Does anyone have a method to the madness they call - TF collecting?

[kristofferrer]

can anybody point me to a thread that cheers members up for buying too many TFs (or expensive ones)?

I can't justify my addiction, i just want more and more and more and i don't know why?!

to compound matters - Fansproject keeps releasing cool items!

they're stealing my money i tell ya.

Does anyone have a method to this madness?

[kup]

Only buy good none repaint toys and you will notice that your buying will decrease by at least 50%, perhaps more.

I am in the boat in which I am paying premium prices for the last few but rare toys that I need to complete US G1. My morale in this regard has been shot down since 3 of these items have turned out to be dodgy and not worth the price that I paid. I am having a difficult time justifying buying more.

Retail has been dead to me, not much going on for the last couple of years further adding to the downed morale.

[Verno]

I guess it all boils down to that mystical 'Why'. And if you asked 10 different TF Fans, you'd get 10 different answers.

It was easy for me to draw a line in the sand. I grew up with Beast Wars. Its a limited number of characters and incarnation. So when it came to the toys, as Kup said, I ignored repaints like the Fox Kids junk, even the Mutants I can ignore because we all know they weren't designed for BW in the first place.

It must be more difficult for G1 fans, with such a huge pool of toys to sort through and with the same characters being rehashed everytime a new series in released.

For me its the connection to the characters. Others have been doing it for so long they simply can't stop. Some people only collect Primes.

There is perhaps a pressure on you when you read the aquisition threads on boards like these, seeing what other peple have got and suddenly wanting it too. But if you stop and think about it, the impulse dies away and those few items you really want stay with you, the rest you couldn't really bother with.

[GoktimusPrime]

I can't justify my addiction, i just want more and more and more and i don't know why?!

Perhaps the answer lies within your own words. It's interesting that you've chosen the word "addiction," which indicates to me that perhaps Transformer collecting has become more of an addiction rather than just a hobby for you.

As Verno said, you need to ask yourself why you're buying these toys - and we all have different reasons, but if you can't justify to yourself why you've purchased a toy, then perhaps it has reached the point of addiction rather than just being an intensely passionate hobby.

On Thursday I got word that new Transformers had been sighted at Big W Blacktown, so I went there to check it out. I saw NEST Ratchet and some other repaints. None of the repaints interested me, but previously I had been interested in a Deluxe size Ratchet. But when I held the toy in my hands at Big W, there was really nothing about the toy that appealed to me to want to buy it. It's just movie Ratchet in Deluxe size. It looks to be well done for a Deluxe, and if I didn't already have Voyager Ratchet then I probably would have bought it. But I thought to myself, "I already have Voyager Ratchet. And Legends Rescue Ratchet. Do I really need another Movie Ratchet?" ... so I walked out of Big W without buying any Transformers.

So yeah, when considering whether or not to buy a Transformer, ask yourself why you should buy that toy -- justify the purchase to yourself before proceeding. You don't want to be asking yourself later, "Why the hell did I buy that?!"

[snaketales]

I buy what I like and what I can afford... it's pretty rare when the two synch up

[Kyle]

I wish the toy companies would slow down and release less items...

[kristofferrer]

Perhaps the answer lies within your own words. It's interesting that you've chosen the word "addiction," which indicates to me that perhaps Transformer collecting has become more of an addiction rather than just a hobby for you.

As Verno said, you need to ask yourself why you're buying these toys - and we all have different reasons, but if you can't justify to yourself why you've purchased a toy, then perhaps it has reached the point of addiction rather than just being an intensely passionate hobby.

On Thursday I got word that new Transformers had been sighted at Big W Blacktown, so I went there to check it out. I saw NEST Ratchet and some other repaints. None of the repaints interested me, but previously I had been interested in a Deluxe size Ratchet. But when I held the toy in my hands at Big W, there was really nothing about the toy that appealed to me to want to buy it. It's just movie Ratchet in Deluxe size. It looks to be well done for a Deluxe, and if I didn't already have Voyager Ratchet then I probably would have bought it. But I thought to myself, "I already have Voyager Ratchet. And Legends Rescue Ratchet. Do I really need another Movie Ratchet?" ... so I walked out of Big W without buying any Transformers.

So yeah, when considering whether or not to buy a Transformer, ask yourself why you should buy that toy -- justify the purchase to yourself before proceeding. You don't want to be asking yourself later, "Why the hell did I buy that?!"

I think i definitely need to re-evaluate my reasons for purchases.
having said that ....

I wish the toy companies would slow down and release less items...

i probably wouldn't feel like this if toy companies eased up a little on their release.


I'm loving these responses by the way

[liegeprime]

Cuz, PLAY WITH YOUR TOYS! that way youll enjoy them, AFAIK you got doubles for that reason. I got plenty as you know but I dont get to play with all of em all the time due to work constraints, its mostly the G1s and Classics Im more likely to pick up fiddle, then put back. BUt yeah fiddle play or whatever play helps you get your mojo back - well it works for me.

OH and BTW you need to get your collection displayed! no sense keeping them boxed and in the closet that way you get that natural high always when you enter your room rather than trying to fix your "addiction feeling" by buying more. The shopping for shelves (IKEA IKEA!) and setting up helps keep out the doldrums and niggling need to buy more more more feeling. Well it works for me.

[5FDP]

The funny thing is I was just thinking about creating a poll the other day based on a topic like this. But as Verno said, you would get a least 10 different answers and perhaps then combinations as well.

There is a good read on the Transformers Variants site that I would encourage people to read. It kind of puts things into perspective and you may find some of the answers you seek

[GoktimusPrime]

I wish the toy companies would slow down and release less items...

We've been going through a dry spell lately which I don't really mind. I started doing my "1337" toy countdown after my collection hit 1330 and it took three months for me to acquire just _seven_ toys to hit that goal, and that was with both local and imported toys!

Cuz, PLAY WITH YOUR TOYS! that way youll enjoy them, AFAIK you got doubles for that reason. I got plenty as you know but I dont get to play with all of em all the time due to work constraints, its mostly the G1s and Classics Im more likely to pick up fiddle, then put back. BUt yeah fiddle play or whatever play helps you get your mojo back - well it works for me.

OH and BTW you need to get your collection displayed! no sense keeping them boxed and in the closet that way you get that natural high always when you enter your room rather than trying to fix your "addiction feeling" by buying more. The shopping for shelves (IKEA IKEA!) and setting up helps keep out the doldrums and niggling need to buy more more more feeling. Well it works for me.

Yeah, definitely display them and fiddle or play with them... do _something_ with them. Cos otherwise are you actually collecting Transformers or just hoarding them like squirrels hoard nuts for the winter. IMO it looks like an addiction if you're just buying toys and not doing anything with them (even if you only display them at least you'll have the pleasure of viewing them).

I thought the point of collecting doubles was either so you can have one to keep sealed for display and another to open to fiddle or play with. Or perhaps open both and display them in both modes like liegeprime and I like to do. Again as Verno said, ask yourself why.

I buy what I like and what I can afford... it's pretty rare when the two synch up

I find that after I started a family I needed to budget myself more carefully. For example, for months before Revenge of the Fallen came out I started putting money aside into a savings account separate from the account I normally use. Just put away a little at a time. I'd attempted to calculate which toys would be coming out and which ones I wanted and how much they'd cost. So by time ROTF came out I already had the money to buy all the toys - which meant that I went on spend-crazy shopping sprees. Felt pretty good to be able to just buy all those toys in such a short span of time instead of collecting them slowly and gradually, lest we subsist off instant noodles for the next few months.