The Guess How Much You Have Spent This Year Game

[DaptoDog]

We are approaching end of 2016. Last year around November my wife asked me how much I had spent on Transformers for the year?

Knowing that question may come again this year I thought I should prepare myself. Now I don't keep a hard running total of my purchasing through the year but guessed I had spent ~$2,500, which would be up ~40% on 2015.

To my shock I just did an accurate tally of my spend and it has come to ~$3,500! :eek:

There are some reasons that help explain the budget blowout. First I have spent up to catchup on some prior MP releases (EVA MP-10, MP Sunstorm) that was obviously expensive but I did get sign off from the Mrs on these. Also I ordered a couple doubles to fractionalise shipping that I may sell down the road. Lastly, shifting from NY to PC has brought forward payment on orders like MP Inferno and Grapple from 2017 to 2016.

In 2017 I reckon my spending will drop to ~$2,000-$2,500 because I'm done playing MP catchup and I've been collecting Combiner Wars this year but am not interested in Titans Return except for the Titan Class figures (ie Trypticon next year).

So in the interests of entertainment, what do you think you have spent this year and what have you actually spent this year? If you don't wish to quote $ then just give a rough % difference between guess and actual. As a bonus question, do you expect to spend more or less in 2017?

[1AZRAEL1]

I've spent too bloody much hahaha. I'll do a more accurate when I can be bothered

[DaptoDog]

I've spent too bloody much hahaha. I'll do a more accurate when I can be bothered

Haha that's the truth. If I wasn't accountable to anyone else for my spending I wouldn't bother adding it up either. Just gave my Mrs the updated spend for the year and she was fine with it.:)

[SuspectimusPrime]

This year I have spent $25 on Voyager Sky Lynx. I suppose I may add $300-500 if I decide to pick up some of the TR Deluxes (at least the original 7 that were featured in Headmasters), and perhaps Sixshot + Fortress. I didn't spent all that much last year as well. (probably my spend on Star Wars Lego in the past 6 months exceeds both years.)

I've kept a hard running total for the past 6 years, and my worst year ashamedly goes beyond your 2016. Close to double. In addition, I've got 3 other years that exceed your guestimate :eek:

The biggest hits were also from chasing up figures, mainly Classicsverse from 2006, and becoming an exclusives/Botcon junkie. After nearly finishing that collection, I wound back to picking and choosing and ended up with mainly third party stuff (included in prev years calcs).

TR looks promising and I expect spending to step up for 2017, but I doubt I'll allow it to run amuck.

[BruiseLee]

I don't want to check!!! :p

Ok, just had a quick think and I believe I've spent less this year than last year.

2015 was the year where I was piecing together the items from my "I would love to get this for a price that doesn't get me a stay in La Maison de Chien". That year I crossed off Fire Guts God Ginrai and MP Eva Convoy amongst a few other shinies from that list and picked up the usual assortment of MPs and bots.

This year its definately been less quantity and mostly pre-orders with most of it coming in Q4 with stuff like TT Fort Max, MAS Optimus so my postie had better be working out! :D

Thanks to the member sales board here I've pretty much struck off most items on that list so 2017 should follow a trend down in spending though I have some funds reserved for some Titan class dino and hopefully any wishful thinking news of a G1 reissue of Scorponok prior to the Titan version. :)

[Ralph Wiggum]

Thought I'd spent $1500, so far I've spent $815. This includes MP Ironhide, Hotrod, Shockwave, Ratchet and Ramjet.

By the end of the year with MP Thrust, Skywarp and Inferno, that would go up to $1555. So pretty spot on :)

[MayzaPrime]

I really dont want to know... I should be saving :p:p

[ZoonMaster5000]

Are we only talking official transformers here?

[SuspectimusPrime]

Are we only talking official transformers here?

I counted unofficial figs as well. If it weren't for this franchise/obsession I wouldn't have parted with those funds. :)

[DaptoDog]

Are we only talking official transformers here?

Yep if you consider unofficial stuff you buy as still Transformers I would count it.

