This thread really hits home for me.
How much will it take for you to leave this hobby / addiction
Not much.
I haven't bought anything for about 5 months now. My interest in collectibles has definitely declined. But you know what, personally I don't see that as being a "bad" thing. I have better things to do.
I've been collecting for the longest time and the sheer amount of what I own has taken it's toll on me. It's really overwhelming. It's not even about the money or prices either. Essentially I could buy whatever I wanted, within reason, when it comes to this stuff so that's not the problem. The problem I have is with regret. Regret and remorse for the things I have obtained. That and lack of space, not just lack of space where this stuff is held, but lack of space in my mind. To be honest, a good portion of what I have I don't particularly care for anymore. I did at one time, obviously, which was why I bought it but things have changed.
Lately the hobby has been a huge disappointment, looking ahead and looking back. I bought way too much and still wanted more while the things I had, I never really appreciated. I'd learn about something, hype it up, wait, buy it, wait for it, get it, open it, put it on a shelf/put it away and that was it. That's my attention span with about 90% of the things I own. Par that with the fact that a good chunk (not everything) of the toys and collectibles I have bought are pieces of ____ in terms of quality and I'm just not a happy camper.
I've completely abandoned retail, mass produced collecting. I used to heavily collect from companies like Hasbro, NECA, Mattel, Toy Biz etc. but it's just not worth it to me anymore. I'm content with what I've purchased in the last 20 years and what they've been churning out isn't anything really new. I mean, yeah for the most part they've certainly improved but they've lost a particular charm in my eye. There's too much to collect and again, the quality such as the plastic and paint seems to get worse and worse with each passing year. Not that it's the fault of the producers but the materials such as the plastic just aren't what they used to be years ago.
With all that said, I have two things on pre-order. A Hot Toys Reeve Superman and the Hot Toys Spider-Man. While I've "quit", it doesn't really count since I've pre-ordered those two. There are some things that I've always wanted (grails) that haven't been made yet, like a few Terminators and Batman. Only a few, but once those come out, I'll probably slip and buy. I'm looking at you '89 Batman Hot Toys and possibly more Terminator. Other than that though I can't see myself getting anything more. It's all mostly been done in some form or another.
I've had thoughts of just selling everything too, just manning up and getting rid of it all. I got what I wanted out of it, didn't I? There isn't much left to it than simply owning something and if that's the case, it's purely an archival item. If they've lost their charm, why hold on to them? Plus, maybe a few years later I could come back to it after I liquidated and start from scratch. I do have a few things that I'm quite happy and sentimental about. Things like my old school Kenner figures or some of my great high end collectibles (mostly 1/6) that I think I'd miss.
For the most part though, I think I'm happier and richer by NOT collecting. For the longest time it was a lifestyle instead of a hobby and I just got sick of it.
