Getting Priced out, how about you?

The hobby isn't really offering me anything I want; my last HT figure (Mantis) finally arrived after a two-year wait. I may buy Wolverine & Deadpool, but think they'll be oversold to retail who will be forced to dump them cheap.

Meanwhile tons of third party companies offering loads of stuff I've pre-ordered but they are so behind delivering, I'm not spending anything.

So, not sure if I'm being priced out or bored out - I don't need another batman / Joker / Iron Man / Predator / Alien / Etc. 1/6 offerings from major manufacturors are as boring as the action figure aisles in Walmart & Target - besides Manga figs, it's the same IP going back 25 years now.

YAWN

I used to have quite few 1:4, 1:10 and 1:12 figures but sold most off to go primarily 1:6 (plus lately some more 1:18).

I am happy sticking solely to 1:6 for detail/articulation/customisability and 1:18 for variety and vehicles. I will likely never sell off those two categories of collectible.

I also will likely never go into statues. Most don't actually look as good as a 1:6 figure, are fragile and take up way too much space, not to mention the high cost. Just not worth it IMHO.

I really need to see a JND piece in hand,
it’s just a lot of money and time to put down on a statue that may or may not look how you’re expecting in hand. Photos can throw sculpts off, it’s easier and quicker to figure out if a 1:6 piece is any good or not, due to more people purchasing it, therefore more photos to surface, in a multitude of environments. Better ability to gage what your eyes are seeing through a screen.

That JND Returns Catwoman is limited to 300 & 600 units worldwide with the likelihood that the majority of its buyers are in Asia and don’t all communicate via a forum like this or IG. Without JND’s unboxing videos, collectors tend to be a bit in the dark, that’s worrisome at $3-4k per statue traveling across the world as heavy as they are.

Buy only what you can afford and you if you really want the figure. The FOMO is what can cause you to overspend.

For the past 2 years, I've been saying my collection is nearly complete and I won't spend any more money on these collectibles; just a couple more characters and I'll be done, but then every year they come out with new ones that I want to have. It's an addiction.

I'm not winding out of the hobby, I just extremely refined it. Hot Toys weren't enjoyable to me at all anymore, sold all of them save two. Wanted to try Inart, think they're a lot better than Hot Toys, but there seems to be a lot of inconsistency and don't really want to build a huge 1/6 anymore, so probably won't delve too much into that.

Never wanted or was interested in statue collecting, and yet JND came and I own 7 statues now since Fleck as a first release - first of all, they're too big to shift like a Hot Toy figure, so I don't go for releases unless I really want them, and have not even thought really, aside from WW84 due to have a double character, of selling them.

Therefore I found the version of collectibles that really is exactly what I was looking for this whole time. Combine that with being extremely selective of 'do I actually like these characters and want to keep them'. You don't need to bow out of collecting, just really prioritize and reflect a lot on which one's bring you the most joy.

I realised an aspect of this hobby that I really hate is getting a figure, and then 3-4 years later getting an updated version of the same one, I'd rather just pay more money and have one I really love that realistically won't be topped in the next decade or two.

Not getting priced out myself, the prices came back down to Earth after the ridiculous hikes of 2020-2021. Definitely winding down the collecting as I move toward early retirement and nearly obtaining everything that I have wanted from a collecting standpoint. The last decade has been really good. I'm also not addicted to this collecting game as I've seen with some others in here. Some of you need an intervention!

Speaking personally, I actually just got back into collecting again after a 3-year dry spell. It's actually a hobby I got back into because I have had less time/desire to play video games (especially newer ones) which is where most of my disposable/hobby income had been going. I used to collect 1:12 and 1:10 scale figures but that scale really fed into my completionist/consumerist tendencies. Felt like I was just accumulating crap. I got my first 1:6 figure this year, and it really is the perfect size-detail ratio for my needs and living situation. I think a lot of the brand-new releases are too expensive for what they are, but I have not been breaking my bank picking up some older releases. FWIW I do have an end goal in mind for my collecting and don't pick up more than 2 characters a franchise. I have only made 5 purchases this year but I can't imagine I would have made more even if they were lower priced.

Less is more, the less you have the more you see.

While prices have increased across the board for all avenues of this hobby, I think the statue side of the market is the one that's becoming more prohibitively expensive for me. Neither here nor there, but it's also the side that I think has more to worry more regarding stuff like 3D printing than figures. Would not be surprised to see more collectors go down the avenue of printed or bespoke statues in the future if prices keep hiking. Especially if one has moderate painting skills.

To me what this boils down to is priorities. Do you want a new set of wheels for the car, a new receiver for the man cave, a new stroller for the next kid or another $400 figure for the shelf?

Collecting is a passion and enjoyable past time to still play with toys as adults. I’ve embraced my passion this year and have purchased quite a few new figures. Most of them I’m super stoked about. I made one purchase in haste but will sell it, get some money back and either save some money or spend it on something else I’m after which isn’t much at the moment. Got a few preorders coming down the line. Really looking forward to them too. I agree some of the prices are getting up there but when looking at figures from JPT which are metal armor coated with lacquer, silken cord woven through the armor plates, accessories and overall presentation it’s understandable why the cost is what it is. I use them as a reference as those are some of my favorites. Not a line of figures for everyone but they suit me very well.

As far as Hot Toys goes I think they’re overpriced considering their figures are mostly super hero’s which have been done, done again, done over and to me are simply a money grab. DX #2,3,4 of the same figures over and over and then they start producing “Artisans” which is the same molds used over again with rooted hair.

