Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

So this is going to be one of those serious threads that I fart out from time to time. In this case I want to talk about peer pressure.

Actually pressure might not be the right word. But we all remember when we were kids and there was that one rich kids in the neighbourhood whose parents would buy him all the combaticons while we made do with the Swindle with the broken arm that we got at a yard sale. Fair enough, he was just one kid. And no doubt he would end up dying choking on his own smugness while we lived long lives.

But now, thanks to the internet, we live in a huge neighbourhood. Awareness of what we might be missing out on grows as we can now discover every nugget of information about a figure months or even years before it is released. Also between 3rd Party, imports and collector figures like the Masterpiece line our average expenditure is sky-rocketing. But perhaps the biggest issue is social media. Any time a figure comes out that is close to or beyond our means and leaves us just salivating we can expect to see dozens of people casually saying "pre-ordered."

Is anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed?

Every Botcon is of course a lottery. A whim of FunPub's location can make the difference about whether we go or not. But if we don't go we can expect to hear a huge amount about the awesome things we're missing. The recent Fort Max is another example, really showing the difference between the haves and have-nots. Maybe it's just simple jealousy on my part but I severely envy anyone who is in the position that they can arbitrarily drop $350 on a toy without a second thought. In my case the desire to own what is literally the most sought-after grail in this hobby is just, JUST stronger than the strong sense of unease I feel at the idea both of having to pull together enough cash for frivolities in this economy and the conscious knowledge that I would be spending that much on what is just a play thing.

Actually, how much of that is desire, and how much of that is just me wanting what all the rich kids in the neighbourhood have?

There are of course easy solutions. Stay off the social media. Take a deep breath and say "It's all just toys." And of course I'm not criticizing anyone who IS able to buy anything they want. I'm sure you worked hard or got lucky to get where you are today. And ultimately I'm not going to get into a position where I am buying things I can't afford. But I just wanted to know if anyone else feels like they are getting sick of being the kid with the broken Swindle.

(also, on a totally unrelated note I added items for sale that are awesome, please click my sig below)

I think you're spot on. I've definitely seen an uptick in my spending as I've gone from casually browsing sites like Seibertron to being a "member" of the community. Sure, there're an ever-growing number of exclusives, reissues, and 3rd party products competing for my cash and space. But I find myself more concerned with not missing out on something, particularly if it gets some fair praise from my "peers".

While trying to keep on top of everything, I think that some of us are secretly hoping that the pace of new product release slows a bit. Sadly, I'm doubtful that this dependence on an external shift will lead to the results we desire.

I feel the same way a lot of the time. I picked a heck of a series for it to be my first time completing a cast, because I never have before, unfortunately. And with the way the TF Prime line is being treated, I just don't have the scratch. But I'm on my way, gradually. But when it comes to things like Fort Max and FE Bulkhead, I just have to look on and drool. There's always a little sign that says "You can look, but you can't touch!"
That's basically my whole collecting habit in a nutshell.

I somewhat agree with you on this. I work so hard to make the money that I do, but I refuse to buy Transformers with credit cards. So, if I don't have the money, I don't get depressed or anything, I just wait until I can afford things I want. It does help to limit your scope to certain things. I will say that it does get frustrating though to have the money and not be able to find things.

When I see people talking about how they drop hundreds of dollars on toys, but can't afford to eat for the week, month or year is just plain silly and it actually makes me laugh. If you can't afford things, then you shouldn't be spending money on them. It's not worth going into debt over, starving over or breaking a relationship over.

Also, I refuse to believe that toys can make you happy. They are just items that we buy. They can't love us back. They can bring about happy memories and such, but only because we tie certain events to certain things. As I say to myself quite often, "You can't bring them with you when you die."

I also will say that I can't understand the urge and desire to buy Fort Max, especially at the price he's going for. I'm only 27, but my older brother and I had him when we were kids. Is he cool? I guess, but he is a huge brick. He's a big Transformer that takes up space and honestly in my eyes isn't worth the dough he goes for today. If we still had him, I would have sold him off promptly. He just isn't worth it to me. Maybe that's because I had him.

Never had the mindset that I need to collect to fit in within a group. I find solace and joy in collecting outside the norms. Being able to customize whatever I want also doesn't hurt either.

I feel ya, somewhat.

I'm one of the people that pre-ordered Fort Maxx but it was only because it was on BBTS. If I can't scramble the cash together by the month before it's release, I'm going to have to cancel it. At a glance I'm pretty sure I can muscle it together since it's 5 months away (well, 5 until my deadline anyway), but one never knows what emergencies or distractions will come up. It does, however, mean that I can't buy a whole slew of other figures I would have otherwise purchased.

I still have that yearning to get a bunch of other things - MP Sideswipe, PRID Vehicon, Ironhide, Rumble, MP-16, MP 'Cracker - and it doesn't help when you see so many others saying they've gotten or will be getting them, but... that's life. It's a bit painful, but there nothing one can do about it, short of winning the lottery. Doesn't mean I can't be a bit jealous though.

