Quality Vs. Quantity, Kids, and Clutter

[miteethor]

I think my collection has reached critical mass. I've got some new stuff coming in the next couple of months and I simply have nowhere to display them. I think I fit in the "eyes bigger than my wallet" category when it comes to the high-end stuff. When I built my new house, I made an office for myself that's rather large - 20x17 in the hopes it could house my collection. But as time passes and I acquire new items I've found that things are getting more and more cluttered and it's really starting to become a mess. I've got a Vader exclusive sitting next to an M&M 2" Darth Maul because I've been filling every available square inch of display space.

And I don't even want to talk about Acryllic cases and dust. I would love to have a nice case for every high end item but I'm often so strapped for cash I can barely get that next super-rare limited item before it's gone or the price goes crazy, and there is simply no money left for the display cases. So I'm paranoid about what dust is going to do to my collection over the years.

To make things worse, I've got 2 kids, age 1 1/2 and 3 who will grab anything they can get their hands on, so as they get older my collection has started to creep higher and higher in altitude. Displaying something that's 3 feet overhead simply doesn't work - you can't see it and can't appreciate it.

My wife has suggested I get rid of the cheap Hasbro junk I've been acquiring and simply concentrate on the nice pieces and make them look better, but I don't necessarily want to get rid of anything, and yet it looks awful the way it is.

Since I barely have enough funds to pay for the upcoming Grievous 1/4th, Darth Maul 1:1, and some others, much less new shelving, is it time to sell? Should I get rid of all the junky odds and ends (like a Darth Maul phone, Darth Maul coffee mug, Darth Maul Taco Bell cup topper, Gentle Giant Bust-Ups, Hallmark ornaments, etc? I still wonder if it will help because everything I like tends to be huge.

And I don't even want to think about the MR Studio Scale Falcon. I want it so bad and there is no way I can afford it, but I'm sure I may find some money somewhere....

How do you handle clutter and pruning your collection?

 

[The Josh]

Well, it sounds as if it might be time to sell some of the Hasbro stuff and a few other items you might not miss as much. Before doing that what about boxing some of the Hasbro stuff and other items like it up till you can figure out a better display situation. Also is it possible to lock your office so your kids can't get into it unless you're in there?

 

[King Darkness]

I am running a home for lost or abandoned collectibles....please PM me with any collectibles you must part with...I will give them a good home,free of charge.....They will come to a smoke free home with a loving family who knows how to care for orphaned collectibles....I will be waiting for your PM....

 

[bcm77]

I'd lose all the Hasbro stuff and concentrate on the higher quality items. Think of it like this,the money you should get for the Hasbro stuff can help fund your 1:1 Maul bust and PF Grievous and give you some extra display space into the bargain. I hated not being able to display much of my collection and got fed up with buying stuff that I had to put straight into storage,but since I quit Hasbro collecting I've gained a lot more space and have been able to fund a couple of display cases and pre-order several Sideshow figures which I wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford.

 

[Customikey]

I know how hard it is, but sometimes you have to be absolutely merciless with yourself in terms of what you get rid of.

You need to stop at the source, which is the Order Button. Never buy anything without a clear idea of where it's going to go. Whenever I order something, I clear a spot for it and wait. This is born of me having the exact problem you have. I love everything, but have limited space.

Also, your wife is saying the same thing mine did: The lesser stuff is making your nice stuff look cheap and bad. It's impossible to have a stand-out piece to display if it's surrounded by cup toppers and pez dispensers. And she was absolutely right. When I got rid of all that crap (and it is crap), I could look at my collection without a twinge of shame for the Sad Monument to Avarice that it had become.

Dump it, my friend. Dump at least 75% of it, and cycle the rest of your collection so only half of it is displayed at any one time, with the other half in the closet. Set a day every couple of months to change out the pieces that you miss seeing with the ones that you can stand to put away for a while. After a few months of doing this, I noticed certain pieces were languishing in their boxes in the closet, constantly passed over for other things I liked better. These, I also got rid of.

