Ever have trouble letting go?
 

I'm convinced that I'm going through something of a mid-life crisis, but on a smaller level than say, buying a sports car or a boat or something like that.

I've been considering selling off a bunch of my action figures in order to get some money/make room on the shelf for a Hot Toys and Neca 1/4 scale collection. I get really excited about when I think about it, but when I go to actually start doing it, I can't seem to bring myself to it. I've been back and forth so many times, it's actually starting to cause me some anxiety.

It sounds weird, perhaps, but I almost feel like I'm a "bad fan" for considering selling things off.

Again, I know this sounds like petty, first-world problem stuff, but at the same time, I can't imagine that I'm alone in this thinking.

I am constantly trying to minimize my possessions.

One thing I’ve learned about myself is that parting with the item is the hardest part. Living without it is easy.

A third of my collection is a revolving door, for sure. I had trouble in the past with letting go, but as I get older, life gets harder, money gets tighter, & priorities change. Not to mention, one can only have so much stuff, and/or space for stuff.

That said, if you're going to part with things, start with items that aren't bringing you the joy you hoped. Put some things away for a while, if you don't miss them, sell them.

You don't necessarily want to be impulsive, if you genuinely think you'll regret what you're doing. Sometimes we as collectors feel a sudden spark to gravitate toward certain things, but they wind up being a passing phase. It's never fun having to go back & re-buy stuff that you parted with to make room for fads & the like.

You're by no means a 'bad fan' for getting rid of stuff. That's exactly how these corporate license holders & their peon loyalists want you to feel, so you'll buy more stuff, & be more jealous of those who hoard. Screw that. Fandom is defined by the enjoyment it brings, the passion you feel, & for some, that comes in the form of simply watching/reading/playing the media itself, & not collecting at all. Those people are no less valid than you or I. I may have once thought so years ago, but as the scope of this "nerd culture" has grown over time, I've realized the bulk of it really is just a money grab. At least, more now than in the past, anyway.

Blind brand loyalty & stuff is no bueno. It's good to take the time & reflect on what makes you the happiest. As much as I love all the toys that come out, I can't collect it all. & why should I, to feel like a bigger TMNT fan? I've got the boys tattooed on me, I know how much of their media I consume, so who am I trying to convince? It's just a mind trap. In recent years, I narrowed my current collecting focus to only the pieces I absolutely can't live with out; which boils down to pieces that evoke strong feelings in me. My favorite turtles material is Japanese, they always made the boys look extra cute & silly, as if they're fresh off of the pages of a gag manga. That's what I primarily go for now, & every piece I get makes me go bananas. I love Casey Jones, but do most of his modern figures inspire anything in me? Honestly, no. Years back I'd have bought them all because I'm a huge Casey fan & that's what you think you do. But a vinyl figure of my favorite childhood TMNT popsicle, which brings me fond memories of summer days in the early 90's? Sold. You have to think like that, ask yourself what it makes you feel & think of. If your only thought is "Well, it's a decent likeness of a character I like." is that really enough? It can help you make decisions on both selling off old figures, & how you approach purchasing new ones. You work hard for your money, after all. Do the math on what an item costs, & ask yourself this, too- "Would I work X amount of hours just to have this thing?"

I feel bad I blew so much money on Green Lantern comics, especially with how radioactive they've made Green Lantern as a comic property in the past 5 years. I just want to sell it all now, but it's such a major undertaking to consider doing.

I want to focus mainly on the Neca TMNT Cartoon and Movies line figures only (no 1/4 scale or turtle van, portal and sewer Dio) so I sold off my 2 1/4 scale I had plus some Funkos and statues that no longer interest me to help fund said collection.

I got a pretty good chunk of money in return and turned around and used some to get the 2 Movie figures that I needed to be complete to this point..Danny and Spirit of Splinter.

I don't regret and miss the things I sold.


I will say that several years ago I regretted selling the Leo and T-Rex set from the 2k3 Series and for a long while couldnt find one on the secondary market but few years later got lucky and found one and bought it real quick lol

This is actually a very helpful statement. I appreciate this.

Also, Powder, thank you for like, everything you just said.

We have talked about this kind of thing here and there on the forums before and I've always been firmly in the camp that we tend to love and want more of whatever is in front of us; yet once that thing is removed we tend to forget about it to an extent.

