How do you AFFORD your Collections?!

[pentoolart]

Hey Everyone!

I have an issue that I have been wondering about for a while, so I thought I would see what everyone has to say about it…

How do you all afford your collections?

Let me give you some of my background here. I am 44 years old. I am a college professor. I currently teach a total of 10 classes per semester, at a total of 4 different colleges here in southern California!

I am the only income for my family, and I am supporting a wife and a 10-year old son.

BUT, I have also been collecting TMNT action figures since 1988.

It is killing me that I only have 7 more figures to get to complete an entire collection of the figures since their initial release back in 1988… a whole collection from 1988 to 2014… and I just need 7 more.

The problem is: Those 7 figures are the most expensive ones left. I just need Undercover (cloth trench coats) Leonard, Michelangelo and Raphael. I also need to eventually get Warrior Rocksteady, Mutant Masters Leonardo and Michelangelo and the very last 2 Next Mutation figures… Donatello with his Hydro Skimmer and the other Camo Blitz Cycle.

Unfortunately, those last two figures are so rare and expensive (when I have seen them for sale on the rare occasion) that I am bummed because I will probably never own them!

It is killing me because I live by that Motto: "COLLECT 'EM ALL!"

AND, with all the new merchandise to hit the toy shelves just this year alone (and it looks like 2014 will be totally awesome for Turtle collectors!), I would love to hear how you guys keep up with it all!

I will say that I am in total awe of the great collectors like: Stephan Reese, Michael Vaughn and Tokka. You guys are my inspiration as a fellow collector.

I just don't know how you do it!

I have now decided to stop collecting comics for good. They are just too expensive now and that money takes away from my TMNT Action figures collection. So, I am going to sell off my 30+ year comic collection of all my issues of Uncanny X-Men and my complete collection of G.I. Joe Comics. I hate to do that, but I want to now just focus on my Turtles Collection from now on.

Plus, with the money, maybe I can get those last 7 figures to complete my collection… God, that would be nice, finally…

So, again: HOW DO YOU ALL KEEP UP WITH YOUR COLLECTIONS?

Thanks!

- Chris

[Memphis]

I got the entire Mutant Masters set a few weeks back all moc for 150 buy it now. You've just got to wait it out until a deal stumbles along.

[Digital Ghost]

I agree, the good deals are all about luck and waiting.

I collect all different lines. BUT, I'm extremely picky and don't have to collect absolutely everything from any line. Sometimes, certain characters/figures just don't interest me, so I have no trouble passing on them. Like the sound FX figures from the Nick line. Stuff like that is a huge pass for me and allows me put that $ toward something else like Marvel Legends (my recent favorite thing to collect), Transformers or NECA, etc.

As for 'affording' it, I have a good job, no kids or huge external expenses... I too make a good living but I'd imagine if my current situation were to change, I'd have to stop collecting as much.

[TLCMathMan]

Also a college professor, here … 42 years old. Pleased to meet a fellow adult collector in my same profession.

My partner and I both collect. TMNT, combiner robots (Voltron, Super Sentai, etc.) and Superman/Batman DC figure for me; Wonder Woman and Green Lantern for my partner. We simply budget for our collecting by contributing a certain percentage per month to our collection budget. Sometimes the collection budget goes untouched for several months and then we will find something we want and tap into the funds then. We've been lucky to have that portion of our budget always be 'in the black.'

Through the years, I've also had to sell off portions of my collection/collectibles to help budget for things I wanted to continue to collect.

[Heather Breckel]

Well, I'm not married and have no children, so that comes in handy for spending money on things I don't really need Provided I don't consider myself that hardcore of a collector. I generally put a 3 digit cap on myself so I won't spend 3 digits on a single figure, so that keeps things manageable. Although I did break that cap recently on this

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/det...%24pagecnt%3D1

but it was by a few dollars so I was like whatever. Because most of what I collect are anime figures, which usually clock in at $40+ a piece, I don't collect everything. I'm not rolling in tons of money, but my job as a comic colorist does enough to keep me afloat+be able to afford a figure here and there.

