The Energon Pub

So, with the Unicron reveal, and the ensuing discussion, I thought this might be a good thread to have. What are your personal spending limits, and for what figures? How does that affect your collecting decisions?


What I don't want to see is what you think of somebody else's priorities. I want to hear why person A spends what he does, not what person B thinks about that. It might help others expand or shore up their own habits.


I'll share my own later, I've got to get to work, but wanted to get this idea for a thread down before I forgot.

Because of my budget i have a few issues i use to determine figures: size class, cost and review ratings (issues that have been found on figures is also what i avoid a lot)

Legends Class to Scout Size: If the figure is interesting or at least affordable price such as a prime master, movie legends figures and more recently PotP Battleslash white helicopter (Never found his blue partner Roadtrap)
The Prime Masters are lovingly remastered deformed versions of pretenders but still recognizable at a affordable price. Still we never got officially the wave 3 here (Bomb-Burst Bludgeon and Octopunch) Had to import Bludgeon so he's a crown in my collection

Deluxes: Really depends on reviews and price. My limited budget means i have to put money equal to 10$ aside after each weekend for a few weeks to afford them due to inflated prices here.

Voyagers: Mostly not a option since their prices are even worse than deluxes here. Leaders arent even close for affordable for me. We dont many good ones either. My Toys'R'Us is still flooded RID Shelfwarming Twinfernos, a few Cyberverse toys and Legions of TLK Steelbanes and Squeeks's that no-one ever buys.

So my prize point is between 1300 to 5999 which is equivalent to 10 - 47 USD dollars. I'm currently saving for a 6,999 SIEGE Voyager Optimus Prime figure but only because he seems to be worth the spend.

I have a severely limited budget, so price is my main concern, but I also judge by the figure's look, articulation, engineering, my attachment to the character, and value.

My budget right now is 30$ a month to spend on figures, so I am able to get one Voyager a month with that. Sometimes, if there is nothing I like, I save that 30$ for next month, so I can have 60$.

Value is also important. I would rather spend my money on a 20$ deluxe with MP engineering than a 50$ brick (I'm looking at you, Walmart G1 Prime).

Looks of a figure are very important. This is why I do not have any figures from the Unicron Trilogy. Some look cool, but others look horrendous and won't fit in my collection. I love Bayformers, I grew up on those. But I also really love G1, and I can't get enough of that. I'm not tired of it at all, especially with what Siege is doing. I would much rather have Siege Soundwave than DOTM Soundwave. I like DOTM, but I prefer G1 (and by extension, Bumblebee movie design).

Articulation is something I find myself considering alot nowadays. Back then, it didn't bother me, but now, I prefer my bots to pose. Siege Optimus Prime is perfect. He can do ever pose I want. I want my figures to have that level of articulation.

Coming back to Engineering, I love complex, but not fiddly. This is mainly why I prefer Takara over 3P. 3P tends to over engineer or complicate alot, and most figures I've experienced are not enjoyable (This is coming from a guy who finds ROTF Leader Optimus Prime to be a breeze going back and forth) If a figure's arms will pop off every time I handle it, or it's flimsy, just get out of my sight.

I love Optimus Prime, and it shows with all of my Prime collection. I don't like Beast Machines, and I don't want a reminder of that in my collection. This applies to everything else I buy.

I bought Siege Voyager Prime because he easily met all of these requirements.

When it boils down, in the end, I can and probably will never get Siege Unicron. I love his looks, and I am attached to the character, yo the point where I don't even care he doesn't have a beard, because that is Unicron, the one who is biggest, who devours all, and is the ultimate baddy. If I had the cash, I would straight spend it on him.

So, this is an odd one for me. My spending rules don't always make much sense or line up with one another. Plus, I have different rules for different lines.

I recently set a hard line limit of no more than $2

The prices I really have a problem with are jacked-up secondary market prices.

I am totally fine with all of the retail prices. As far as secondary market prices, it varies from figure to figure, but a loose rule is no more than double what the retail price would be right now.

Even though I'm a bit irked by the increase in prices over the last few years, I usually don't let price determine which figures I get, unless it gets to be fairly high. To me it's all about the appeal of the figure. That's why I had no problem paying $50 for Siege Shockwave. Yeah, the core figure is a voyager, but it's a damn good looking voyager. Probably the best after the MP+. No, I wasn't happy to fork over $50, but I wanted it bad enough. The reverse applies to Jetfire. No way in hell was I going to pay $80 for him. I managed to get him for $50, and that's just barely enough to not make me feel bad about getting him. He's a disappointment, for as big as he is and as hyped he was.

I also don't go on a budget, though I probably should. I buy what I want when I want, Transformers-wise. Call it a condition of not having children or major financial commitments. I have spent about $200 on figures in the last 2 months, and if I was on a budget, that wouldn't have happened, but I would have walked around pissed off that I didn't have figures I wanted. So maybe it has to do with instant gratification a little bit. But before that, I spent about $50 (a deluxe and a voyager) since March, so I guess I can also say I spent $250 in the last 4 months. Still high, but a better monthly ratio. And I rarely buy on the secondary market anymore, most of that $250 came from the Siege line. I have every figure I want for the foreseeable future, so my monthly average will probably drop in the next couple of months.

Tl;dr I'm willing to pay whatever I feel is worth me being satisfied.

Honestly, with where I'm at in my point in life, if it is cool and I really want it, I'll pay for it. I don't really have a hard and fast rule, just a glimpse at a figure and compare to the original retail price, what i think of the original and current price, and also if the quality is worth it. A weak figure I will wait for, but a strong one or a favorite or one i need to complete a set, I will jump faster and think less about