One thing I will say about being strict on the budge thing is - it makes you sit down and think about what figures you truly want. I find I often see pictures of something and really want it, like so many others, but after a while I just don't care anymore. Bruticus is a prime example. I wanted him really badly when images of him first hit, but by the time SDCC rolled around I just didn't give a crap (even before all the issue with the figure came out). Same with the GDO's... Springer is still a little tempting, but he's at the bottom of the list of characters I care to obtain right now.

Just a matter of setting one's priorities, so to speak. You'll always want something someone else has, but it's more important to be happy with what you have and strive for those things you truly want. For me, Fort Max took precedence over MP Sideswipe and will keep me from buying several other figures between now and April, but, hey, sacrifices come with the territory, so long as they are smart ones anyway and not things like cheating yourself on food or not paying bills for a toy.

Peer pressure?

never felt that, only feel wallet pressure when too many awesome concepts hit the online retail world.
I would say I like the instant connection, instant knowledge, and instant sale that the internet has brought to us. It allows me to budget, which items are more important to not miss out on first and foremost.

Items that I can sense, or know will skyrocket, I will buy first, while others I will wait on as they most likely will stay at the retail level. Also It's not about how much money, it's how much stuff. I'll never need a room full of TF's, and anything I put a lower value on I sell.


and peer pressure is the wrong word.. No one is coming up to you saying...

BUY MP10 dude, or i'll call you lame!"

I wanted too get FM. Money isn't an issue for me but what stopped me from pulling the trigger is that it's 350 for a bran new figure. When Brave Max was released it was only 89 bucks or somethin. This figure isn't worth 350 to me. MAYBE 200.......at the most.

z-span wrote: He just isn't worth it to me. Maybe that's because I had him.

Just to tell a little story, I grew up in the UK. People here may or may not know but the UK really got the bum end of the Transformers deal. Shockwave was never released there. Perceptor or Blaster? Forget it. Roadbuster or Whirl? Nope. The Predacons. Nada. No Swoop. How do you leave out just one member of a 5-man team?!?

But most pertinently there was no Fort Max. And this wasn't just a simple "you can't have", Hasbro pretty much Room 101'ed Fort Max out of existence. If the toy catalogs released in the UK were to be believed Scorponok's most deadly rival was...Metroplex. Yeah.

One Christmas, I must have been about 7 or 8 my parents took me and my cousins on a similar age to London to see the Christmas lights and along the way, to blow our Xmas dough, we stopped at Hamleys, a world class, famously expensive toy store unique to that city. While there, I saw something in one of those look-but-don't-touch glass cases. It took me a few minutes to figure out what it was since I only had a crappy memory of a crappy animation model to work with but I soon realized that I was looking at the head of Fortress Maximus and the hulking great thing behind it was the body. And my own head exploded. A toy that wasn't a toy? I felt like Agent Mulder when he first saw actual aliens, except that show wasn't around yet, so I felt like someone discovering something he hoped existed but he knew didn't.

Years later I would discover the truth through the magic of the Internet. That Fort Max had been released, though not in the UK. That a very limited release had been made in the UK but only through Hamleys. That it was the biggest, most sought-after TF there was. That my odds of owning one were about the same as my odds of owning the moon.

And now, here we are.

Erailea wrote:
I'm one of the people that pre-ordered Fort Maxx but it was only because it was on BBTS. If I can't scramble the cash together by the month before it's release, I'm going to have to cancel it. At a glance I'm pretty sure I can muscle it together since it's 5 months away (well, 5 until my deadline anyway), but one never knows what emergencies or distractions will come up.

I'm playing it the same way. This is the only chance we have, I suspect. Once the preorders are done the price will skyrocket, though not to quite the insane level of actual G1 Maxes.

Peer pressure has never been a problem for me when collecting. I have never wanted a figure just because someone else was boasting about getting it. It comes down to 2 things: do I like the figure? and Can I afford the figure? Neither of those is influenced by any other person. I did pre-order Fortress Maximus, mainly because I had 1 before and I was forced to sell him to survive when I became homeless about 7 years ago. Yeah, the money I got for him helped me get through some tough times, but I haven't been able to get another 1 due to his high prices online, until now. I am most likely going to get him not because anyone else considers him a "grail" but because he was a cherished part of my collection to begin with. However, I am getting a little sour on him now, not because of the price, but because I don't have space. I was so elated when I saw that he will be re-released, all common sense went out the window, and I just had to have him. But now? Not so sure. That's why I'm glad for pre-order. If it was Buy It Now, I'd be out of $350, and a huge albeit cherished figure with nowhere to be displayed. It's all about common sense. Maybe your instincts should tell you when it comes to the financial aspect, but no matter what, let your own desire and sense of responsibility dictate your collection, not your supposed need to keep up with anyone else.