Quote Originally Posted by Sky Shadow View Post
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.

Quote Originally Posted by theshape View Post
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!"