Here are two great methods to get things moving:
1. Strive to keep things that you think are the best "archetypes" of the thing you love. For example, if Fred Wolf was your thing then get rid of your Playmates stuff and just keep the NECA stuff. Do this in whatever manner it lands.

2. Remember that, as noted above, the process of getting rid of something is hard. But once it's gone, it's not in front of us anymore and we tend to move on to other things.

The only toy collection I have ever sold from my youth and then went back and rebought years later was the Kenner Indiana Jones stuff. That's it. And I have sold thousands of things, both inventory and private.

Also, storage and use are key measures of having a collection. For example, from time to time here I have mentioned the epiphany where I realized that it was better to stop forcing things into a collection display. Instead, build a classy display and keep it modular by rotating things in and out of storage. Rotating displays gives you interaction with your things and renews the happiness by getting a "new display" in the space. Also, rotating displays points-out by default the things that always seems to remain in storage and can maybe be let go.

Just some experiential stuff to consider for anyone having "trouble letting go". thumb's up

As a kid/teen/early 20's I had hundreds of TMNT figures. Now I have about 40ish, mostly from the Playmates toyline. But they've just been in a closet in a bin for two decades now and I only look at them like once a year or so. But I can't bring myself to sell them, they're the last remainders of my childhood.

Buy a friggin' 100 wall case and put 'em on a wall.

If you lost it all in a house fire, what would you spend the money and time replacing? Keep that. And move the rest out to make way for those Hot Toys and 1:4 NECAs. Sounds awesome.

I'd be out forever and turn my attention to property somewhere with acres of land and 4 wheelers or something like that.

This is why I am incensed by the modern "boutique toy culture", man. The entire hobby is an empty shell of what originated it.

Sure, the products we get now are great. But the truth to toy collecting is that we used to do it because they were small, cheap and you could accumulate things over time without breaking the bank. That entire culture has been lost to company-heads actually telling their customers "you need to buy this to get more and you should be thankful we are producing it". I'm going to go to an extreme here but I wouldn't mind the next organizational leader be instantly vaporized who tells us we should be "thankful" for their product.

How about "we are grateful for everyone who supports our products, and as long as we have your continued support we will do our best to make the things the fans love and enjoy".

I want to break the face of the next exec or point person who implies that the fans should be "grateful" to them for selling us a piece of painted plastic at an offensive price.

could not agree with you more

Sell your stuff. Buy new stuff. Sell again.

This cycle is absolutely acceptable, and is actually more healthy than hoarding everything. Otherwise you are leaving behind a pile of junk for your family to deal with after you die, and they aren't going to take any care with it.

It sounds like you'd be much happier if you did just that. What's stopping you?

addiction to plastic crack

Right? I guess that's Zachatello's whole point. Definitely worth exploring and discussing.

I appreciate everyone weighing in. Odd as it may sound, as someone who has been a "dromer" for the last 20 years - literally, not hyperbole - I remember chatting with many of you about these things all through that time, so I have to imagine that you guys have maybe gone through similar thought processes. I appreciate your willingness to share.

After listening and considering some things, I've decided to bust things down quite a bit, but I have a few pieces that I'll be keeping that were either gifts or are just going to be too difficult to part with for one reason or another.

That said, I'm going from having well over 700 (close to 750) individual action figures to a number that's closer to 20. Should be able to pretty well fund the project I have in mind, or at least get it started.

It's a hard decision because it's like parting ways with my childhood. Not because these are childhood toys (as I said, I only have one of my childhood tmnt figures left) but I connected with these characters hardcore as a child. Selling them off (or, in some cases I'll be giving some away) is actually more exciting to me than the idea of keeping them.

Good on you. It sounds like you've given it serious thought, and it sounds like the right move. It takes courage to change behaviours that you've had for decades. But what's the point of maintaining behaviours that don't make you happy?

Ironically enough all the toys being made now are our dream toys we all wanted 20+ years ago when we were kids. But now we're too old to really enjoy them. It's a weird feeling, I would be all over modern TMNT figures even if I were still in my early 20's.

But I am an old man now, I just can't justify it anymore. The irony is we finally get what we all wanted but now it just came a little too late in time in our lifespans.

See... that's why I'm still collecting. :)