(I'm sure this has been discussed before but to me it's a very legitimate topic to bring up again.)

As the title implies, will the day ever come where you will stop purchasing transformers?

Will you stop because you've finally collected everything you could and Hasbro and third party companies aren't offering anything that interests you?

Will you have to stop for the sheer size of your collection and can't fix anything else?

OR, Will you be collecting until the day you die because you love Transformers that much?

There's obviously a lot more factors that could impact your collecting than the ones I listed so don't feel limited to just those options.

For me personally, I feel like there will be a day when I stop. It certainly won't come any time soon. There's still numerous figures that I still need to purchase from years ago and there will be new figures that will be released that I'll just have to own. But eventually I think I'll have to stop. For practicality's sake. I hope to settle down and start a family and I think my money would be better spend on my family then on Transformers. My love for Transformers will always stay but the purchasing of figures will cease. But who knows... Maybe something will keep taking money out of my wallet.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

My TF collection isn't that big, but there have been several times when I tried to convince myself I was done and ready to move on from collecting...




...




...until I found that one more figure I HAD to have.

For me, I only collect TF's I actually like. I don't collect just for the sake of collecting. So for me, if Takara/Hasbro stop making figures I want, then I'll stop collecting.

 

Yes

 

^

Hahahaha when will that be?

 

Maybe one day in the future, but at the moment, I have no plans on stopping anytime soon. In the past, I've said I was going to stop after buying one last figure... over 40 figures ago that is  

 

No. Absolutely not. It might slow down due to financial situations or a lack of new characters/toys coming out that I want, but I can always go back and fill holes in my collection.

I've had to be very selective in what I buy because I'm married with three kids, a mortgage, and a car payment, limiting myself to mostly Classics/Generations characters and skipping things that I know I just don't need. Generations Armada Starscream? Nope. I have the original. Jhiaxus retool of Generations Armada Starscream? Sure thing. Movie toys? Nope. Ugly IMO. Masterpiece/3rd Party? TOO. DAMN. EXPENSIVE (though I may sell some things off like I did to get Warden).

Every now and then a thread will pop up saying something to the effect of "I'm done collecting for good!" and it drives me nuts. If you want to be done, be done, but don't come crying for attention asking people (consciously or not) to talk you out of quitting. I know that sounds like a dick thing to say, but I just feel like those threads sound very whiny and woe-is-me.

 

I don't know, honestly. I always sort of figured I would stop collecting when I started a family, but I recently got engaged, and she's very supportive of my hobby (even collecting stuff herself) so now I'm not so sure. It's been a part of my life for so long, I don't know if I could stop.

I'm sure one day I will slow down, but stop completely? I doubt it. Even if I did stop collecting Transformers, I'm sure there would be something else I'd collect instead.

 

And that's why I'm glad I only collect Transformers. I see some folks with collections encompassing huge varieties of stuff. I just don't have that much money, free time, or attention span. I envy those guys, but I accept that that's them and I'm me.

Now...to tag onto my earlier post, if I ever won the lottery or otherwise received some kind of major windfall, I would definitely:

 

I'm semi-retired from collecting. But that's because aside from my financial situation there is really nothing I'm looking for at the moment. I picked up Generations Swerve and Cosmos and just this morning picked up Evasion Optimus Prime. So to answer your question NO but it has slowed down considerably. I still have a nice bulk of my collection, but maybe down the line when things get better I will probably "fill the hole" with some that I don't have anymore.

 

definitely...

My life span for collecting anything is 4 years max, so I am just about getting there. I have already cut down a lot...like no more deluxes, no more movie verse figures, no more one off tv show figures, no imports except MPs!

 

Trust me, it's not easy, haha. Lately, with college and other financial obligations, I haven't had the time or the money to really push my true plastic love (Transformers) so other lines have been shoved to the wayside.

It can be fun though to have something else as well, especially when TFs don't have anything I want at the moment, though with other lines I'm really particular.

 

So, wait, you only collect any one thing for four years maximum? So, when you get to this point for Transformers, will you move on to a different toyline?

 

One day, eventually. I don't really see myself collecting well into my 60's, for example (luckily, those days are far off  ). Masterpiece releases, if Takara keeps on truckin' with the line, will probably be the sole exception. In the meantime, I have no plans to stop for the immediate future. I have slowed down some of my mainstream collecting (most of AoE simply doesn't interest me and I speak as a fan of past Bayverse designs and toys) but it's offset by 3rd party purchases, so it kinda balances out.

 

I don't think I'll ever stop collecting but due to changing priorities, It'll gradually lessen. After a few years, I've become very selective of what I get. From a somewhat line completionist, I am know just strictly MP only.

 

Either when I have all figures I want, or when I run out of space. So probably soon. There is not much space left. And I don't want a crowded display.

 

toyline or different hobby entirely.

I started with model railroads, then moved to board games, then moved to action figures.....

 

Most likely, yes. But not for a long time, I think. But I don't see myself still buying TF's when I'm in the old folks home. But exactly when before that I stop, I have no idea.

I do know that it won't be a cold turkey situation, but a slow decline until I will realise that at that moment I haven't bought a figure in a long time, probably won't buy anytime soon and find, when that happens, that the thrill has gone.

I started keeping score in 2008. The amount of figures I bought have since steadily declined: 62 (2008), 40, 36 (incl 4 3rd party), 40 (incl 14 3p), 29 (incl 14 3P), 48 (incl 23 3P; an emotionally bad year with too many regret purchases), and an estimated max of 28 figures this year (more than half 3P). I'm not there yet, but I do predict this will continue until I won't buy anything anymore.


I'm already diminishing my collection (selling more than I buy) and I find myself being more and more critical of what I buy. Not just because of finances or space, but also because the quality bar has been raised so many times that I find more and more figures simply aren't good enough. Figures that would've exited me two years ago (e.g. Warbotron's offering) I look at and find wanting. Good, but in my eyes simply not good enough.

 

That's actually a really cool idea, I like that... I'm sure it makes the display quite interesting, and the general hobby consistently fun.

Maybe I'll incorporate something like that into my secondary collecting habits. In a way, I did that for a bit, as I did take a break from TF collecting a few years ago and primarily collected video game CEs.

 

TF G2 got me back into collecting TF's. From there I started collecting a bunch of other 80's toy lines. I've been at it ever since so I don't see myself stopping.

 

Simply put , nope.