The Energon Pub

i came into the TF community a couple months ago (long time fan and collector of the series) and with all the cool links and info on whats out and coming out, im starting to feel like im slowly loosing control of my credit card. so id like to ask my fellow collectors for advise on maintaining control of this addiction.

I had the same thing happen to me when I got my first credit card and started my photography hobby. I spent thousands on expensive cameras, lenses, and equipment. Found myself 3000 dollars in debt within 2 months! Best solution is to either cut the card up and never use it again (and of course, pay off your debt), or give it to your mom or something. There are people out there who can have 3 credit cards and rarely use them. Then there are people like you and I who just have no willpower when it comes to holding off on things we want.

I wouldn't blame the hobby. Like I said, the same thing happened to me with photography and something similar happened to my brother when he kept buying expensive shoes and clothes. I'd say its more willpower than anything else. Either get rid of the credit card, or use willpower. That's about the only advice I can give you.

I thank the heavens that my fiancee' controls the bank accounts and how much we spend each month. I have my own little account for my hobbies, and even if I go broke in my personal account, at least the bills will be taken care of.

How do I keep from getting in over my head? By not liking humanoid robot modes.

In all seriousness, I've found that discriminating view helpful. Having a distinct idea as to what you want your collection to be like (in my case, monstrous) gives you a goal to reach, and you're not buying so many figures on a whim.

As good as the new toys may look now, they tend to look less impressive once they hit the shelves. Photo galleries (such as the ones here) and reviews also give good looks as to how the toy actually fares. Time also helps get rid of the 'shiny and new'-ness.

Will power (looking at my CC statement, I have none), knowing what you can afford and living within your means (again, do as I say not as I do). My CC has been getting a workout that it hasn't had in many years. I do have a plan to get it under control, but I admit that with all the awesomeness that has and will come out that it is hard to exert self control. Just take a hard look at your spending. I also find it helpful to read that little box on your CC statement that tells you how long it will take to pay off making just minimum payments and the interest that you will accrue.

Don't buy repaints.

It's a good idea to set realistic target goals, otherwise you'll just buy anything/everything cool in sight. I used to preorder everything new & shiny or stalk eBay to catch up on all the goodies I missed over the years... and my collection exploded with all the cool things I was discovering.

Now I'm preparing to sell off parts of my collection and limit it to a specific target:

(1) Neo-G1 figures (Classics/Henkei/Universe/Generations) that appear in G1 seasons 1-4.

(2) Beast Wars figures that appear in seasons 1-3. That's all!

Set parameters for your collecting!

thanks for the quick replies everyone. im only interested in G1 and neo-G1 now (one or two movie exceptions), but i think im just gonna have to skip the big expensive ones for now and hope they last til i get my card back under control. heres hoping that no other surprise super gems hit

GetterDragun wrote:Don't buy repaints.

That's a good suggestion. Avoid imports and 3rd party products...as awesome as they are, they're quite expensive. Maybe try to stick to deluxes as much as possible as they're the best bang for the buck. Wait for sales instead of buying right when they come out. Or figure out a line to focus on rather than buying everything. Skip the movie toys and focus on the Generations line or only buy onscreen characters or only buy "movie" figs with strong G1 ties (ie Bludgeon & Seaspray.)

It's definitely a challenge. At times it does feel a bit more like an addiction than a hobby. I'm not going into debt over my collecting, but I definitely burn a huge chunk of disposable income and money that would be better served being put into savings or toward something more "responsible."

Honestly, one of the best ways might to be to avoid sites like this...hard to want what you don't know exists. Unless of course you're just going to pay aftermarket prices to get it if you eventually find out about what you missed...

GetterDragun wrote:Don't buy repaints.

This will indeed cut down on spending.

Try deciding what it is that really appeals to you about a figure.

Do you want G1 homages?
Do you want great articulation?
Do you want realistic alt modes?
Do you want cartoon/film/screen/comic accuracy?
Could you live without this figure? If you missed it, would it *really* matter?
How much space do you have? Is it worth filling up that space with repaints when there are plenty more good unique molds coming out?

Perhaps other people can think of other considerations.

All BS and quippy answers aside, learn what you will be able to buy later and what you won't be able to buy later.

Some purchases must be made right away, because you will not get a second chance. For things like Alternity, Japanese Animated, and some of the obscure 3rd party stuff, you will have a few years before they disappear.

Repaints aren't going to kill you, especially domestic ones. However, the very feeling you're writing about, feeling like you can't catch up, will kill your wallet.

Prioritize

From my perspective, currently the most important things to land early are:
0. BotCon toys. If you're going to get them, get them early. If not, don't worry about them.
1. G1 Reissues (they don't over produce them anymore)
2. Japanese Classics recolors and exclusives.
3. Henkei figures.