Half the joy of a great collection is displaying it well. Your missing out on the quality of all those wonderful pieces because of the quantity.

As for the kids, dump em.

Good luck.

 

[Darth Loki]

As if I needed another reason to not want kids.

 

[tomandshell]

The big challenge is how to display your stuff without it looking junky or cluttered. Less is sometimes more, visually speaking. You want the viewer to be able to appreciate each item, and to have a clear focal direction given to them when they look at a shelf. If there are 100 things crammed on a shelf, nothing stands out and the viewer doesn't know what they are supposed to be looking at. (I have a Boba Fett shelf that is the perfect example of that.) It might be more visually appealing to keep some stuff held back and rearrange your display from time to time--and you might even have fun doing it. Put some pieces away for a while and bring others out to take their place. I enjoy rearranging my stuff every now and then.



And I would give up every single collectible I own for my kids if I had to!!!

 

[Darth Madden]

I know how hard it is, but sometimes you have to be absolutely merciless with yourself in terms of what you get rid of.

You need to stop at the source, which is the Order Button. Never buy anything without a clear idea of where it's going to go. Whenever I order something, I clear a spot for it and wait. This is born of me having the exact problem you have. I love everything, but have limited space.

Also, your wife is saying the same thing mine did: The lesser stuff is making your nice stuff look cheap and bad. It's impossible to have a stand-out piece to display if it's surrounded by cup toppers and pez dispensers. And she was absolutely right. When I got rid of all that crap (and it is crap), I could look at my collection without a twinge of shame for the Sad Monument to Avarice that it had become.

Dump it, my friend. Dump at least 75% of it, and cycle the rest of your collection so only half of it is displayed at any one time, with the other half in the closet. Set a day every couple of months to change out the pieces that you miss seeing with the ones that you can stand to put away for a while. After a few months of doing this, I noticed certain pieces were languishing in their boxes in the closet, constantly passed over for other things I liked better. These, I also got rid of.

Half the joy of a great collection is displaying it well. Your missing out on the quality of all those wonderful pieces because of the quantity.

I think I need to apply all this advice to my stuff. I used to be in the quantity is better mode but now that I can get better stuff I need to dump the crap and display the good.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I'm in the same boat as I start to concentrate on higher end stuff. Look at it this way - getting rid of the small items will help solve the clutter problem. A few big items scrunched together doesn't look as messy as a lot of little items scrunched together.

 

[Customikey]

I've managed thus far to keep away from really big stuff. I'm all 1/6, although I did pick up ONE MR Vader FX lightsaber.

The only piece of "kitsch" I have is a Vader Phone my brother got me. I was going to get rid of it, but my wife stopped me. Glad she did!

I'd love to get the 1:1 busts, but I know i can't. Ever.

Self-denial can be very hard.

 

[JGouse0498]

I agree with what most people have already said...you need to look at your collection with a critical, objective eye and let go of everything you don't truly want or doesn't fit in with the collection you want to have. It is a difficult thing to do...especially if they are items you've had for a long time or had a hard time finding in the first place.

But it sounds as though it needs to be done.

I'm actually in the same boat now. I actually just posted a huge list of items to forums such as Rebelscum, yodasnews.com, and the PSWCS in an attempt to truly clear out space...mostly for the upcoming Sideshow 12 inch line (with Luke arriving in two days).

As for the kids, I would say get a lock for your office door until they are old enough to understand why they can't touch any of the items on their own and you can trust them to obey your wishes.

 

[Darth Loki]

I've already decided that I'm not going to be a completist and that should help with some things. However, in a year or so when SS has really shipped a lot of stuff (hopefully), space may be more of an issue.

 

[DarkArtist81]

It's a tough thing to do, cleaning up a collection... weeding out the less desireables display items. It can be rewarding if done properly, but great care must be taken. I guess you just have to find out which ones are favorites and which are expendable.

