Thinking about quitting this hobby.

[devilof76]

It's human nature to go to extremes and to get in over your head.

I don't suppose that's advice

The potential to fall victim to the pull of extremes is human nature, but no one has to succumb to that loss of control.

Doesn't make it any less fun though.

(How's that for not advice. )

 

[karamazov80]

The debt thing I can't speak to, but I can say that nowadays I spend very little of the money I earn on toys. I sell older stuff to buy newer stuff. Since the older HT figures tend to appreciate, this is a nice process for me. I don't hold onto older figures for "OCD" or sentimental reasons, though. If I don't really like it, or if I get tired of it, then I'll sell it. If you can get to that place, then once you've invested enough in the front end (sounds like you have), then you don't have to worry so much about budgets, etc. Easier said than done for some, I know.

The potential to fall victim to the pull of extremes is human nature, but no one has to succumb to that loss of control.

Doesn't make it any less fun though.

(How's that for not advice. )

That's true, but it's easier for some to fall into that trap than other due to history, predispositions/genetics, and circumstance. It does take will to resist, and sometimes more than that (like, medication).

 

[galactiboy]

Refocusing is often a good idea... back when figures were under $100 I would buy just about anything that caught my interest. Unfortunately that led to having a lot of stuff and since I'm running out of space and have new stuff coming in I decided to make some pretty deep cuts to the collection.

This will help clear up some display space and will allow me to keep collecting new stuff by selling the old.

 

[quiggle]

how come none of you didnt suggest leaving the community? hwo many times have you felt a figure looked not to your liking only to buy it because other peeps here rave about it and take nice photos?

 

[devilof76]

That's true, but it's easier for some to fall into that trap than other due to history, predispositions/genetics, and circumstance. It does take will to resist, and sometimes more than that (like, medication).

I'd say that exerting the effort to control your behavior is what distinguishes humans from the rest of animal kind. Allowing yourself to fall prey to the momentum of your urges is more akin to animal nature than human. Like quiggle, for example.

 

[uscmhicks]

I'd never buy figures if I was in debt. I hate owing money out, if it was me I'd be selling what I had just to get out of the debt fast.

My advice though would be if you can slow down and pay it off whilst keeping what you consider " must haves " then do it that way.
At the end of the day regardless of what we think of them they're only figures and not important enough to mess your life up financially.

 

[LoneWolf]

how come none of you didnt suggest leaving the community? hwo many times have you felt a figure looked not to your liking only to buy it because other peeps here rave about it and take nice photos?

LOL! Are there a lot of collectors like this? Interesting..

I never spent my money on anything because of feeling left behind or social inequality. I buy what I can, when I can.. Not a millionaire, accepted that fact a long time ago, but I still like collecting 1:6 scale items, so I stay. Wonder what the other members think about this "collecting trend" you observed in some.

 

[karamazov80]

I'd say that exerting the effort to control your behavior is what distinguishes humans from the rest of animal kind. Allowing yourself to fall prey to the momentum of your urges is more akin to animal nature than human. Like quiggle, for example.

____, my dog exerts efforts to resist jumping on the table with food on it because I'll smack him if he does

And really the parallel isn't too far removed from the human example, because humans often resist simply because there are negative consequences to not resisting.

 

[hehateme23]

I was in a similar situation when I first had my son and then when I needed to obtain some start up money for my business. I suggest you forget about sticking to a theme altogether since you're already considering leaving the hobby.

Instead, you should re-evaluate each figure in your collection and determine which one is a must-have or must-keep and which ones fall under "i like to have, but don't mind if it wasn't there". Sell off all the ones that don't fall under your must-haves and then go from there. It's easier said than done.. I've sold off my HT Wolverine and HT Blade a few months back because of how much they were going for at the time and now I am itching to get them back.. but I don't feel sad or incomplete when it is not on my display.. (maybe except the Blade lol). Hope this helps buddy, and good luck with everything.

If you do leave the hobby, it was great meeting you and hope everything works out for you.

 

[uscmhicks]

how come none of you didnt suggest leaving the community? hwo many times have you felt a figure looked not to your liking only to buy it because other peeps here rave about it and take nice photos?

That's an interesting point. I think I've fell for this in the past with some figures , I've sold them all now so I mustn't ( << is there a point in this abbreviation if adding the apostrophe is the same as adding the " o " ) of really wanted them.

 

[devilof76]

And really the parallel isn't too far removed from the human example, because humans often resist simply because there are negative consequences to not resisting.

But what about humans who act in the face of negative consequence because they have determined that getting past their fear will actually net them a positive yield?

 

[steveo]

I hear ya. I recently joined this community and unfortunately that's also when I started going into debt. I wish I had better will power to not buy all this cool stuff.

As some of you may know I've talked about what it would take to quit the hobby. I think I've come to the end of my line and need some freak advice. When I was younger I managed to dig myself into a bit of a hole financially and have been trying to maintain a healthy balance between digging myself out and remaining in the hobby. Let me tell you that is hard as hell... I've limited myself to just Hot Toys comic movie figures. I've kind of splurged with adding Ezio, King Leonidas, and Barney Ross to the mix but that's it. But with everything that's coming out (Capt. America, Mark V VERY SOON, then Mark IV etc) things seem to be getting too hard. I even had to pass on the suit up gantry!

I now need to seriously cut back on figures but I'm not sure I can because I'm a complete-ist (is that how you spell it?). I can't give up any of the Iron Man Marks because I would be bothered by having Mark I, II, III, VI and not V or IV. I want to have the hall of armor. I would feel incomplete if I had CR Superman but no Keaton Batman or Joker. I passed on Spidey and New Goblin but there is still a large list. I figured if I can't have a complete set I may just give up the hobby and sell off what I have... Which is a lot.