[darthwahl56]

Looking at my collection right now I can see maybe I have gone overboard. I have a now evergrowing turtle collection, but I have Gijoes, Star wars, cards, models, lord of the rings, marvel legends (toybiz), other marvel movie toys, comic books, Dick Tracy movie figures, Robin Hood 1990 toys, movies, video games, books, and ...... get the idea? just too much and more stuff i did not mention, and i have a storage unit I moved my stuff back into last year. I need to focus my collection and just put a halt on things and figure out where I need to go in life. I need to get back to my drawing and the characters I have created with that.

I had to move back in with my parents because of a pest problem at my apartment, wish me and my friends could have kept the house we were all living in before the apartment, that was an awesome place to live.

The turtles I collected this last year for once have never felt like a waste. I may not ever get the rarest pieces, but I like what I have bought from the toyline from the 90's, totally awesome. I got a replica of my child hood toy, the rat king.

I don't have a wife or children, so it comes up pretty easy for being able to afford toys I don't need. I work at Pizza Hut right now and I pay my family's rent (my choice), help with grocerys, pay for a phone that doesn't have texting or internet (seems expensive to have one at this point), pays for a storage unit with my dad, and is paying for a student loan monthly.

[darthwahl56]

Originally Posted by Heather Breckel

Well, I'm not married and have no children, so that comes in handy for spending money on things I don't really need Provided I don't consider myself that hardcore of a collector. I generally put a 3 digit cap on myself so I won't spend 3 digits on a single figure, so that keeps things manageable. Although I did break that cap recently on this

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/det...%24pagecnt%3D1

but it was by a few dollars so I was like whatever. Because most of what I collect are anime figures, which usually clock in at $40+ a piece, I don't collect everything. I'm not rolling in tons of money, but my job as a comic colorist does enough to keep me afloat+be able to afford a figure here and there.

Comic Colorist, sounds like a cool job. If I may ask, how did you get that job?

[MrPliggins]

I sell things I no longer need in my collection and use it to get new things. The past couple of years, all of my collectible buying money has come from my collectible selling money.
I don't have much room in my "normal" budget for collectibles, so this method works out pretty well.

[papa_smurf73]

Originally Posted by MrPliggins

I sell things I no longer need in my collection and use it to get new things. The past couple of years, all of my collectible buying money has come from my collectible selling money.
I don't have much room in my "normal" budget for collectibles, so this method works out pretty well.

^ this!

It sometimes pays off to buy a bulk lot and sell what you don't need. Even if it's just one figure in the pile you're after.

[Ninjinister]

All of my old-school MOC collecting was done years ago when I had less expenses. Except for a Rahzar I got a few months back, I haven't purchased anything older than the stuff currently in-stores since I moved to where I'm at now, almost two years ago. I still do collect other figures and video games, but purchase of both has, on the whole, been less than in years previous due to the fact that my rent and stuff has gone up. My rule of thumb is that no matter how disappointed I'd be in not getting a good plastic score, if I can eat more than just ramen that month I'd be overall happier for it.

Originally Posted by darthwahl56

Comic Colorist, sounds like a cool job. If I may ask, how did you get that job?

I'd wager part of it is from just being blinkin' amazing at it.

[snake]

I collect Turtles, Star Wars, And Lego. Considering I'm only 12, I either
A: Leech off my parents, or
B: Save my own money

[tmntman]

It's certainly true that dropping over a hundred Dollars on an action figure that once sold for $4 seems a bit insane. But there is a limited number of those in the line. One thing that helps is to remember that the popularity of the line tends to be cyclical. Right now is not a good time to buy as the popularity of TMNT toys is at a high point. But give it a few years, and we will likely see another lull and prices will fall once again.

[I Crave Pizza No More]

Originally Posted by snake

I collect Turtles, Star Wars, And Lego. Considering I'm only 12, I either
A: Leech off my parents, or
B: Save my own money

Ah, those were the days.

