Author Topic: How Much is Too Much?  (Read 55290 times)

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #15 on: February 23, 2009, 09:39 AM »
Figures were too much about a dollar ago. $5.99 should be the high end for basic figure and Battle Packs should be no more than $19.99. The price increases were definitely a factor in the cutting back of my SW toy spending.
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Offline speedermike

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #16 on: February 23, 2009, 10:13 PM »
And the truth is, there's just too much product.  I've given up on the comic packs.  I don't really get into EU, but I like getting figures with a comic so I could figure out who the hell I was buying.  But I just lost track at some point, then started passing on them left and right.

Same with the Battle Packs. I just kind of gave up getting one or two new figs for the price of four.  There's some cool ones coming up, but, in genereal, I'm done with the Battle Packs.

However, I still love single carded figures.  They're my main focus, and yesm paying 9.19 a pop does suck, but I enjoy these so much that I can't help myself.

I was once a completist, but gave that up a while ago.  Now I buy what I want, and I'm happier.  And I have finally accepted that the Star Wars Action Figure Police will not fine me for holes in my collection!
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Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2009, 09:10 AM »
Too much product? That too. Cutting out EU or PT is the next step if I decide I need/want to cut back.
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #18 on: February 25, 2009, 05:54 PM »
Not sure about the rest of you guys, but I HAVE TOO MUCH ****

I just hit that point.

I literally feel overwhelmed by it all, I have way too much in my collection. I am already in the process of dumping some vehicles and figures. I am done with the massive army building, I was never too bad but 34 of the same figure no longer sits well with me. I am also done with Joe vehicles, so I am for sure going to more selective on several fronts.

I have the hobby pay for itself through my ebay biz so I can buy what I want. Like a few others here it's not lack of funds or interest, it's the price increase. Anything over $8 is insane, so it's the principle. When you cannot buy 10 figures for $100 that's really bad. Since early 06' I have ordered SW figures by the case to save money and the headache of the hunt. If you break it down you pay $8 a pop with the shipping at most etailers. I will be damned if I am going to go to a store several times, compete with scalpers & waste my time/gas to pay an ridiculous amount of money for figures. $9 for a 3.75 figure is insane. Unless I am pressed they can shove it, maybe stores like Target will wake up seeing that their sales were down 41% this year. Something has to give.

My new priority order of collecting:
1. SW OTC Figures and vehicles: I am buying any & all new/refreshed stuff. No straight repacks.
2. Non-animated Prequel Figures and vehicles: This is where I am being more selective especially in the vehicle department. I am sick of clones to boot.
3. Classic Joe 25th Figures. I will buy any new ARH figure but that's it. Vehicles have to be very special for me to buy and I only want the definitive version of a character.
4. MOTUC: This line is great and worth every penny, plus it's spaced out and very manageable.

Anything outside of the above I buy is stuff for customs to resell to pay for the above hobby. With how much I spend even with the cutbacks I wonder how the avg (non extra income) collector keeps up. I think Hasbro is over doing it this year across all of their action brands. SW is a safe bet but MM & Unleashed to me have always been a waste.

I am so glad I did not get sucked into the CW animated stuff......

« Last Edit: February 25, 2009, 05:58 PM by JACKOFTRADZE »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2009, 01:21 AM »
Quote
With how much I spend even with the cutbacks I wonder how the avg (non extra income) collector keeps up.

No wife, no kids, no mortgage, and at the moment not even a car payment...  :)

That and I don't buy much of any of the animated stuff (Got some IG-86's because they look ok, and a figure here and there for its accessories, but I've only got maybe 5 total CW figures?), and I don't collect allt he other lines...  Vehicles I only buy if they're to-scale or if they have a pack-in I want (and I try to resell the vehicle).

I really can't say I collect a lot...  I guess I just don't put that much itno it.  I do buy extras for customs and army building though, and that mounts up super fast.  A single wave here and there is nice, but army building some stuff really makes me rethink what I'm spending, and since Hasbro (and/or Retail) have decided price hikes at disturbing %'s are ok, I'll spend less on those "extras" I got before.  It's a shame but Hasbro is losing money from me at least in some capacity...  At $5 or $6 a pop I bet you wouldn't see so many Legends army builders languishing on pegs though.

I also try not to shop at the stores that are less competitive too...  I've gotten one figure at TRU in the last 8 months or so?  In this age of baseless price-hikes like we're seeing, I cannot justify spending an extra $5 or whatever on a battlepack or vehicle at TRU...  It just doesn't make sense from a financially responsible standpoint (personally).
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Offline Ben

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #20 on: February 26, 2009, 03:43 AM »
Not sure about the rest of you guys, but I HAVE TOO MUCH ****

Me too. I've had lots of nights lately where I've been thinking of just taking 98% of my collection to Goodwill just to be rid of it. Things you own end up owning you and all that. But then I hit that wall about what I would keep and what I would get rid of, and I can't decide what to do.
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Offline Brian

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #21 on: February 26, 2009, 09:27 AM »
Not sure about the rest of you guys, but I HAVE TOO MUCH ****

Me too. I've had lots of nights lately where I've been thinking of just taking 98% of my collection to Goodwill just to be rid of it. Things you own end up owning you and all that. But then I hit that wall about what I would keep and what I would get rid of, and I can't decide what to do.

