Collectors: Materialist Elitists or Artifact Preservationists?

[BoggleKng]

While Archon and Rose go back and forth, VM brings up a good point:

To me the greatest thing is the amazing memories I have of being a fan since childhood.

I have very fond recollections of hunting down figures with my now 70 year old grandmother, something I still do with her till this day.
I will cherish that always more any giant collection or mass amount of information in my head concerning the brand.

My mother has fond memories of me asking for TMNT toys as a little boy and if we couldn't afford them at the time I'd always ask her if I could have another for my Birthday or Christmas, she chuckles every time she says it to me.

My mother even got in contact with Playmates Toys once telling them how much I was into the line (around 1995) and set it up so they called when I came home from school that day, now I may not think much of it because I don't like what they do but to think back it's stuff like this that my family did that has kept me such a huge fan for years and years to come.

As allot of you know I sold my collection a few years back as I was ill and didn't have a job, but that doesn't mean the passion and love for the brand has gone.
It just means I'm able to part with my material possessions without to much trouble because no matter the face value of any of these items I'll always have these amazing memories to carry along with me no matter where life may take me.


So what does your collection mean to you? Why do you collect?

[OA]

I prefer Curators of Crap actually...

[Kendamu]

Here's what I mainly have and why I have it:

-Comics: The majority of the comics aren't legally available as downloadable content. Also, I like actually holding the book sometimes.

- DVDs: The majority of the movies and TV episodes aren't legally available as downloadable content. Otherwise they'd be sitting on a hard drive to be played on my PS3 or something.

- NECA Figs: Too cool to pass up. In general, I'm a "no figures" kind of guy.

- Wave 1 80s Mike: I have the original and the 25th Anniversary re-release as a tribute to the first TMNT toy I ever owned.

So, if it came down to it and I could start just downloading most of this stuff for a small fee, I'd do it. Instead, I just have more stuff sitting around the house.

[Buslady]

I like that one, Curators of Crap.

Junk Collecting

cos in the end, that's all it is.

I'm not an avid collector, I don't gotta have every piece. I do have a lot of raph crap but not every little piece made. It's impossible. If i got the $ and I see something tho, I'll pick it up...if it's not overpriced...

[1984]

I have a bunch of TMNT stuff, and yeah I would refer to it as junk for the most part. So yeah, curator of crap. Its stuff, its there, I like it. Would I be sad if it were gone? for a second probably, but it would be a fleeting moment. Some folks are materialistic, and thats cool but the thing is you have to admit to it and own up. Im materialistic, I collect "stuff" and have things I dont need. im sure this topic is going to get beaten to death, I also dont think "materialistic elitists" is really the best choice of words, some people are bit sensitive. This should be an interesting thread and ive said my part, so lets see where this goes.

[junkboy]

There are certain things ( mostly comics - and if comics... certain comics that i have been buying for a long time ) that stopping to buy it is like a no option.
I keep buying comics , action figures and statues. I do this. I do this because i enjoy it too much. Most ppl see living in a room ( or even a house ) full of such stuff is a boredom from some point on. That you find it difficult to open new spaces for them.
When thought not too specific. This thought is indeed true. I mean... if you do not want to sell all your collection in future ( whatever you collect, not just comics or action figures or such ) , then what will happen to them as the day you die.
Maybe they will be seen as useless junk...

But for me the ultimate point is doing something you enjoy in life. And at the moment ( and since my childhood ) collecting those were the MOST enjoyable thing for me, i am sure that it will be that way for years to come. But this is life and things can change, so dunno what will happen when i got older. ( i mean above 40 or such )
But for now. Collect on...

[Ninjinister]

My collection is first and foremost, for me. Other than my own family, nobody's seen it in its entirety since last July, in which it has grown immensely since then. I like looking at my collection, and it makes me feel good. I don't give a rat's ass what anybody else thinks. Sure, I would like to show off my collection, but it doesn't bother me that I haven't.

