Why Collecting Toys is Like a Heroin Addiction.

[Defcon]

I agree with the author, except I have had alot of enjoyment out of many aquisitions. It has addictive qualities, but I believe the worst is behind me.

Recently I have moved, and I had to move my collection as well. The best thing about this is, I was highly motivated to build a proper display. I went to ikea and bought 4x shelving units. I now have good setup. The previous one was good also, except alot of stuff was ending up in the wardrobe.

I to was feeling bad, but downsizing was the way to go. I have sold at least 100 this year, also I donated at least a dozen to the wishing tree appeal at Kmart.Some of the stuff is from 6 years ago, and clearance items. It would seem that my impulse buying kicks in whenever retail outlets have items on clearance. Thankfully I wasn't tempted to go on a binge and buy up all the kreo sets at toyworld when they were on special....

Its not really so much like drug addiction, I would compare it more to buying to much fast food and junk food, while neglecting to eat healthy.

[theshape]

Toy collecting can certainly become an obsession and a problem if it effects your life and relationships etc. Drugs can cause a physical addiction...pretty much like heroin, if you go without it you physically feel sick and cannot function until you get the next hit. I'd say toy collecting may more be like gambling... trying to chase that "high"

[Jim_jim]

My wife always complain that I am collecting too much toys. I need to hide them away every time I want to take it back home and also need to mark down the price. haha

[GoktimusPrime]

For years, Australian retail has been more expensive than the secondary market for new Transformers. So maybe you still need that hit of finding the toys on the shelves.

Not so much a need for the "hit" of finding the toy on the shelf a "play hit" that comes from the desire to start playing with that toy sooner rather than later. Unlike the author's attitude, for me it's in the having, not the getting. The thing I really like about buying from stores is being able to start opening the toy straight away and play with it. Half the time I open the toy as soon as I get home... the other half of the time I've already opened the toy before getting home.

If a toy only interests me mildly, or if I think the RRP is too expensive, then I will wait a while and get the toy at a discounted price. But if I like the toy, then I'm happy to buy it at RRP. So yeah... it also depends on the toys too. Some I'm willing to wait and see if it gets cheaper, or if I can get it cheaper on pre-order (like with MP Lambor... no way I would've paid full retail for that). But other toys, if I like the look of them enough, I'm willing to pay full retail for and get the toy sooner rather than later.

Toy collecting can certainly become an obsession and a problem if it effects your life and relationships etc. Drugs can cause a physical addiction...pretty much like heroin, if you go without it you physically feel sick and cannot function until you get the next hit. I'd say toy collecting may more be like gambling... trying to chase that "high"

One could argue that they're both fundamentally the same. A drug addict is chasing the next fix from their hit, and a problem gambler is chasing his/her next fix from their next game -- but as soon as the hit or the game is finished, they're desperate for the next fix from the next hit or game.

It's this part of the article that describes when toy collecting has become an addiction rather than an obsessively passionate lifestyle choice:

it's not the having, it's the getting. Owning toys kind of blows, which is why I don't really care if my toys are out or not. But finding a figure you want in a toy store? Getting that package from UPS, ripping it open to get the figure inside, checking out the accessories, and getting a whiff of that new toy smell? That's pretty sublime.

^He gets more thrill from acquiring toys rather than actually owning and using them. He doesn't even bother displaying them or playing with them -- just buys them and whacks them into storage I suppose and then goes and hunts for the next "hit."

At this stage he's no longer a toy collector, he's a toy hoarding compulsive shopper. He doesn't enjoy having toys, he just enjoys buying them. And yes, none of us can deny that there is pleasure in acquiring a new toy... the brain releases dopamine which makes you feel all happy and good -- that's the high. But what happens once the dopamine stops? Does the toy continue to engage and thrill you beyond that point? It does for me for sure... more so than the initial acquisition, being able to open and play with the toy is a new level of excitement for me. But I think people like this author just isn't getting that excitement.

It's weird... when I buy a toy, I think to myself, "I can't wait to open this and play with it!" -- do people like this author think to themselves, "I can't wait to put this toy away and buy another one to put away!"

