I applaud a collector who's willing to know 'when not to be a collector'.
Just in the past few months I've been going through all my POTF, POTJ, SAGA, EP1, EP2 and OTC figures and have been picking out the dupes for Toys for Tots. I now have a very impressive large box of SW figures I can drop off this Holiday season, and although it's hard to part with a couple of the ones I know are still considered desirable or rare, I think they'll be better appreciated by some fan who otherwise wouldn't have them.
Just about the time of EP3's theatrical release I tried to help a lady track down a #11 Vader for her son, because I just get a thrill out of seeing shorties enjoying the stuff like I did when I was their age (who am I kidding, I still enjoy it as much as I ever did). However, these 2 greasy geeks (who also work for the local comic/hobby store) had walked in and picked up all the Vader and Clone related stuff and literally were giggling all the way out, probably to stock them at twice face value or to start their eBay Empire so the little kid who simply wanted one Vader figure walked out empty-handed. I recently found over a dozen new SA clones at a local Wal Mart, but turned off my army-builder desires for the group of kids who were all ecstatic to get their hands on them. Instead I picked one on a really good card, admired the younglings' adoration for SW and walked away. And I get appalled when I see shameless scalpers (including a family of whom I ran into repeatedly on 4/2 during my voyage) who will literally race you to the toy aisle and make every effort to guard their little area til they've pillaged it clean of high-profit items. I still recall back when the McQuarrie Stormtroopers hit the shelves, my TRU got in so much product there were literally about 10 of them on the display, and this one ******bag walks up with his price-guide (I'm not making this up) and pen, and grabs all of them at once and shoots for the register. Luckily I was able to obtain one elsewhere, and I know most children aren't going to be enthralled with the concept figures that never appeared in the films, but I have a death wish for scalpers because they ruin it for the HONEST collectors as well. And it sucks because although I don't have children of my own just yet, I do have a 5 year old nephew who's addiction to SW I am feeding, and it makes me livid that I have to go through hurdles or resort to eBay scalpers to even get him the figures he wants for his collection (to PLAY with...gasp!). So I admire anyone who knows when to be a collector, and when to keep the fire alive for the young-uns. I believe those acts are rewarded, in many ways.
Heath