Furthermore, I enjoy looking at other collections. Even if it's all stuff I've seen before, or stuff I already have! I know these collectors have put a lot of time/money/energy into these collections, and that makes me respect the collection a whole lot more.

So in the end, let's drop these insane labels and just stick with the one that applies.

We're not "curators of crap" or "material elitists"

We're people.

[NightwatchersOnlygirl]

I'm the same I'm a Raph stuff collecter I've not got evey thing to with Raph

[DonatelloFan]

Well, I'm not a 'collector' of TMNT, but I have been collecting John Elway stuff for over 13 years.

I've come to realize I'm not going to be able to get every card, auto'd jersey, picture, etc of Elway, and I've become 'email buddies' with a few collectors that have WAAAAY more stuff than I do.

But it's all stuff. There are things in my collection that no matter what, unless my wife and I are on the brink of death from hunger, or really homeless, I won't sell. Most things I have, I can get on eBay the very next day after I sell them, but there are a few things I have that I've only seen once on eBay or anywhere else, and I'm the one that got it.

Now, when I die, I hope to hand my collection down to my kids, or to another Elway collector, but when I die, I can't take it with me where I'm going, so it really doesn't matter.

If you HAVE to have materialistic items to be HAPPY, then, you have a problem. If you have things that you ENJOY, that's a different story. It all depends on the way you feel about your collection. Like I said, if you have to have it or else you won't be happy, you're pitiful. It's just things. There are more important things to life.

I love my TMNT dvd collection, and my toys, which I hope to get more of to make stop motion videos, but I couldn't care less if I didn't have them. It would hurt for a minute, but it's JUST THINGS.

That's not to say I don't enjoy seeing people's collections, I just hope their priorities are in order.

[Ninjinister]

"That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!

Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else's house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else's stuff is all over the god**** place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven't used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven't moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there's usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there's NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else's **** is on the dresser."

[Dark 5cythe]

Gonna go with Nostalgia Curator.

Dont know why i do what I do. but I feel great when I do.

[Leo656]

I collect too much stuff. Figures, comics, DVDs, wrestling stuff, Superman memorabilia, video games, etc. There's no doubt that (as people love reminding me) my life would be much, much different if I spent that cash elsewhere's.

But on what, exactly? Most of the people I work with, who make more than I do, take home *less* because they have an addiction to beer or cigarettes or pills or cocaine that needs feeding, and my "critics" spend more on that junk than I do on comics and the like. So am I a bad person b/c I "waste" money on things that either A) make me happy, or B) I know I would take more pleasure in and better care of than the next guy? Is anyone? I say not at all.

Example: Once I spent about $50 on a signed, certificated Hulk Hogan picture plaque at a convention, I'd say 1998 or so. Now, nobody *needs* things like that, not at all. But I am the world's biggest Hogan mark, and it seemed to me and my father that day that it would be a cosmic injustice if I did NOT buy that plaque. It's not a unique piece, but it's brought me much peace from time to time whenever I would see it hanging in its place of honor on my Hogan Wall.

Money comes and money goes, but unless you're literally starving yourself to pursue collecting, it's worth it. It's no different from when you go buying clothes or anything else, you're better off spending a bit more if necessary to get something you really want, than saving a bit of cash and then going "Geez, I shoulda gotten that thing I wanted."

Not sure what I'll do with my stuff when I'm gone, but if I ever accumulate enough stuff, I've always had a dream for old-age where I would either open or donate to some sort of pop-culture museum, where the "trivial" things we all love so much might actually be celebrated and treated with due respect.


"(clips A Place For My Stuff)."

:lol: Carlin is God. Or was. Actually, now that he's dead, maybe we WILL finally have someone in charge up there who knows how to get things done! :lol:

[Ninjinister]

:lol: Carlin is God. Or was. Actually, now that he's dead, maybe we WILL finally have someone in charge up there who knows how to get things done! :lol:

You mean up on a rooftop? :lol:

[Leo656]

:lol: Sure, yeah, that's exactly what I meant... Heh heh... nice save. Whew, I was almost offensive with that one, eh? ;)

[Ninjinister]

Actually, I was making a joke referring to his Frisbeeterianism.