I think about this from time to time as well.  I think I probably enjoy the actual products as much as ever.  Hasbro (and other manufacturers) have really stepped up the game for the most part with action figures, and its a lot more rare when there's really a "stinker" of a figure in a wave anymore.  That said, like many of you have mentioned, I just have too much crap.  Plus, I really like to try to have most of it in a nice display (I'd rather not have it all packed up), and that's getting more and more difficult these days.  The majority of my collection resides in our "office", and according to the Mrs., isn't to leave that room - which I understand.  Aside from a few minor things in our basement, its all crammed in one (fairly smallish) room, and its getting crowded.  Like I said, I like displaying it, but at the same time I don't want to sit in a toy warehouse either.  Sometimes I think I should sell off a large chunk of it, but at the same time there isn't a lot I necessarily want to get rid of.  Heck, I'd still like to get an AT-TE (and the Juggernaut), but I have no idea where I'd put them (besides on the floor, but with a 19 month old that isn't the best option right now).

It is interesting to read that a lot of people are reaching a breaking point with prices these days, and for many of us, that seems to be about $8.  That does seem like plenty to pay per figure, especially when there are so many releases in any given year.  I'll admit that I didn't have a huge problem paying $10 for the majority of the VOTC figures, but that was a situation where there was only 12 in a year.  When you're looking at 50-70 basic figures alone, $8 a pop adds up awfully quickly.
« Last Edit: February 26, 2009, 09:28 AM by Brian »

Offline Rob

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2009, 10:16 AM »
Me too. I've had lots of nights lately where I've been thinking of just taking 98% of my collection to Goodwill just to be rid of it. Things you own end up owning you and all that. But then I hit that wall about what I would keep and what I would get rid of, and I can't decide what to do.

You'd be surprised what you can get for it with a little patience and a little luck.

I sold 95% of my carded collection to two buyers at $5.00 per figure, $10 for deluxe.  The small pile that is left, I'm getting ready to slash prices on / dump.

Offline Ben

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #23 on: February 26, 2009, 01:13 PM »
I'm thinking that's where I'll start- the carded collection. Maybe with that gone, things will look a little slimmer. As it is, most of my collection is in storage in my parent's basement, and it's really getting on my nerves having all that **** there.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #24 on: February 26, 2009, 01:25 PM »
I think it's an inevitability the collection will look a LOT slimmer without a carded collection.  That stuff always took up the most room...  I was ecstatic to lose most of my carded stuff.  I'm thinking of selling my complete silver figure collection actually.  Those are a neat novelty but take up space...  Target exclusives probably need to go too.  The only thing I want carded these days are my concept set and vintage (real vintage, not modern stuff). 

Boxed/carded just looks like a mess with this line due to its extremely long life...  :(
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Offline iFett

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #25 on: February 26, 2009, 03:18 PM »
I got to thinking about all my crap.....99% of my entire Star Wars collection is carded/boxed - not to mention army builders and a few multiples of select ships.  I have pretty much all Hasbro figures, vehicles, multi/battlepacks from 95 through present with the exception of very few things.  Not to mention stuff I have like unleashed, titaniums, and galactic heroes - again all sealed. 

How long do you think it would take to rip through everything if/and/or when I have a breakdown?  I can understand the excitement that some of you have opening a new wave here and there, but everything - all at once?  Maybe it's not so much of a question but as a thought....
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #26 on: February 26, 2009, 03:23 PM »
Start with army builders...  You'll be hooked.  I have no clue how long it'll take, but I know it takes me a while to open just a wave if I find them all at once, as I like to enjoy the figures for a bit before they go shelved somewhere.  It probably took me an hour anyway to open Wave 5 when I found most of it a few weeks ago... 

Army builders I've still got some carded lying about (Snowtroopers in particular I probably have 10 anyway around here not opened yet). 

I spent a good hour opening $1 Indy figures the other night too, and separating them between army builders, fodder, and figures I needed in the collection yet, or figures set aside for a specific planned simple custom I want to flesh that line out just a slight bit more.  That was with no "enjoying" them like putting them in some poses on display or something.  It was just open, put in a pile, separate things like the paperwork and artifacts...  I was trying to condense the packaging too so it didn't need a giant bag unto itself for the burn barrel.
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Offline Rob

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #27 on: February 26, 2009, 04:45 PM »
Indy figures are down to a dollar?  ...at that price I might just buy some troops.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #28 on: February 26, 2009, 05:27 PM »
Yup...  $4 at Big Lots, though they're later waves so they're less common.  Good stuff.

I can't speak for your area though, but Pittsburgh is pretty well cleaned out of Indy figures at WM where they were $1...  I think there's 3 at my nearby WM and that's it.  Other stores have absolutely nothing.  And troopers are LONG gone.  Russians, Germans (for the most part), Ugha's and the like sold out at $3 near me.  Hell, Russians sold out before $3 even.
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Offline Morgbug

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Re: How Much is Too Much?
« Reply #29 on: February 26, 2009, 05:36 PM »
I gotta think you guys are seeing this price increase as a result of the economic crisis, so at some point it may resolve.  I don't know if we've been ripped off for years or if we're getting a heck of a bargain right now, but our figures haven't really changed in price for years, including now.  Still $9.92-9.99 at our retailers.  That may change now that I've put it down in print, but so far so good. 
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