I'm fairly old, probably older than most on here and learned that the term adult is a funny thing at a very young age (barely over 10 at the time) when I met a very old woman at my grandfather's old folks home that showed me that people grow old, but doesn't mean anything for maturity, wisdom, it anything as such, as she was a childish piece of crap. It was an illuminating moment for me, who had been raised to respect the elderly and to consider them to bear all of those "good things".

That said, I learned that just everyone has a side that wants to be young and many times, their "adult" hobbies tend to feel a lot more childish to me than collecting something of sentimental value which toys can be so if anyone would dare say anything, I have a large repertoire of replies at my disposal, but overall, in all my years, anyone that frowned was more about not understanding the hobby, and everytime I'd give a quick explanation they'd understand it a bit, enough to not be bothered by it as if they knew me, they knew that I certainly am "an adult" and all that stuff, and that I just had a different hobby than they were used to see/hear about. But the person I was stood out so it never been an issue .. if anything, my passion for my hobbies tends to be something that most don't have and it would surprise/impact them.

To be honest, the most shameful stuff I see or seen in my collecting years (including other groups and hobbies) has been other collectors that turn fun hobbies into pissing contests and ego feeding trips.

 

Collecting isn't inherently shameful. It's a perfectly normal hobby, regardless of what you choose to collect. I think a hobby, or any indulgence in life, becomes shameful only once it begins to negatively impact other aspects of your life. Sacrificing financial or social stability for the hobby is probably not healthy or something to be proud of. Basically if it's less pastime, more addiction, then perhaps it's time to re-evaluate its place. If you're choosing toys over paying rent/mortgage on time, or giving up on friends to go shop, that's probably not good for you.

This has generally been the case with me. The most negative reactions I've gotten were more like confusion/ignorance, but I've never been shamed for it or found it "shameful." Even my current partner is supportive, even if she doesn't entirely understand the intricacies of it.  

Though my collecting is one of the last things people who get to know me tend to learn, not intentionally, but it's usually more that the other aspects of my life more naturally enter conversation. It's a lot more like "oh, and he collects toys and models. Huh."

 

I think finding something you can enjoy and share with others is a sign of maturity.

 

Of course, but who among us has any shame?

 

Absolutely.

You still haven't bought enough yet.

We'll shame you till you buy them all.

 

Being a collector isn't shameful in itself, but there's definitely shameful collector behavior/attitudes that occur, particularly in the online community. There's good and bad apples in every hobby space though, so while unfortunate, it's also par for the course.

 

Not at all. The only people who shame you for enjoying hobbies are petty anyway. And their opinions are automatically invalid.

 

That's a good point... not so much what the "hobby" is about, but the behavior associated with it, and when it goes from being a hobby to something destructive.

 

I don't start conversations with my hobby, but I'm not ashamed of it. My co-workers know that I collect. They've even sent me sale links.

 

It might not be as normalized yet as collecting dolls or die-cast cars, but toy collections have a long history in my country at least. If it’s good enough for one of Tony Soprano’s lieutenants (the train guy) it’s good enough for me.

 

I have no shame and I'm incredibly confident- I've been lucky enough to have people around me that accept my hobby. Coworkers have gotten me Transformers or Jurassic World figures and friends will send me pictures from the store and ask "Do you need any of these?"

I will acknowledge that in my very personal experience, all of the people I've met (and became friends with) in person who collect Pokemon, Star Wars, TFs, TMNT, etc have all been men around my age, 30+ and many of them are openly vocal about their collecting while a couple of them have begged me to go "hunting" with them because they're embarrassed of being in the toy aisles and think it's okay if a woman is there browsing with them. I'm happy to oblige, I LOVE figure hunting with people and store hopping to see what's available.

If the hobby brings you harmless joy, there's 0 reason to be ashamed or even embarrassed. If someone has an issue with it, fuck em.

Now if you're scalping, behaving like an asshole, or literally yanking toys from little kid's hands at the store then yes, be ashamed, be very ashamed.

 

Its not shameful, never be ashamed of who you are! Unless you're a rapist, racist, murderer or something along those lines then by all means be ashamed.

 

Well, the great thing is with the invent of the Internet, you can satisfying your plastic crack addiction by having it come straight to your house. Although I do get some strange looks from the mailman when a large package from Showz comes to my door and needs a signature.  

 

Just tell him its a new sexbot. I love screwing with delivery people  

 

Not in the slightest.If you’re paying your bills, getting your work done, doing what you need to as a responsible adult/worker/parent/whatever, what you do for recreation is nobody else’s business, at least as long at it isn’t hurting anyone.

My cousin once told me that a friend of hers told her that she would never date me because I collect toys. Said friend is attractive, but I’ve never even thought about asking her out. My reaction to this news? “Oh well.  “

Your real friends, platonic, romantic or any combination thereof, will accept your hobby as part of who you are, regardless of whether they share it or even understand it. Never feel shame for being who you are.

 

You're awful.  

 

Yeah. The sexbot joke should be saved until the package is big enough to make it plausible. If you’re going to freak out the mailman, do it right!

 

A guy who likes to collect miniatures and paint them tried to shame me about my collection of Arcade1Up machines. Yeah, guess which of those probably gets used more often, bud.

 

I've heard this before!  

I'd just say its replacement parts!  

 

Are you for real? Wow, I'd have said to that little jerk, Pot meet Kettle.