[DaptoDog]

I really dont want to know... I should be saving :p:p

Ignorance is bliss. :D

[ZoonMaster5000]

I counted unofficial figs as well. If it weren't for this franchise/obsession I wouldn't have parted with those funds. :)

Hmm in that case I've spent somewhere around $4,300 so far this year probably half that in 2016.

I have a list and once it's complete and I'm happy the with tr's that represent that list my spending will stop. Maybe sometime in 2080 something:D

[MayzaPrime]

Ignorance is bliss. :D

It is mate... doesn't help my house fund though :p:D

[BruiseLee]

I have a list and once it's complete and I'm happy the with tr's that represent that list my spending will stop. Maybe sometime in 2080 something:D

Is that when you become a full time gardner and start pushing up those daisies? ;)

[ZoonMaster5000]

Is that when you become a full time gardner and start pushing up those daisies? ;)

Haha yeah probably or maybe when the arthritis kicks in and I can't pick them up anymore.

[Borgeman]

Alrighty, I crunched some numbers real quick, and if you include all of my paid MP preorders, this years total comes tooooooooo:

Roughly $5180, give or take $100

90% of that was completing my MPs - and that includes the big boys (mp4s, mp8x, mp10eva). Going forward I'll only be buying MPs and the odd worthy toy (for eg i got TF fort max, kabuya fort max and WST soundwave)

[UltimateGalvatron]

I don't think I've bought anything so far this year. I kinda took a buy and sold everything off.


Primus be damned that TR looks good.

[DaptoDog]

Alrighty, I crunched some numbers real quick, and if you include all of my paid MP preorders, this years total comes tooooooooo:

Roughly $4900, give or take $100

90% of that was completing my MPs - and that includes the big boys (mp4s, mp8x, mp10eva). Going forward I'll only be buying MPs and the odd worthy toy (for eg i got TF fort max, kabuya fort max and WST soundwave)

Very solid, was that amount more or less what you expected it to be?

[Borgeman]

Very solid, was that amount more or less what you expected it to be?

(I'll preface by saying I should add the shattered glass MP Prime @ $185 to that total.)

That value is around the mark - I restarted my collecting in July last year, and considering I only owned 6 MPs before my hiatus (Hasbro 20th Ann, MP2, MP3, MP3G, MP4, MP9), it just came down to whether I spent more before or after the new year.

I created a little MP checklist in a spreadsheet that also has what I paid for each release. That total sits at $9810. In the last 15 months I have bought 60 masterpiece toys, including 7 on preorder.

[ZoonMaster5000]

I created a little MP checklist in a spreadsheet that also has what I paid for each release. That total sits at $9810. In the last 15 months I have bought 60 masterpiece toys, including 7 on preorder.

Wow and I thought had a problem. Nice work

I also just remembered I purchased UT Ordin of loophole for $400, it seriously just feels like it never ends.

[GoktimusPrime]

$885.75

[BigTransformerTrev]

No idea for the whole year, but on my shott trip to Melb this week I spent about $300 on TFs which I think came to more than food, booze, hotels and shows combined :o:p

[Borgeman]

Wow and I thought had a problem. Nice work

I also just remembered I purchased UT Ordin of loophole for $400, it seriously just feels like it never ends.

Haha, I used to have a problem years ago, when I bought for the sake of buying, for the thrill of the hunt - I now sold much of what I bought back then.

What cost me was the fact that the MP line ramped up while I was not active, so instead of a backlog of a dozen or so figs, it was 50+. I was only gonna collect the main cartoon characters, but enough of the repaints looked too damn good, so if I was gonna buy 80% of them, may as well get the rest :rolleyes:

[Shirokaze]

Around 2k for me if I include the preorders I've paid for until the end of the year. Way too much, I was supposed to be cutting back....:(

[Raider]

If I actually took the time to calculate it I would be disgusted at myself I am sure...

[Ralph Wiggum]

Philosophical / hypothetical / non-judgmental question but if anyone is getting negative feelings about the money spent, would it be a catalyst for change?

[SuspectimusPrime]

Haha, I used to have a problem years ago, when I bought for the sake of buying

I know I've got figures (perhaps 10%) in this category, and need to get rid of them. I find that I am enjoying my collection less when I see this category of figures among ones that I really favour.


for the thrill of the hunt

This is the hard one, because there are some that do bring back good memories, even if I have not handled or played with them so much. Botcon Deathsaurus was one: cost me at least $250 shipped, months and years of obsessing to locate one, and I haven't even transformed him.


