure to "maintain the collection", perceived loneliness, and the experience of living in an online monopoly where toys can only be purchased from Walmart.com. I would be very surprised if this did not result in anxiety.

This is very good. This kind of realisation is the first step towards improvement.

This seems to be a bit unrelated to collecting - is it a side business where you customise figures on commission? This is usually hardly profitable, and very expensive in time and money. Plus, I assume you need a dedicated space to do this - which is compounding the discomfort from the lack of storage.

So you can shop on websites different from walmart.com. I am not sure I still understand your complaint above on prices.

Did you try selling on Amazon.com? Fees for sellers are much higher than on ebay, so prices tend to be much higher in many cases. There are other positives sides to it, but sometimes it's just cheaper to buy elsewhere - it's just the nature of amazon.com.

Did you preorder those Amazon exclusives for MSRP when they were first announced? Because now it seems that ebay is not selling for MSRP, instead of amazon.

Are you sure that the problem here is amazon.com?

It's a big step for any collector, congratulations. I did it three times so far.

This makes sense, why not.

Uhm... now not only it's two characters, but you picked a character which has a very large number of toys released every single year. And I find it unrealistic that BB won't pull on that "shelf" Optimus... and then you will need Megatron... and then you will need Starscream and Soundwave... and the Seekers... and the Coneheads... and where are the Autobots? Right...

OK, that didn't last long.

With a couple of agile jumps, we went from "just Shockwave" to "entire series".

I guess one question is: if you had unlimited money and unlimited space, would you keep collecting all those toys?

I recommend looking into OCD. It might help.
From the NHS' webpage:

"
OCD has 3 main elements:

• obsessions – where an unwanted, intrusive and often distressing thought, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind
• emotions – the obsession causes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress
• compulsions – repetitive behaviours or mental acts that a person with OCD feels driven to perform as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession

[...]
Some people with OCD may also have or develop other serious mental health problems, including:

• depression – a condition that typically causes lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness, or a loss of interest in the things you used to enjoy
• eating disorders – conditions characterised by an abnormal attitude towards food that cause you to change your eating habits and behaviour
• generalised anxiety disorder – a condition that causes you to feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event
• a hoarding disorder – a condition that involves excessively acquiring items and not being able to throw them away, resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter

People with OCD and severe depression may also have suicidal feelings.
"

This is not an uncommon story, but it's important to tackle the root of the problem before the situation gets worse. And I would personally check with your wife, because if this is taking a toll on you, you are probably underestimating the impact your hobby is having on her. Good luck!

 

To be fair, if Walmart let a collector buy all their toys and then set up a booth inside their store selling the same toys they just bought for a 200% markup, no one would have trouble seeing it as gigantic bullshit.

To be fair, Target does the same thing, also. In fact, Target lists for TFSource D:

 

Learn to buy online.
I can't believe I'm still reading stories like this one on this site.
I enjoyed the hunt too in the past, but those days are simply gone.

And about exclusives: It's okay when it's some Starscream redeco or a Megatron with more battle damage that nobody really cares about. But that putting Fangry in a box without weapons but with three other toys nobody wants is just a joke.
A good joke. But an expensive one.

 

I already read through this on Facebook. While I agree with your points, I do question your need to broadcast your departure by spamming this on multiple sites.

 

I wish you all the best!

Based on all the reasons you listed out it does sound like taking a step back in the right call. Other have said it, and I'll echo it, it seems like you have your priorities straight and I think this move away from collecting will help make you happier.

And in the future, maybe you'll find yourself coming back into the hobby and be able to enjoy it more. It all has to be on your terms, every collector has to do that. Anyone who collects should be taking stock of how their hobby is affecting them physically, emotionally, and how it affects their relationships with others.

You will be missed but I respect you looking out for yourself. Take care!

 

This. I have very specific "goals" with my collection and if older figures become "outdated" I sell them or donate them. Over the last twenty years I've sold my RiD2000 collection, my small AEC collection, my small masterpiece collection, my small 3P collection, most of my Binaltech/Alternators and large portions of my Classics + Thrilling 30 + Prime Wars collection. Right now I just hold onto eight Binaltech/Alternators and a huge WFC collection.

You have to narrow your focus and interest otherwise you'll drown in plastic and be disappointed.

 

I read all of it, don't disagree with your choices at all. I actually feel a bit like you do with the anxiety part. I too have a lot of items I have yet to open, because it requires me to reorganize everything I have in order to fit them all onto the shelves. I need more shelves and it all feels a bit overwhelming and I have been procrastinating on getting anything done on my days off. I need to just think small and do a little at a time instead of seeing how much there is to do altogether.

 

I think being a collector requires a certain craziness.

When I first saw tf collectors being a long time tf cartoon fan and not knowing about the collecting - I at once thought collectors are crazy.

But the thing is, we are all crazy in our own ways. And it’s important to see it: whether it really reflects just who we are inside. Our collection may be a burden, but it may be a real part of us. And only losing it, we will know we lost a part of ourselves.

I find it, if you are certain it’s not who YOU are - sell it. But don’t make decisions on factors from the outside. Mech/society tendencies change, people affect us in different ways. But it’s important to be true/honest with yourself, what really is who you are. If your friends are no longer supporting it.. but were you in this because of them or because it’s you who liked it. There will be friends who share the same craziness with you. So as you never know. Maybe even in your family - there will be someone who loves organizing, and will make it all pretty.

Look inside you. And make the move slowly and see how you really feel.

 

Shockwave
-> Shockwave + Bumblebee
-> Shockwave + Bumbleebee + SW Hoth
-> Shockwave + Bumbleebee + SW Hoth + Titans & Legends
-> Shockwave + Bumbleebee + SW Hoth + Titans & Legends + SW Droids
-> Shockwave + Bumbleebee + SW Hoth + Titans & Legends + SW Droids + Beast Wars
-> Shockwave + Bumbleebee + SW Hoth + Titans & Legends + SW Droids + Beast Wars + Star Trek

It seems that what you're really looking for is focus. I'd wager that your final list of things to keep is already multiple times larger than most people's entire collections.

I really love TF, and to a lesser extent I love Star Trek (though not to the point where I would ever consider collecting any). I can't imagine myself having a similar amount of passion for those two plus Star Wars, MOTU, Ghostbusters, Minecraft, Futurama, Mortal Kombat etc. etc. to the point where I need to have a physical manifestation of these IPs in my home. Of course if anyone has (/had) the money, time and space to collect all of that then they are welcome to do so.

Re. #2 and #5, looks like you might benefit from applying some exclusivity to your own collection. Maybe entry to your collection requires strict standards and vetting.

Re. #4, there are countless online retailers, maybe find a few that match your expectations.

 

Moving in that direction myself even if I can't seem to cut it off completely. More interested in completing G1, and Beast Wars - Unicron Trilogy than anything new coming out.