The Energon Pub

Mon May 07, 2012 11:27 am

Hey, before you guys read this post, just keep in mind that I'm mostly venting and asking for a bit of advice. I'm not condemning the hobby, nor am I personally attacking anyone who doesn't necessarily agree with me. Again, just sort of venting and asking for opinions.

Yesterday, I decided to take pictures of my collection to post on another website's collection forum. After I photographed my main display, I decided to take out some of the figures that I've had in storage for the past 6 months to take pictures of them. After having taken pictures of them and gotten a good count, I've realized that I have almost 500 figures on display, and another FOUR HUNDRED in storage. Four hundred figures that I'll probably never put out on display. Then, looking at my display, I realized that almost half of the figures I actually DO have out...I only bought for the hell of it or just bragging rights.

My wife came in the room and saw all the figures I had packed up and she just made a passing comment like, "Wow, you sure have a lot!" Not in a judgemental voice, just sort of in a surprised voice. Hearing this kind of made me think about selling off the majority of my figures. But there was this little voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me not to. I mean, I have doubles of figures that I don't even care too much about, but it's almost like I have a hoarding mentality. This sort of lets me know that I should cool my jets before it gets out of control.

However, I'm very hesitant to sell off these figures. Despite the fact that they're not displayed, and probably will never be properly displayed, I feel an emotional connection to them. The high that you feel when you finally get that new figure and transform it is still there...but for some reason, I don't have the desire to display them and I have a little feeling that if I don't stop, this hobby could eventually pose a problem and overwhelm me. There are so many cool things about many of these figures, but if I keep them, they'll take over my ENTIRE room, and eventually, maybe even 2 rooms.

I know it's been a long rant, so I'll sum it up here (tl;dr). I have A LOT of figures and most can't even be displayed (and probably will never be displayed). I know I should probably sell them off, but I can't get rid of that tiny emotional connection that I have with EACH of my figures. Anyone have any advice on what I should do? What would you do? Has this ever happened to anyone else in the fandom?

News Credits: 5749 · Mon May 07, 2012 11:51 am

I think all of us with large collection go through this at some point. I have approx 1500 figures with about half on display and the rest packed away in storage bins. Personally, I decided not to sell and keep, which I'm glad I did now that the moment has passed.

News Credits: 16 · Mon May 07, 2012 12:12 pm

As someone who started thinning out their collection a year ago, I'd like to offer you some insight: Selling your toys is a pain in the ass.

First, if you start a sales thread, the majority of your stuff will sit there for months. Selling toys isn't instant cash.

Two, most collectors I've dealt with are class acts, but the ones that aren't will make you want track their IP addresses, bus down to their houses, knock on their door, politely ask for "optimus617" and then punch them in the dick.

Third, it's time consuming. Bumping threads, answering e-mails, confirming sales, boxing things up, taking things to the post office. It can become a part-time job.

However, if you decide to go through and sell off chunks of your collection... congrats! You'll discover that you'll have more space for the stuff you like, more cash to buy exclusives, and, in my case, a happier spouse. I found it easiest to sell stuff in chunks (all of Animated; all Alternators; all Cybertron - save Movie 1 Mudflap). Good luck on your decision.

Mon May 07, 2012 12:15 pm

When in doubt, keep them all!

I mean, it's not like you're running out of room, right? And if you're feeling that guilty about it, start taking some out of storage and play with them, social conventions be damned.

News Credits: 1 · Mon May 07, 2012 12:16 pm

Well, if a part of you wants to free up space but it's at war with other, perhaps there can be some sort of balancing act. If you have doubles, start there. Sell or donate the duplicates.

You don't have to get rid of everything in haste. Take it slow and easy if you wish. Out of 900 figures, even negating the doubles, there are bound to be some you don't have an emotional connection to, they've just been around forever and you've gotten used to them being there. So while you're in this state of "I have too much" go through and separate the figures - the ones you cherish from the ones you don't / the figures you only kinda-sorta like. Then you can think about selling or donating a few of them each month (ex: 1-5 figures). This way it's more of slow transition into getting rid of things rather then filling a box and throwing it on ebay as quickly as possible and regretting it later.

I find it helps when you have them in a place where you know you've made the decision they're to be sold. Sometimes you pull things out because you change your mind, but I find most stay in the bin and have their allotted fate. I will admit though it happens on a different scale for me. I don't have anywhere near as many Transformers as you. What I have are three FULL bins of miscellaneous toys from when I was a kid. Things I've hoarded in the sense that most haven't been played with in 10-15 years. So when my grandparents have yard sale, which usually happens once a year, I go through pick out two dozen or so things from those bins to bring out to sell. Last year I got rid of 8 Polly Pockets from the mid 90's. A little sad to see them go because I loved them as child, but knowing that other enthusiastic kids got them made me happy. Especially the one little girl who loved them so much she couldn't decide which one she wanted more (her aunt actually came back a short time later and secretly bought her the other one

). And you know, I've never truly regretted selling anything at any of the yard sales (or donating the left overs). It might be a little sad to see them go but it quickly turns into a shrug of the shoulders because I'd made the decision to sell them days ahead of time.

