I hate you guys...

[Golden Phoenix]

That's not Blackie's fault!

He knows my lack of will but still tempts me. Hence it being his fault

[SilverDragon]

Well, Bonecrusher hates you too.

[Robzy]

Whhaaahhh??? Why the hate? Toy collecting is FUN!

[GoktimusPrime]

Here's some of my personal habits which help to keep this hobby relatively more affordable:

Buy toys while they're current
I seldomly buy toys when they're no longer in production or not on sale. I don't even have an eBay account! Generally speaking if I want a Transformer I buy it when it's out - saves me from having to track it down months or years later and pay ridiculously hefty aftermarket prices.

Avoid buying toys I don't really want
One question that enters my head when purchasing a Transformer is "Why?" What is the reason for me wanting to buy a TF toy? The reason can vary; often the toy appeals to me, but sometimes (esp. in the case of some Animated and movie/ROTF toys) the toy doesn't appeal to me but I'm collecting characters. Either way, I have a _reason_ for wanting the toy, not just "because it's a Transformer." I saw the RPMs at TRU a few days ago and I asked myself, "What's your reason for wanting these?" and I couldn't give myself a good answer, so I didn't buy any.

Import in bulk
Overseas shipping works out cheaper for the individual when shipped in larger numbers. This is where getting involved in group orders helps.

Take advantages of sales and other forms of discount
This is a no-brainer. Obviously when there's a sale on it's a good time to start buying up. You spend more in the short term but save more in the long run. Now I'm going to contradict myself in the next point...

Buy hard to find toys immediately
Toy hunting sucks. It wastes so much time and it's emotionally frustrating - and now with the cost of petrol it also wastes _money_ because you're frantically driving to various suburbs looking for that one toy. As a result sometimes when I'm having trouble finding a toy, if I see it I'll just buy it, even if it's not on sale. Saves me the hassle of looking for it afterwar.

Avoid buying multiples
Another no-brainer. I'm not greedy... there's no need for me to own like 10 of the same damn toy. I will on a _very_rare_ occasion acquire a second one to keep sealed, like once in a blue moon; but overall I just buy ONE of a certain toy. I'll happily collect variants but that's not the same as buying a straight out double.

[kaiden]

im contemplating buying henkei rodimus for $68US shipped -.- damn scalpers.

[Lord_Zed]

Yeah, I keep telling myself I will stop collecting... when its no fun!!!! however it's still fun after all these years (more so even) and yes being part of several communities for my various collections increases my exposure to all the cool things out there I want to collect.

I'm confused though I always thought toy hunting was part of the fun. obviously repeated failure sucks, but most of the time I'm happy to wait if I don't find a toys straight away and are usualy rewarded for my patience. When I do find the toy I'm after it's all the more rewarding.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I always thought of the chase being a lot of fun. I have occasionally just bought the damn toy after searching for it ofr a couple fo weeks, even though I didn't really want it that much. Strange but true.

Now though, with the decent oz dollar, its cheaper and much less hassle to import. Plus it fits in with my morals about not being ripped off by the bulltwang high prices us southerners get slugged. $30 for a deluxe? Not if I can help it thanks.