In my situation what would you guys do? If I sold off my Enterbay Bruce Lee figures I would probably be able to get myself out of debt. That's assuming the HT DX Bruce Lee release didn't decrease the value of the Enterbay Bruce Lee figures ($600-$900 each). I've tried talking to friends and family but no one can understand the need / love of this hobby. To them they're toys. To us it's artistic appreciation and a lot more.

Please counsel me friends.

 

[karamazov80]

But what about humans who act in the face of negative consequence because they have determined that getting past their fear will actually net them a positive yield?

I suppose some animals do the same. Like those Velociraptors in Jurassic Park

 

[quiggle]

LOL! Are there a lot of collectors like this? Interesting..

I never spent my money on anything because of feeling left behind or social inequality. I buy what I can, when I can.. Not a millionaire, accepted that fact a long time ago, but I still like collecting 1:6 scale items, so I stay. Wonder what the other members think about this "collecting trend" you observed in some.

That's an interesting point. I think I've fell for this in the past with some figures , I've sold them all now so I mustn't ( << is there a point in this abbreviation if adding the apostrophe is the same as adding the " o " ) of really wanted them.

yah all of it is just going back to basic pschiatry to when you were a kid and you see a classmate have a cool toy and then you made your parents drive you to Toys and Things to buy it so you can be just as cool as him and have your friends jealous of you. like some peeps here dont give a damn about a particular figure but when someone posts nice photos they feel the need to compete and post better photos, or just have the fgure to feel the thrill I got something expensive while the rest of you buy the 9.99$ plastic at walmart.

 

[draekus]

As some of you may know I've talked about what it would take to quit the hobby. I think I've come to the end of my line and need some freak advice. When I was younger I managed to dig myself into a bit of a hole financially and have been trying to maintain a healthy balance between digging myself out and remaining in the hobby. Let me tell you that is hard as hell... I've limited myself to just Hot Toys comic movie figures. I've kind of splurged with adding Ezio, King Leonidas, and Barney Ross to the mix but that's it. But with everything that's coming out (Capt. America, Mark V VERY SOON, then Mark IV etc) things seem to be getting too hard. I even had to pass on the suit up gantry!

I now need to seriously cut back on figures but I'm not sure I can because I'm a complete-ist (is that how you spell it?). I can't give up any of the Iron Man Marks because I would be bothered by having Mark I, II, III, VI and not V or IV. I want to have the hall of armor. I would feel incomplete if I had CR Superman but no Keaton Batman or Joker. I passed on Spidey and New Goblin but there is still a large list. I figured if I can't have a complete set I may just give up the hobby and sell off what I have... Which is a lot.

In my situation what would you guys do? If I sold off my Enterbay Bruce Lee figures I would probably be able to get myself out of debt. That's assuming the HT DX Bruce Lee release didn't decrease the value of the Enterbay Bruce Lee figures ($600-$900 each). I've tried talking to friends and family but no one can understand the need / love of this hobby. To them they're toys. To us it's artistic appreciation and a lot more.

Please counsel me friends.

I think your answer might be "learn to stop being a completist". Unless you honestly think its better to not collect anything at all rather than miss a few IM suit marks (etc.). I think once you actually give it a try you'll get over the fact that you're missing a few figures here and there. Give it a try.

 

[uscmhicks]

I'd just keep MARK IV OR III , then you have an iron man that looks like iron man. Sell the rest and pay off some of the debt.

 

[pixletwin]

This.

Rule 1. Don't get into or stay in debt because of this hobby.

This is a luxury. Buy what you can, keep what you can.


Sell if you need to. Break free from the completist mentality.


It's a prison. Eventually you'll have figures you don't really care for but have to keep the collection complete.


That is NO FUN. And you'll eventually run out of space.


Ask yourself, if there was a fire and you could only save 10 figures, which would it be?

I'd go from there.

 

[IrishJedi]

If I sold off my Enterbay Bruce Lee figures I would probably be able to get myself out of debt.

If that's true, it's a no-brainer, imho. Sell those and get out of debt. You'd also be able to stay in the hobby longer (assuming you can keep yourself from jumping back into debt). It will take some will power. Without it, you're screwed... or at least destined to stay in debt and just become more buried beneath it.

You might miss your Enterbay Bruce Lee figures, but I guarantee you the weight lifted from paying off those debts will more than overcome that.

I was once where you are. Probably much worse. And I hit rock bottom and made some tough decisions. Since then (becoming debt free), I have lived a cash-only lifestyle and it's worked just fine. I at least have peace of mind I never thought was possible when I was being crushed under credit card bills.

Sure, your collection means more to you than money. But you know what's infinitely more valuable than any collectibles? Peace of mind and quality of life.

 

[Nuka Cola Kidd]

Yeah, I'll never have this problem, glad to say. I've been collecting since 2008 and only have 7 HTs (OC Batman, Joker, BR Joker, Orginal Mark 3, Thor, Enzio, P1, and Chris Redfield) and 1 Enterbay(Jack Bauer). And only have two on PO (Captain A, and DX Jack).

It's all about control and limiting yourself.

And if you don't have the money to support the hobby and your life you gotta make some adjustments.

Start with throwing the "completionist" habbit out the window, thats a bit of an excuse anyway. And choose only two figure to keep on PO and cancel the rest.

 

[galactiboy]

I was once where you are. Probably much worse. And I hit rock bottom and made some tough decisions. Since then (becoming debt free), I have lived a cash-only lifestyle and it's worked just fine. I at least have peace of mind I never thought was possible when I was being crushed under credit card bills.

Sure, your collection means more to you than money. But you know what's infinitely more valuable than any collectibles? Peace of mind and quality of life.

I've considered moving to the "cash only" method... its too easy to nickle and dime myself to death with a debit card.