Everything else has held steady in prices since the economy went to crap, but these groups of figures have reached what can only be looked at in scientific terms as "Stupid" prices.

Self-control, of course, is the key. Know what you can spend, and when. Think about the consequences of over-spending- will you have to skip a utility or student loan payment, etc.

Beyond that, I have a few rules which, I'll admit, I have a hard time following, but I think they're good rules, so it's not their fault.

1- No dedicated toy shopping trips. Only look for toys at Target, Walmart, etc., when you're there for something else.

2- When you do see something you like and want, skip it the first time you see it. It'll very likely still be there (or at another store) the next time you come looking for it (and no, you can't leave the store and come right back in).

3- Only buy one thing at a time, unless there's some kind of buy-one/get-one sale, in which case it makes sense to get the two. At least in my head it does.

4- Don't jump on a new, highly-anticipated figure right away. Get some reviews, see some real-life pics, etc. I fell into the hysteria surrounding Universe 2 Cyclonus, Tankor, and Galvatron. Had them for a while, decided I didn't like them, so I sold them off. Had I waited, I could have saved myself some money.

5- Decide what you're into, and stick to it. I'm trying not to buy any characters that I don't already have. Similarly, repaints are a no-no fo rme unless I already have the character from another series, or it's just a great mold and character. For example, the upcoming Banzai-tron- great mold, already have it, don't need it again in an obsucre (to me) character. Furthermore, I'm not that into the Beast era, so I don't buy BW/BM stuff, no matter how cool they look (Rampage and Depthcharge were exceptions!)

6- Consider buying used.

HTH, good luck and enjoy!

I try to stick to certain requirements for my collection. I am a G1 guy, so I try to only buy G1 character that were in the US show, and only if their alt modes are similar to G1. (Ex; won't buy an OP that turns into a train).

That being said, it is still hard to say no to some of the awesome things out there. I try to avoid third-party merchandise because they are usually really expensive. But that doesn't mean I haven't been really tempted.

I know what my spending limits are per month and what I can afford. Just keep track of what you are spending as you are doing it. Don't just spend and then be shocked when the CC statement comes in.

I have a few tips that have helped me in the past:

Most importantly, be picky about what you buy. I only buy G1 homages, unless a figure is too cool to pass up. Unfortunately that clause has cost me a lot lately.

Put away your credit card, somewhere it's a nuisance to get out.

Set up a monthly budget for TF spending. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Prioritize. Basically what Counterpunch said holds a lot of truth. Also, most US retail products will be in stores for a while, so IMO they can wait. However, there are some exceptions, like when there's high demand and low supply, i.e. Animated Arcee. Stuff like that you want to buy when (if) you see it. Other stuff, say Power Core Combiners, can wait.

It's tough sometimes, but you can make it work.

Also, BigBadToyStore.com is a good way to keep your spot in line if you're not sure about a figure. Basically, you're reserving the figure. You can preorder items but they do not require payment until the item arrives, and you can cancel at any time before then without penalty. Even after payment but before shipping (see the Pile of Loot feature) they're pretty lenient on cancellations, however they give store credit rather than refunds, so keep that in mind. I only recommend this for harder to get items like Japanese imports, etc, as the prices for normal retail figures are relatively high.

Get rid of the credit card - or only have one for TRUE emergencies. The best thing I ever did for my personal finances was cancel my cc's and solely use my debit card. While I still have student loans, I am now cc debt free, and it's a WONDERFUL feeling.

Like others have said, collect in a theme - when I first started out, I was REALLY good about only collecting TFA (only 1 size class per character) and Emergency vehicle TFs. I've since branched out a little, and have a neat little collection of Scouts/Activators (Fireblast Grimlock was so pretty! I couldn't help myself! ), and a few Henkei/classics. (The Henkei's were total lucky finds too - people putting them on eBay with BIN prices of $20 or less. [except for Red Alert - I got him on pre-order b/c he's my fave G1 character]) You can set up eBay alerts for specific figures, too, to make sure you don't miss a good deal.

Wait for Christmas and after-Christmas sales. I got all of my TFA leader figures for $25 each that way.

And when you do decide on your collection theme, don't go out and immediately start hunting for figures that fit it. You've got to be very zen about it - just let them show up. IMO, it's more fun that way.

For every character I have in my collection, I have to sell a version to get a new version. I sold my Alt Swindle since I was getting the crossfire set. I sold my classics/universe Hound, Astrotrain, Prime, Megatron, etc. when I got the henkei versions.

I'm pretty good about selling one figure for at least every 2 that come into my collection.

you don't

Counterpunch wrote:All BS and quippy answers aside, learn what you will be able to buy later and what you won't be able to buy later.