[Leo656]

Ah k thx... thought someone might take "George Carlin is God" as an offensive statement and not as a proven fact. :evilgrin:

[Ninjinister]

Don't let my status as a minister fool you; I'm a theologist first.

Anyway, back on topic... collecting is fun!

[Spitfire]

I collect for a number of reasons. It's fun, rewarding to get something you've sought after, enjoyable to be surrounded by things you like, and I'm addicted and OCD where I have to own everything pf a certain series if I so desire. This is why I own all the trades and comics with turtles in them. I started and couldn't stop till I had them all.

[BoggleKng]

I have to say I first started collected TMNT action figures cause I found them cool and unique.. A snake with a machine for an arm? A moose? They were original and unusual ideas that blew my mind at the time. I have fond memories of hunting for the new figures as they came out. Nowadays, I collect for a similar reason. There are some things in my collection that I either missed or passed by when I was a child. It is also some thing to share and pass down to my kids. I have recently become interested in TMNT artwork. No one wants to be labled a materialist.. I don't want or feel like I need to have everything but then again, some people roll their eyes when I tell love the Turtles. If they melted or burnt to bits in a fire, yes, I would cry but it wouldn't be the end of my world..

[Powder]

I suppose if my interest had to be labled it would be something along the lines of nostalgia curator. As of late, I've been trying to attain all the actions figures that I couldnt find in stores as a kid. The worth for me comes not through money/selling the collection but through giving life to small childhood desires, it brings fourth the youthful spirit (at least when you admire your possesions.) I've always been a diehard fan, without having the most enmormous amount of things and that wont change if my house burns down with all of it inside. For the record, I'd hate that. But I own my stuff, it doesnt work both ways. Not that yall may have a peaked interest but heres my deal: 1.COMICS. I like to collect these because when I was a kid I was really only intrigued by the art, nowadays I can appreciate it alot more, and get drawn into the stories. 2.CLOTHING. Deffinately love getting a new turtles t-shirt. I'm not overly concerned with my appearance, but I do like to act as a walking billboard sometimes. If I have a love for something, I can relay that message without having to conversate it. Not to mention, clothes are something we don't "grow out of" persay, in that some adults may feel as though they shouldnt have action figures or whatever. (just so ya know im 18 but i fully intend to keep all that stuff when im older) 3. TOYS. As a kid my parents nearly got me everything playmates made. If it was green, I had it. Being that I then had a insatiable taste for plastic there were a few who I felt I NEEDED or else my life would be ruined. That being said, I always wanted scaletail, merdude, ray fillet, mutagenman, muckman, & antrax. Nobody ever found em, so now I'm slowly peeping ebay to find them because it fills a small childhood nook in my heart aha. Just got ray fillet a few days ago, I was beaming to say the least. 4. DVDS/VHS. I need not explain, we all grew up on it and we want to age with it too. 5. MISC MEMORABILIA. When I say this, thats where the nostalgia really pumps. I'm talking about some ish that was a true representation of its existence. For example, the heads in turtle girls collection, The splinter puppet attained by our own dromer. Having something like that, is a pride filled thing. I have no prop of sorts, but I've started to collect animation cels which brings me a similar joy. Just knowing that I own an actual piece of that show, something that constructed the very program I've lived by for 16 years, is amazing. I love the ninja turtles as if they were my long lost brothers. Ive felt connected with them more then people in real life (sad as that may be) but they've gotten me through alot of depressing/akward times in my life & I'm forever grateful to pete and kevin and everyone else involved for bringing it out. I collect to remind myself of happier times which in turn brings me happy times. If anyone actually read that huge thing, then I love you, fellow dromer.