[Paulbot]

I tend to agree with the article. I've expressed similar thoughts about my collecting many times. I have definitely asked "What the **** am I doing?" and moving last year was a big catalyst for it.

It is expensive. I haven't spent too much on individual figures (excluding my Fortress Maximus and Overlord and Scorponok figures) but the overall cost is something I don't want to calculate. I've recently been trying to clear some of my figures and have done so by selling most for far below their actual value. If I stopped to calculate the difference between my purchase price and the resale value I wouldn't be keen.

I don't hate my Transformers, but I have had times when I've looked at the size of my collection, and been unhappy about that period from 2007 to about 2009 when I changed from being a "collect only the ones I like" to "collect them all" and ended up getting far too many movieverse figures and backtracking and getting many of the Unicron Trilogy toys I'd sensibly passed up the first time.

I've almost got my collection back down to a size I'm happy with. There's still nothing on display but the ones in the tubs are the figures I actually quite like. I've still got too many toys in unopened boxes too that in theory I will "get to" but am more likely to put on eBay at some time.

I can see some addiction to the hunt for the figure, and finding and getting new figures still is a high but it wears off. I sometimes don't open the figure. It's usually not a huge priority to open them, so it does make me question why I put so much effort into finding something that "I will open eventually".

So yeah, for me I think it is like a different addiction, but I don't think it's made me a terrible person though. And I admit that I've also got certain issues, a lot of unhappiness, so collecting has been one of the substitutes I've found. I think Liegeprime's comment "Something in his personal life is seriously lacking and the collecting aspect has took over to compensate for it" definitely applies to me so I probably see this a bit to differently to others.

[kup]

do people like this author think to themselves, "I can't wait to put this toy away and buy another one to put away!"

I can't even imagine that. The more exciting thing for me is experiencing the toy itself after buying it. For transformers, I like exploring the engineering, sculpt and overall design. It would be dull for me and would likely loose interest if it was just a 'buy and vault' event.

For none-transformer toys like regular action figures, I am mostly satisfied at owning the character and displaying it with the occasional posing and accessory play.

[Trent]

I can't even imagine that. The more exciting thing for me is experiencing the toy itself after buying it. For transformers, I like exploring the engineering, sculpt and overall design. It would be dull for me and would likely loose interest if it was just a 'buy and vault' event.

This pretty much sums me up. I like sitting there with the toy while I'm watching TV and as Kup said so well, explore the engineering. That is the reason I only collect Transformers. I have no interest in He-Man, TMNT, Figma etc because it is the engineering, the way they get it from robot to alt mode and how good a job they do of making those modes look good, that draws me to TFs. Just tonight while watching Inglorious Basterds I must have transformed Lugnut and Assaulter at least half a dozen times each.

But that is not to say that there is no fun in the acquisition of them. When I buy something it feels good. But not as good as the satisfaction of realizing how good a toy it is that I have just bought when I get home and open it. And why I could never be a MISB collector. It may take me a while to get around to opening them, but I will.

But the guy in the article reminds me of a lot of the people on here in the way of toys that they know they are going to be disappointed with. I see that as wasting money. But then again Gok would poop himself if he could see what I pay for some of the figures I have decided I wanted!

[Cat]

I just can't see it.

Sure, I know the addiction of collecting.

But I used to work at a needle exchange. I know heroin addiction, and a bazillion others that came and went from the streets. It's hard for me to disconnect from that.

[Raptormesh]

I don't see it either. Standing in line for hours, shopping in an air conditioned environment(or online) and at worst case incurring massive debt is a far cry to having to commit crimes like stealing(or worse) to fund the next hit, mixing up with violent gangs in shady areas of the city and actually degrading your body through needles and chems.

It's unhealthy sure, but let's not pretend they are even in the same magnitude in the slightest. Obsessive toy collection is no different to any other obsessive retail behaviour and you're not going to liken hastak to some drug pusher are you? Are you?

Hate to bring it this silly meme up but...1st world problems?

[The_Damned]

yea i fail to see the connection, except to make light of a different and more serious social problem.