Some purchases must be made right away, because you will not get a second chance. For things like Alternity, Japanese Animated, and some of the obscure 3rd party stuff, you will have a few years before they disappear.

Repaints aren't going to kill you, especially domestic ones. However, the very feeling you're writing about, feeling like you can't catch up, will kill your wallet.

Prioritize

From my perspective, currently the most important things to land early are:
0. BotCon toys. If you're going to get them, get them early. If not, don't worry about them.
1. G1 Reissues (they don't over produce them anymore)
2. Japanese Classics recolors and exclusives.
3. Henkei figures.

Everything else has held steady in prices since the economy went to crap, but these groups of figures have reached what can only be looked at in scientific terms as "Stupid" prices.

I disagree with this. This still has a collector mindset to it and will get you in trouble. Buying figures for fear they might go up in value is forcing you to spend money.

And yes, repaints will kill you. You are buying a mold, pick your favorite color and stick with it. If you start buying characters and not toys, you will be spending a lot more money.

Don't prioritize. Buy what you like at the time, skip it if you are not interested. The absolute best way to save moeny is to fall behind. Catching up isn't as fun when you calculate what it will take to get al the figures you need. Also, I suggest buying an RC helicopter, sounds crazy, but having another hobby that requires some expenditures is a good way to balance your spending.

RC Helicopter? Elaborate on this money saving theory...

GetterDragun wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:You are buying a mold, pick your favorite color and stick with it. If you start buying characters and not toys, you will be spending a lot more money.

Huh? But what's the point of getting the toys if you don't like the character?

Hrm. I started by only collecting one character. That allowed me to buy repaints and other madness and still stay pretty cheap.

Then I branched out to a few other characters. I look for the older ones on Ebay and have gotten some great deals, especially for unpopular lines like, oh Cybertron or Machine Wars. (The, uh, rightly unpopular Machine Wars, I might add).

At the moment, having like a full time job and stuff, I can afford more but I go to the store with these priorities:

1) do they have any of the main core characters I collect (the Seekers, Barricade, etc)? If yes, buy that. If no, move on to question 2.

2) do they have new Decepticon figures (yeah I collect cons--we're a little Autobot thin here at chez Hellkitty)?

3) Does the figure look good? (If you saw Universe Onslaught, you'd know why that was an immediate buy!) I'm actually really picky so if the figure has like a goofy face in bot mode, and it's not one of my Question 1 figures, I'll pass!

4) IS this a repaint? If so, unless it's one of my Question 1 characters, I skip it. (Sorry, 8000 repaints of Lockdown).

5) Is it a vehicle I like? I collect jets and helicopters more than any other kind. Yeah. Don't judge me. So I'm more likely to pass on a regular car, no matter how accurate (unless it's Barricade), and save my money.

6) Know your toy market!! Where I live, it takes FOREVER for toys to get out here: We JUST got TFA Arcee!! But I know that some stores a) charge way more than others (looking at YOU Kmart) and some other stores stuff just...sits on the shelves forever. Knowing that, I can pass and rethink and think about buying a figure for a bit and it won't disappear.

7) Set a price limit or toy limit before going in, UNLESS you know exactly what you want (in which case, that's your price limit). So I can say, I'll buy *one* toy this week. That means I am going to be REALLY picky about which one I get. I find that in most cases, if I buy one toy, I actually appreciate it MORE than if I buy a whole bunch at once--the get sort of lost in the shuffle. The new lines won't disappear overnight, and I can wait and give each new toy its due. Buying one toy a week (or if it's like...robot heroes or something two packages, right?) still gives you four new to your collection in a month! And if the new toy market is slow, and I'm scouring ebay, same rule: one toy per week. It makes Sunday afternoon combing through ebay listings really fun!

Buy brick and mortar when you can!! Shipping costs are NOT love! While my must have toys do get the BBTS markup and shipping, most others can wait for The Hunt through the toystore.

9) Garage sales/goodwill, etc. I am NOT a kitbasher by any stretch. But I've found quite a few, say, mostly intact toys for super cheap. In fact, I once put together an intact Thundercracker from two partials right there in the goodwill bin. BINGO. It takes patience and luck, but you can find amazing stuff!

HK, hahah it almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about!

TurbofireJames wrote:RC Helicopter? Elaborate on this money saving theory...

It gives you a choice on what to spend money on...a repaint of a figure you already have vs parts to get you flying. The RC Helicopter was just a representative example of another hobby.

kookaburra wrote:

GetterDragun wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:You are buying a mold, pick your favorite color and stick with it. If you start buying characters and not toys, you will be spending a lot more money.

Huh? But what's the point of getting the toys if you don't like the character?

Because the toy itself is cool?