As for me, I've graduated from action figures to Sideshow statues, where every purchase is at least $300. So, the key is to be patient, pace oneself, and really not spend money on other stuff. Ive got almost all of the vintage line MOC and the entire 2K3 line MOC, but the Nick stuff doesn't hold much interest. I've picked up a few here and there, but as a whole I'm staying away from it.

[Heather Breckel]

Originally Posted by darthwahl56

Comic Colorist, sounds like a cool job. If I may ask, how did you get that job?

Well, I'd been coloring my own comics throughout highschool and college, and started coloring other people's work before graduating from college. From there I started charging people and I started to build a client base through Deviantart. I got to start doing work for IDW when a friend, James Stokoe, needed some flatting done for Godzilla HCW and that's how I met Bobby Curnow. So it was a lot of work.

[The Fifth Turtle]

No kids

[Krutch]

Originally Posted by I Crave Pizza No More

As for me, I've graduated from action figures to Sideshow statues, where every purchase is at least $300.

With ya there. When I was younger I collected as many TMNT figures as possible then in my early teens my mom decided to put them all in a box and give them to our distant relatives kid's on the other side of the country. Devastating, yes, but in the long run I can only imagine the kind of money I've saved.

So now the only must-have TMNT items for me are the statues. I have all four of the Playmates statues as well as all the Collector Editions of the Sideshow ones(2 Mousers, too, cuz you can't just have one!).

So until/if theres a new statue, my TMNT spending is extremely limited. I did decide to collect the Ultimate Collections as well. Its just a matter of balancing what you can afford with what you must have.

Impressive collection though Keep it up!

[Discogod]

I sell drugs.









No, not really... I'm single, no kids, have a job that pays pretty well and I also make a little extra cash selling paintings/custom figures. I also limit myself - I stopped collecting comics and cut back on the lines I was collecting. Now I just focus on 2 or 3 lines. I still try and limit my spending to no more than 15% of what I earn in a particular month, but I don't always manage...

[tipet]

Originally Posted by tmntman

It's certainly true that dropping over a hundred Dollars on an action figure that once sold for $4 seems a bit insane. But there is a limited number of those in the line. One thing that helps is to remember that the popularity of the line tends to be cyclical. Right now is not a good time to buy as the popularity of TMNT toys is at a high point. But give it a few years, and we will likely see another lull and prices will fall once again.

I know, popularity tends to be cyclical, and TMNT is following the same patterns than older lines like Star Wars, Master of the Universe and more. But I've never heard about prices going down for that lines, even more for the "rare" items that are growing day after day.

Anyway you never know what will happen. Last week for example I got the hydro skimmer for a very low price.

[CowabungaMikey]

I make about 20 euros a month, so I pay most of my collection from that. All the other stuff I buy on fleamarkets of my allowance.

[MST3KFan]

Honestly? Sheer luck. My job generally gives me 34-35 hours a week and what I don't use for bills is free game.

I collect TMNT, but I consider my 80s vintage stuff done right now as I have all the vehicles and figures I really wanted. There are a few I'll try for maybe if I ever see them for a good deal, but that's pretty much done.

The modern 2012 stuff I was originally buying every vehicle and figure, but have since toned it down to just the figures now and that's a slow thing since releases are nicely spaced apart.

Outside of TMNT, I collect S.H. Figuarts Super Sentai/Power Rangers figures, vintage Power Ranger Megazords (looking for a complete Thunder Megazord right now), and I am now working on my NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), SNES, and Sega Genesis collections right now.

Really, the thing to do is not be a completest I'd say. It'll drive you crazy and make you spend more money than you should, that you should use on other things.
I used to own every single Marvel Legends and DC Universe Classics figure ever made. I'm not proud of how much money I spent to get all those figures, but one day I saw them all just sitting in boxes and decided to sell them to someone who'd probably take better care of them than I did.