I've felt like that. I didn't even want to look at my collection since I thought it was such a mess, yet I'd still buy more.

What helped was looking at each toy one at a time and asking "is owning this toy worth more to me than having a picture of this toy?". Also, "Do I like this or do I just feel like I should?". Any toy that wasn't worth it got packed away in a box in a closet out of sight for a month to test how much it meant to me. I made notes of any toys that were in the closet that I missed, kept those, and sold the rest.

You can always buy things back, no matter how rare. And, even if you don't, you'll always have the memory. I've regretted selling a few things, but that means I get to hunt for them again, and I've found hunting is where I get most of my joy out of collecting. Asking yourself what specific parts of collecting make you happy can make your hobby fun again.

For FOMO, try passing on a few desirable releases and watch how other collectors react. Generally, they'll move on to the next new thing and usually you will too. If you don't, amd you genuinely want to buy something for more than novelty, track a copy down. More often than not, you can save a bit of money doing this. In the rare case you have to pay more, maybe it's worth it to know that you truely care about that toy rather than it's novelty. Sales can be a blessing and a burden with that tempered approach to aquisition, but that comes with time.

Another thing that breathed life back into my hobby was ditching empty box. I'm a loose collector and I used to feel compelled to keep the boxes. I'd tell myself inanities like "what if I move?" or "what if I sell it?". For me, the space the boxes took up and the anxiety I felt around them wasn't worth it. Now I look specifically for loose copies, and discard packaging as I would training wheels. None of this applies to sealed collecting, of course, but finding fat to trim has helped me feel better and more in control of my hobby.

 

"BigBadToyStore" is worse in that regard with their name plastered all over the box. I was on vacation with my wife and kids for a week last summer and we had the neighbor picking up our mail for us.

Said neighbor texts me wife with "Soo, you got a box from "BigBadToy Store?  ", to which my wife replied, "Yeah, those are his toys. Like, actual toys"

I can't decide what is more embarassing, the conversation my neighbors had speculating about the contents of the box before or after texting my wife...

 

Nope.

 

A few months ago at work, I nonchalantly started to talk about my toy collecting with my team at a meeting, and everyone’s response was somewhere between weirded out and horrified. I’d never experienced that before. It really hurt me because we supposedly live in a time of great acceptance and tolerance, but it seems that my coworkers are only pretending to be accepting and tolerant of what they’re forced to pretend to accept. What a strange world we live in where a little harmless and innocent fun is somehow repulsive.

 

Can I ask you what you do for a living?

Because I’ve talked about my collection over the years and no one was ever really weirded out

 

I work for a big corporate company with the type of people who golf for fun. I’ve never gotten a reaction like that before, it really made me feel like I can’t openly be myself, and I haven’t been open about my life since then.

 

Thanks for the reply, I’m really sorry you’re experiencing that

 

Thanks, it's odd, I've been so happily open about who I am for my whole life without any negativity. I worked hard to get into my current career and was so proud of myself for a big upgrade in salary. I never realized I'd be working with such closed minded people. They're not bad people, just I think they don't really see much outside of their own sheltered existences.

 

Well either way I hope things get better for you in this regard

Not let it’s the worst thing in the world but it can’t be comfortable

 

That's pretty rough, I'm sorry you had to go through that. :/

Regardless what you choose to collect, be it toys of robots, colorful horses or busty anime figurines no one deserves to be treated that way for a harmless hobby. Even if you don't understand it personally there's no need to be a dick.

 

No. Why would I be? My dad used to collect Avon perfume bottles before he died. You know, the ones that were shaped like cars or a lady with a parasol? Those. He wasn't ashamed of doing that as a burly truck driver, why should I be ashamed of collecting what I collect?



To be honest, I'm more ashamed of the fact that I used to be a pro wrestling fan than I've EVER been of collecting any nerd stuff.

 

This is the way.

I'm 41. When I was a kid, I used to get beaten up regularly for the hellish sin of liking comic books (and books in general) and nowadays I see all the kids running around with MCU stuff emblazoned everywhere and it's cool. I'm more than a little bitter about that!

But I've also reached the stage of "screw it" (in more choice language) when it comes to my hobby. I'm too old to care what folk think of it; my wife doesn't really understand it, but then I don't understand her fixation on reality dating shows where people are stuck on islands together, so it takes all sorts to make a world.

 

To me, there is nothing wrong being a collector especially toys collector. Like I seen those rich rappers having collection of sneakers/ trainers or people collection of LEGO, Funko or memorabilia toward a single show. Transformers applies to those.

Also it's your money, if you want to spend it on Transformers, go ahead. I don't know you personally so I can't judge you.

 

The older I've gotten the more this question jumps around in my mind.

I absolutely love collecting. I'm now to the point I have the armies of robots and Avengers and Clone Troopers I would have adored as a kid who's coolest thing he owned was an Animated Jazz. I am quite literally living the dream I had as a child.

I'm also lucky enough to be around very open minded and kind people around my age in my life (who are all also massive nerds, just like me.)

My concern is that once I transition in to full adult life (I'm 19) it will be harder to express this part of myself to other people. Adulthood comes with a ton more responsibility than childhood and much of the time, at least from my perspective, those responsibilities become one's life moving foreward. It isn't really until retirement that people get to relax. This seems to translate into people's view on life, that things that aren't productive aren't worth pursuing. Hobbies seem to sort of fade away, and any hobbies had by most adults tend to be productive in some way, whether that be starting a business or learning how to woodwork or even just selling art. This also (again, from my perspective) leads to a mindset of people looking down on anything that could be considered childish (watching animation, playing video games ((though that one is changing)) and of course collecting.)

Adults can't have fun. Adults need to work. Adults need to pay bills and have kids and pay for college a second (or third or fourth or fifth) time. Adults need to focus on staying alive.

But thats dumb to me.

There's one quote from the Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams basically says "poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." This is what I think about my interests. What's the point of living if we aren't going to enjoy it? I'm lucky enough to already have love in my life, and I want to keep not only her, but the other things in my life that I love alive and well. I want to enjoy whatever time I have on this planet. I want to keep collecting as long as I can, or until I'm satisfied with my collection.

It's not worth feeling shame over. You aren't hurting anyone by collecting (unless you're hoarding, but if you're collecting Hasbro lines with this level of inflation then I don't think you have enough money to do that) Enjoy what you have and what makes you happy while you have the time to do so.

So yeah,
Don't be ashamed for living.

 

Why would it be shameful lmao??
No need to be ashamed of your hobby.
As long as you're a rather stable collector and you don't hurt others physically over your hobby you're good to go.

 

I don't want to know what someone physically hurting someone over collecting looks like...

 

Best to keep quiet about it

 

More then one collector at the same toy store on Black Friday? Chaos run amok! Snipers with nerf darts on the roof waiting for a glimpse of a limited/store exclusive. Beware the shady figure rushing out of dark alleys to rob you of your toys! Knock-down, drag-out brawls in the kid section! And Saturday will see our online pals n peeps nursing bruises and fat lips, saying: Hey, wanna see what I got? It's pretty cool.

 

It looks like someone bashing your head in with a figure that you’re both fighting over. Don’t ask how I know.