Philosophical / hypothetical / non-judgmental question but if anyone is getting negative feelings about the money spent, would it be a catalyst for change?

Yes. Slowly coming to the conclusion that less is more - this may be a lesson that will take me another decade to fully realise. A lot of money has been spent, but I have never made purchases at the sacrifice of something else I should have bought, or regretted the time-opportunity cost - running around Japan and HK following HD's maps was the best.

[SharkyMcShark]

I think I ended up paying in the region of 180AUD for Vulcun.

120AUD for MP-28 Hot Rod

54AUD for the two Titans Return figures I own.

354AUD. Not bad.

[CHILENO20]

I haven't bothered to calculate but my guesstimate would be around $2000 minimum. A few pre orders from PC, started collected MP's, some hard to find TakTom exclusives and finishing off my G1's.

[UltraMarginal]

If I actually took the time to calculate it I would be disgusted at myself I am sure...

true, but I have spending money that I have to spend or save and apart from not having the space to display them all, I rarely buy a transformer for the sake of it. I often have to stop myself from doing so.

[drifand]

Over 6k Tf alone without my Gundam macross and chogokin

[GoktimusPrime]

Came back from Japan yesterday where I spent a lot less on Transformers than I was actually hoping to (and had budgeted for). I can't be bothered doing the currency conversion right now, but it would've been well below $200.

[SuspectimusPrime]

Came back from Japan yesterday where I spent a lot less on Transformers than I was actually hoping to (and had budgeted for). I can't be bothered doing the currency conversion right now, but it would've been well below $200.

That's a bit of a shame. Didn't find anything you like or didn't get enough time away from work?

[GoktimusPrime]

That's a bit of a shame. Didn't find anything you like or didn't get enough time away from work?
Time away from work? I had 24/7 duty of care! :o

[Jetfire in the sky]

Came back from Japan yesterday where I spent a lot less on Transformers than I was actually hoping to (and had budgeted for). I can't be bothered doing the currency conversion right now, but it would've been well below $200.

I went there in April and had a very high budget but just ended up bringing back about $1500 worth, I was only in Osaka but still did the majority of the main stores. There was a lot on offer but nothing I was really after, which made me realise how my collection is close to being finished.

Overall this year my spending has massively decreased since EOFY I also quit my job around that time to focus on study, other than a few items pre-ordered from PC since then I might have spent $500 on TF's from other avenues. First half of the year was a bit of a free for all so I'm not sure how much was spent, but it wasn't so excessive that I had to sell a kidney. ;):p

[1AZRAEL1]

I've spent $2600 with PC this year so far. About $650 at Toybento. And whatever I've spent at local stores and local sellers. Too much haha

[DELTAprime]

Ok, I'll go through my recites tonight. This is going to be an unpleasant surprise to me.

342.44 USD at BBTS. Never buying from them again unless the USD takes a nose dive again.

382.80 USD at RK. I'm really surprised at that low number is, I think a lot of stuff was bought in 2015 but shipped in 2016.

529.80 AUD at PC. That might go up next year since I'm not using RK anymore for TTM exclusives.

138240 JPY at HLJ. That is where the damage is. 1717.725 AUD at the current rate. It might be worth buying more items from PC in the future I would normally get from HLJ.

I was worried it would be something like $6000 all up but I can live with those numbers.

[Verno]

There's no need to guess: $193.85

[laproblematique]

I'd say about $7k with P.C.

Running out of space and I've yet to even receive 90% of the pre-orders. :eek:

[Bidoofdude]

Just TR Blurr, Galvatron, Blaster, Rewind and Wheelie. Only got Soundwave, Rumble, Ravage, Laserbeak, Kickback and Brawn to go.

[FatalityPitt]

In total, I've spent AUD 448.95 on Titans Return (plus a few Combiner Wars figures - Shockwave and Rodimus). I also sold a couple other Transfomers/Marvel Legends to help fund some of my TR purchases. But the expenses clearly outweighed the sales proceeds (haha).