Again it’s all about priorities and what’s most important to YOU at the time. Embrace your passions. If you’re done you’re done. If you’re refining your collections or selling them. Life life to the fullest and fill your cases!!

Remembermyname said:

Less is more, the less you have the more you see.

Click to expand...

The less you have, the less you have to look at.

Remembermyname said:

Less is more, the less you have the more you see.

Click to expand...

Depends on how you display them.

I've definitely felt the impact from the inflating prices since when I started collecting.
I think for me the biggest thing that's making me reconsider many of my preorders is the pricing. I know figures are getting more and more detailed, and with that the cost goes up as well. But when I'm paying $400 or more for something that just stands on a shelf, man I dunno...
Sometimes I feel like selling everything and getting out the hobby. But then something cool comes out again and well, we all know how that goes. lol
Another thing that certainly doesn't help is Canada's insane economy (or what's left of it). For the most part, we're paying nearly $100 more per figure than you folks in the US are.
I feel like it's definitely helped me refine my collection a lot more. I'm mostly collecting select videogame and the odd Star Wars figures for my collection now.
I'm feeling like it might be time to hang up this hobby soon. Or limit my purchases even more.

I started collecting in 2017, mainly Snyderverse and LOTR. Now that the Snyderverse is over and InArt and Hot Toys are providing upgrades I realized that a lot of the figures I owned would be replaced anyway. I always want the newest best representation. Oh, also—I had literally run out of storage room for boxes!

Anyway, when I first started collecting I never thought I would do it, but over the last month I sold 23 figures. I priced them to sell and only on a handful did I make a profit. It paid for a nice extra vacation for me and my wife. When I totaled what I paid versus what I made back about 70% of the original cost. That means I got to own and enjoy the figures at about 30% of their retail cost.

That’s how I look at it now. There are the customs I’m slowly building a collection of referenced in my sig, and I’ve kept some figures that I don’t think will get upgraded any time soon. I’ll never sell my Baldur’s Gate customs. But I expect that I’ll eventually sell the InArt and Hot Toys upgrades.

But cashflow-wise… yeah I’m having to slow down and be more selective. The InArt figures have about doubled the price of the standard Hot Toys figure when I started collecting. And my customs are even more expensive. The money is there in the budget to treat myself, so it’s alright for now.

My interests are more offbeat these days. The stuff I want is really unusual, like from movies such as One-Eyed Jacks, Barry Lyndon, and Cloud Atlas! I can’t imagine that those characters would ever be made by a company. And commissioning customs for such figures is cost prohibitive. That is if I could even find someone to replicate the costumes faithfully in 1/6 scale, which seems doubtful.

A smart older friend of mine used to tell me "Keep it simple". So yeah, my income hasn't kept up with inflation and TBH it was fun around the beginning of the MCU, when I started think figs were around 220$, beautiful HTs - only diecast IM and WM were the most expensive.

I collect WETA and other stuff too; 1/6 statues around 250$ and my biggest splurge was Iron Studios Civil War 1/4 pieces.

So to keep it simple, can't regularly afford 300$+ figures and 1000$+ statues. I just ratcheted back, pass over a lot.
Keep POs to a minimum. Payment plans. And too, even with advances in sculpts etc. Have to ask myself if a figure is really worth
500, 700. To me anyway. Think I paid around 750$ for WETA's Eomer a few years back and that statue has a horse too.

Not going to dig myself a hole financially for a hobby. Like I have a pet with a chronic illness and she's more important including her specialty food.
Finally this trend of huge pieces for me is fun to watch, but think 1/4 scale is as big as I want to ever deal with.

Yeah, payment plans.

My first experience with those was for the Hulkbuster. I never envisioned that I could afford a (then) $800 figure, but yeah, I could swing $50-$60 a month for a year or two. That changed my whole perspective, and appeared to make what appeared to be inaccessible figures suddenly accessible. Fast forward 10+ years, and it has gotten out of control. I did it to myself, but it feels like indentured servitude. Primarily because it isn't $50-$60 a month now, it's more like $450 or $500. A freaking car payment

Since I already own almost every single figure I need from my favorite childhood films and comics, I've been saving alot of money over the last few years. The most recent franchise I've ever purchased anything from is the LOTR Trilogy. The rest is old-school Sci-fi and Horror stuff. My one and only Mandalorian aquisition was a Hot Toys 1/6 Mando & Grogu in new condition for $150.00 (incl. shipping). An offer I simply could not refuse. While I believe the new Scum & Villainy aliens are priced way too high, I'm still going to await the Jabba's palace announcements before I decide...

Yeah only bought one in the last 6 months and gonna be picky going forward.

I started collecting Kenner Star Wars in the early 1990s, got out of collecting for a while, then in the 2000s Hasbro Star Wars and old Playmates Star Trek plus Character Options classic Doctor Who, then ditched all of that and moved to Hot Toys Star Wars, QMX/EXO-6 Star Trek and Big Chief Studios classic Doctor Who.

I am out of display space really and what with costs (especially Hot Toys and the custom 1/6 Doctor Who I am forced to work on since Big Chief Studios ceased to exist) I have to very selective. I will only go for Star Trek TOS and TOS movie era figures from EXO-6, from Hot Toys it has to be a main OT Rebel/hero or PT Jedi. With Doctor Who just the best example of each of the 7 classic Doctors I can make.

One big saving has been me walking away from Disney Star Wars and also not collecting troopers! Those two seem to be the majority of what Hot Toys now makes for Star Wars.

I wish a company would make Buck Rogers TV series figures from the 70s show and classic Battlestar Galactica figures.