It's totally up to you what you do of course. This is just a method I use to get rid of things I find I'm only keeping because of nostalgia.

Mon May 07, 2012 12:57 pm

im glad i read this fr future reference. I'm at 500 Tfs now and when i have 1000+ I'm not selling. any. no matter what.

Mon May 07, 2012 12:58 pm

Dude just keep them. Your dilemma will pass; just give it a few days. These have more value than money alone. As long as you have the space, you have Transformers!

Also, you may want to simply buy figures that you really want and restrict the ones you think you ought to have for bragging rights as you said. Just a few thoughts.

News Credits: 1 · Mon May 07, 2012 1:13 pm

lots of disadvantaged kids out there. you could donate them to good will. or my wife is a nurse so what I do is bake up a few hundred cookies and go down to the hospital and make some sick kids day with a few cookies and a toy.

News Credits: 1 · Mon May 07, 2012 1:13 pm

opps double post......so got any gum.

Mon May 07, 2012 1:38 pm

I know what you mean. I have a 5 shelf bookcase downstairs that houses my favorite stuff. Then I have another 5 shelf bookcase upstairs that holds most of the other stuff. Then I have a box of stuff that doesn't see the light of day. I don't want to sell the box, but I don't display it either. I keep thinking, since I don't display them, would I rather just have the money?

Every time I go into that room I think about selling those figures. I just never do.

Mon May 07, 2012 9:16 pm

I just give em away. I like to give them to the neighbors kids or my friends kids. It's also a practice that has helped me curb buying figures just for the sake of buying figures anymore. I'm very specific now. I like quality not quantity.
But I suggest giving em away if in fact you were ever actually wanting to downsize. Selling is kinda alright but really a pain in the butt as well but the advantage, obviously, is you can make some of that money back you spent.

News Credits: 8 · Mon May 07, 2012 10:21 pm

You should defintley give them to LiKwiD..They will go to a happy home and they will be loved

Just no crappy movie stuff...

Thanks again

But yeah..make a list and put it up on the bst forum..I enjoy dealing with forum members, kind like dealin with disfunctional family

Mon May 07, 2012 10:46 pm

I like the idea of donating doubles, especially if you don't really need the money and don't want to go through the trouble of selling them.

If I were you, before I make any decisions I'd ask myself if this hobby is impacting my finances and relationships, especially with my spouse, ask how much enjoyment I get out of it, and if perhaps there's something else I'd rather put my time, money, and energy into.

I ask myself these questions all the time, probably because I often just feel weird regularly spending money on toys and displaying them at my age. My wife is a much more practical person than I am so she can't relate to this hobby or why a 33 year old man who is a husband and father and seemingly normal guy would want to spend hundreds of dollars a year of his income buying children's toys. However, we have a great marriage, I try to always put her and our daughter first, and she loves me and wants me to be happy. I think my budget is reasonable, too, as it's the only hobby I really put any money into, whereas other guys my age spend MUCH more on things like golf, hunting, and cars, even though they're much more socially acceptable. I enjoy playing guitar more than anything, but buying a new guitar or amplifier is FAR more expensive than spending $10-$50 on a TF. I used to give music lessons, but I've stopped and I'm not currently in a band so it's really hard for me to justify guitar related purchases right now. And even after the intial rush of a new TF purchase has worn off and I've transformed it once or twice, I still get a great deal of enjoyment out of displaying my figures and looking at them everyday. I have a hard time explaining it. The TFs from the past decade are of such quality that they're like finely sculpted pieces of poseable art, brilliantly engineered gadgets, tributes to my favorite characters and mythology, and relics of a very happy childhood all in one.

News Credits: 9 · Tue May 08, 2012 3:55 am

It can be a fine line between 'collector' and 'hoarder'. I'd suggest getting rid of duplicate molds. Ebay would be more effective than sales threads from what It Is Him says.

News Credits: 10 · Tue May 08, 2012 4:08 am

Hmm.. I have not come to that point yet... I expect I have 500 or less on display... None in storage.

Do Classics Jetfire/Astrotrain/Megatron, Universe Prowl/Sidewipe/Smokescreen/Rachet/Ironhide/Hound. Happen to be in the pile of stuff you bought for the heck of it? :lol:

News Credits: 2 · Tue May 08, 2012 4:23 am

I live in a small house in England, and I mean small, not the American definition of small. Because of this limitation, I have had to be careful about what I collect. Luckily, I do not care at all for a great deal of the toylines, or do not care enough to warrant collecting them. I guess you could call me 'Geewun'.