I've found myself in this very situation during this past year. I've been collecting Hasbro and Mcfarlane stuff for a long time.. at least 8 years... But once I found Sideshow, my collection was moving up in quality and things needed to be "rethought".

I went to Ebay and sold my Unleashed figs, Star Wars figures (the packaged ones anyway) I kept a few loose items and those with significant meaning to me. I made several hundred dollars, which in turn helped my SSC habit. So I may be missing out on some stuff that took me a while to amass, but my collection is much nicer looking.

The only bad thing is, now my SSC collection is starting to clutter! So, that's being a little rough to organize. Because I will NOT be selling any of those.

 

[ta2215]

I was in a similar situation a while ago, I decided to get rid of everything Hasbro (Unleashed and 3 3/4), Kubricks, Rep. Commando Maquette, and some other stuff. Some of the items hurt to see them go but it was rather satisfying to get some other High End stuff with that money and see my collection clutter free.
You can check how my collection was looking before my changes https://www.tk2215.com and here is a sneak peek of how is starting to look now (I am still working on my displays).

The money you will get can be used to get new stuff and also to get better display systems that your kids won't be able to touch

After I am done I will be changing my website also, but that can wait!

And If you are wondering where are my Sideshow PF, that has a special display that I am not about to reveal yet!

 

[miteethor]

You are in Orlando? Me too!! I see you have the Ikea cases - did you have them shipped or is there a store around here I can get them?

 

[KitFisto]

I a in the same situation as the original poster with space, but with me it's just space for the higher end stuff. All my Hasbro stuff is already in boxes and about to be given to my little cousin.

I am pretty anal about how stuff is displayed too. I have to have it all on a nice shelf somewhere. I can't just "stack" stuff all over and have it look cluttery.

As is, it looks lke my SS 12" figs will have to remain boxed up until I can create some new shelf space somehow.

 

[ta2215]

You are in Orlando? Me too!! I see you have the Ikea cases - did you have them shipped or is there a store around here I can get them?

Hehehe, no I am not in Orlando, that is my name!

I live in Chicago 20 minutes from the IKEA store.

 

[gambit]

The big challenge is how to display your stuff without it looking junky or cluttered. Less is sometimes more, visually speaking.

Exactly. I start collecting like 8 months ago and I started with hasbro 3,3/4. then continued with unleashed ..etc. After I continue with Gentle giant busts and statues and lately discovered SS.
Due to space constraints, I sold almost all of the basic and other figures including crappy GG bust-ups.

I am waiting for the exclusive SS GG and as tomandshell mentioned, less is allways more.

You can get good money by hasbro toys on ebay or otherplaces. me on the other hand sold in Turkey far more expensive than ebay

 

[FlyAndFight]

Hey Orlando, Fanastic collection. By the way, I've got the same foosball table! The kids love it.

My collection is in dire need for some upgraded display units. The dilemma is that money going to the displays would be taken from the hobby funds, thus curtailing additional collectible aquisitions...

But I'm to the point that it's one bullet that needs to be bitten.

 

[Customikey]

I know most here will scoff, but the dresser drawers as display shelves thing is working out surprisingly well. They're high quality wood, the grain and staining of each is slightly different, which adds variation, they're width and depth is such that I can't bunch up a lot of figures in one spot, but must be displayed in an orderly way. I can position the different sized drawers in different configurations to match my display needs, and they were free!

I also found some nice LED spotlights that just stick to the roof (that'd be the back of the drawer) and add some nice display lighting. I'll take pics eventually.

It's cheap, yes, but it's working out wonderfully, it's budget-conscious, and it looks like I had a custom-made display built. I just can't, nor can I afford to, buy these expensive Ikea things, only to have my display needs change, and then I'm stuck with this expensive display unit that doesn't work for me anymore.

More $$$ for the toys!