Community > Watto's Junk Yard
Too Much Stuff?
Brian:
This can deal with Star Wars in particular, or overall collecting interests...so I thought it might be best here. I've noticed lately with many of us here on the forums that it seems like there has been a lot of thinning out of collections, selling off items, general "need to keep things in check" type of comments, and even some people dropping various collecting lines. Some of it might be the movies ending, some of it might be many of us reaching the age or point in life where we don't have the money or space for it, or maybe interests have just shifted. I've noticed that some people have moved away from "toys" into higher end stuff, which is an area I'd like to get into someday...if I ever have any money ;). Have any of you just gotten to the point where you are looking at everything and thinking "wow, that's a lot of crap stuff"? Do you have to buy stuff and then put it right into storage, hoping to put it out some day? What are your plans for your future collecting?
I know for me, I've really been trying to keep things more in check. There are a number of areas (both SW and non-SW) that I'm interested in collecting, but to be honest, I just don't have the budget for it overall. Plus, the space. I've been able, for the most part so far, to display the majority of my Star Wars collection...but some of that, as well as other interests have already had to stay packed away. I think I'll always be collecting Star Wars in some fashion, and will probably be with the 3 3/4" line until the end...unless it really gets to be all repacks or stuff I don't need/care about. Outside of Star Wars, I've tried to limit it to one other area of interest (currently collecting anyways, I have other "past" lines)...and usually in a smaller buying scale compared to Star Wars. With some minor exceptions, I've been able to do that (Marvel/DC Superheroes...or "Superheroes" to have it as one category :P). Anyways, I'm rambling on now, but is anyone else scaling back (or thinking about it), limiting their various "lines", giving up things altogether, or just keep on plugging along? I guess lucky for Star Wars collectors (or collectors in general) there are so many lines out there now, in so many different price areas, that you can really alter what you want to collect and make it fit your budget and interests. Just curious what my fellow collectors have been thinking lately.
DoctorPadawan:
The ARC-170 is what finally motivated me to "cull the wheat from the chaff" so to speak. I love the ship, but I was running out of room so rapidly once ROTS hit, that this one huge toy was the breaking point. Some things just had to go.
A lot of it stemmed from me picking stuff up without thinking it through first (I'm still trying to figure out why I bought the Gungan Assault Cannon from Episode I), but some of it involved things that had since been duplicated/bettered in the line (the POTF2 X-Wing and Landspeeder, for example). I decided that from ROTS on, I was only going to concentrate on things that were in the films (and/or the Clone Wars cartoon) in the 4" and Unleashed lines, the occasional Boba Fett and/or Slave I item, and everything else must go.
The problem I've run into is as a single guy living in a small apartment, I don't have a lot of room for this stuff. Hence the vast majority of my collection (mainly vehicles and playsets) are housed in my childhood bedroom a few hours away. That kind of sucks, since I have all this cool stuff and I can't even look at it all that often. :-\
I went through something similar about four years ago when I sold the vast majority of my complete SW Lego collection on the RS forums. I just remember looking at it, and saying, "Why do I have all this stuff?" and getting rid of it practically overnight. I'm sure I made a lot of people happy, and that's all that really matters to me. Frankly, I'd rather give the stuff away to someone who really wants/needs/can use it than to try to get some money out of it.
But yeah, with the increasing length of the line overall, I just felt like it was time to concentrate on what really interests me and not what I think is cool at any given moment.
Jeff:
"Why do I have all this stuff?"
A question that comes up about once/twice a year for me. Usually, I choose a few things to cull out and sell and that usually gives me a bit more cash to spend on new things and a bit more space to display it all.
I think the only real "mass exodus" of product I had was shortly after the launch of Episode 1 when I realized there was no way on earth I could keep up with everything - either financially or spatially. That's when I nerfed everything except for the 3.75" stuff - I got rid of everything else: bend-ems, 12", action fleet, etc).
Recently, in preparation of Episode 3 junk, I sold off a bunch of my excess army builders. I kinda realized that while 50 Stormtroopers looks cool, I didn't really need that many and could get by with 12. Same thing with the rest of the Army figs, culled them from 20-100 each to about 2-6 each (clones, Gungans, Droids, etc.).
I also culled out and sold off most of my "repeat" ships - having one Yellow Jedi Starfighter is OK, I don't need the Red, the Green, the Blue, etc. I convinced myself it's OK to only have 1 Gunship and not the other 2 paint variants, and the same goes for A-Wings or X-Wings, etc etc etc. From here on out, I'm only going to pick up a re-hash vehicle if it includes a tempting enough pack-in figure.
With both sales, I made some cash that I rolled into buying more Ep3 stuff and it also freed up a lot of room in the closet (ships) and the shelves (army builders).
Right now, I'm currently overhauling my "Star Wars" room - adding some shelving and re-organizing a bit now that RotS is in a cool-down phase. Hopefully, when all is said and done with the re-org, I'll be happy with what I have and can skip the "Why do I have all this stuff?" that I normally have in the fall. ;)
Jeff
ruiner:
I can relate.
My problem stems in regret. Everytime I sell something, I wish I hadn't. Case in point, non animated CW items.
I sold the complete set and then came to the realization that I liked half the line (bonus clone troopers, 3 packs, Durge, etc.)
So then I end up buying half of the crap back (at more expensive prices, mind you).
I guess in the end, I'm just better off taking the stuff I'm "iffy" about and throwing them in the closet or in a box and letting my son have the **** when I'm dead and buried.
He can either sell the assload of toys or reminisce about his great old man by keeping it!
Dressel Rebel:
I've been pretty selective about what I buy. There's usually 1 or 2 figures in every wave, that I just don't think has a nice likeness, or good sculpt, and I just leave it on the pegs. For the first 2 years maybe 1995-97 I was a complete carded collector, and a complete loose collector. Now my focus has shifted. I buy some main characters, but I do not buy every R2D2, Luke, and 3P0 that comes out. I do not need 25 loose R2's. Do I need that 30th sculpt of Darth Vader? Don't think so. I do not need Greedo's 4th reissue. I am an army builder. Troopers, warriors, aliens, I have as many as 150 of certain army builders. I am not into silver, hologram, lava, and exclusive figures at all, never have been, never will be. I'd say I currently buy 75% of the figures Hasbro releases: massive armies, very little ********.
I also collect baseball cards. Currently I'm building the 2005 Bowman set including the complete set, and all jersey, bat, autograph, and throwback cards. Now there is a challenge.
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