I deliberately avoided buying any TF: Prime figures because with my mentality, I would have ended up with all of them. I have some Masterpiece stuff, but again due to their size and price I will not be adding any more at all, Even MP-10. I mainly have my original G1 stuff and 'classicverse' stuff. I don't believe in buying original G1 stuff now, because in all honesty they are pretty crap when compared to today's toys.

This means that my collection is only growing with the new 'classicsverse' figures I add to it, so I guess at some point it will be 'complete'. At that point, maybe another line will be out which I like the look of, and I will start again. I sell my stuff on eBay when I have replaced it with something I prefer - I started with Titanium Magnus but have now sold it because I have City commander etc. It makes me feel better to not accumulate too much stuff, because I know that I naturally horde.

Bottom line is, why do you want to get rid of the stuff? Is it hoarder's guilt? Unless you have space issues, or having all these TFs is affecting your mental well-being (no joke intended, it can) then you may as well keep. Do you look at new toys, and think "that looks awesome, I want it" or do you just pick up stuff that you don't have because you'd feel bad otherwise?

Tue May 08, 2012 9:48 am

Well I think I've come to a conclusion about what I ought to do based on the advice I've gotten from many kind Seibertronians. I think I'll definitely be getting rid of doubles (MOSC Animated Arcee, Beast Machines Mirage, Armada Starscream w/ Swindle, Universe Nemesis Prime, etc.) as well as several figures that I don't really care for (which includes Universe Prowl, Nerf gun Megatron, and countless others).

Last night, I started sorting figures according to how important they are to me. I think I managed to fill one large box with figures I don't really like (including the doubles). I still have a lot more to go, though.

However, I don't think I'll be finished with that until this summer when I have tons of free time. The school year is winding down, and I have tons of tests, book reports, and classwork to grade from my students.

News Credits: 11 · Tue May 08, 2012 10:03 am

Sounds like you've come to a good conclusion.

I've come to the same place myself, not that I buy doubles or whatnot, but I've felt that I just had too many and not enough space to display them. I decided there were some I didn't like very much and chose to sell them off. It was a slow process and there are still a few I haven't found homes for, but the best thing is the money I got from selling those Transformers I didn't want went towards purchasing other Transformers I really wanted.

Plus, I made a few local collectors happy because they were able to find figures they were looking for for a good price.

For selling them off I recommend looking for local collectors or using craigslist if possible, because then you don't have to spend money on shipping and Paypal fees and such. You could also see if local hobby shops would take them if they deal in used Transformers. You most likely won't get a lot for them as they have to make their profit margins, but at least you'd get something. Of course message boards like Seibertron are a good place as well, but sales will often be slow because a lot of people may already have what you're trying to sell. eBay would be the last resort for me simply because of all the associated fees. But if you sell them as a lot you may have more success.

Tue May 08, 2012 10:03 am

I get rid of some figures periodically just to keep things on an even keel. I'm getting married soon, and I think it's a good practice for me to reassess what figures I truly value in my collection and then give away or sell the ones I don't. Since my wife to be and I plan on having a family in the near future, it's probably in everyone's best interest for me to start curbing my spending and to minimize my collection. With this method in practice, I'm hoping to have a very refined assortment of figures. And above all else, I always have fun with my Transformers and I try to remember that these things bring lots of joy to lots of people which is why I think giving them away is the best thing to do as you can really brighten someone's day and even someone's life just by giving them a Transformer.

News Credits: 1 · Tue May 08, 2012 10:27 am

well best of luck with that.

News Credits: 3 · Tue May 08, 2012 11:07 am

If you actually bust them out and get use out of them once in a while, then they're maybe worth keeping. The ones you'll never display or pay any attention to...I say get rid of them. I'm in a similar position. My collection is probably 'only' half that size, but I only have a couple hundred figs displayed...and don't think I need much more than my Classics and MPs on display. I've started unloading some of my stuff at local meet-ups, but I wish I'd get a little more motivated and unload a lot more of it. I think my biggest hang up is that I don't have the shipping material to sell 100+ figures separately and question how profitable the venture would be if I bought the necessary stuff to do so...and by profitable, I mean not take huge losses and/or practically give the things away. I don't actually plan to come out ahead, I just want to be in the ballpark of breaking even.

News Credits: 2 · Tue May 08, 2012 4:31 pm

I just sold a bunch of TFs I didn't need or like on eBay, and I have bought myself Perfect Effect Rewinder and Ejector with some of the funds. So now I will have two tiny robots who I will absolutely love, instead of several I either don't need or dislike. So I have saved myself space and gone for quality. I actually feel liberated for getting rid of some of my collection

Maybe start small first, just to be sure that you don't feel really awful when you let them go.