How do you AFFORD your Collections?!

[pentoolart]

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

Yes, well... enjoy it while it lasts!

Thanks for all the other great feedback on this topic.

I think I will hold out for a while until I find a decent price on my own missing figures. If they are out there, I will eventually come across them at the right time.

By the way, I just saw some pics of the up-coming new TMNT MOVIE Figures at www.toyark.com

What are your thoughts on these new figures? I know I will be getting all of them. I actually think they look very interesting.

- Chris.

[tmntmikey23]

am same with snake but I bearly ask my parents I save change from getting water and fast food then in a month I got 8 bucks and buy one figure simple I don't got to much tmnt things I got small compared to the member on this I got 10 tmnt thing (Basic Figure)Basic mikey,Stealth Tech mikey,Tiny Turtles Mike raph,squirrelanoid PS Broken,metalhead,Battle Shell Raph,25th Ann Pizza Slice W/ mike fig,Sewer Curiser then I got my brothers but not saying what they got

[Metalwolf]

Originally Posted by pentoolart

Hey Everyone!



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



- Chris

Is your wife able to work? I'm not saying this just so you can afford the figures, but having total independence on one income is unwise, especially if you get sick or laid off. I know some wives have dreams of being stay-at-home-mothers, but putting all of the onus on the husband to provide is kind of unfair, especially once the kid can be left alone for a while without a baby sitter.

Otherwise you'll have to wait until the kid is eighteen, when he leaves home and overall expenses become far less.

[madyankees]

Staying focused on WHAT to collect

I collect TMNT and Transformers. For TMNT I try to limit myself to only the turtles and avoid variants no matter how tempting they are (quite easy so far although the stealth tech turtles and the battle shells were tempting)

For transformers I try and get only one character, Optimus Prime.

[tmntmikey23]

Originally Posted by Metalwolf

Is your wife able to work? I'm not saying this just so you can afford the figures, but having total independence on one income is unwise, especially if you get sick or laid off. I know some wives have dreams of being stay-at-home-mothers, but putting all of the onus on the husband to provide is kind of unfair, especially once the kid can be left alone for a while without a baby sitter.

Otherwise you'll have to wait until the kid is eighteen, when he leaves home and overall expenses become far less.

my dad works my mom is at home with my family i think the man should work no girl or (Wife)

Originally Posted by tmntmikey23

dude i got one of each stleath and battle shell i got raph for battle shell and steal mike they both move good and paint is good get one

[billbot85]

It's really hard to afford collecting vintage tmnt figures. I mostly try and find deals on ebay or haggle prices with sellers whose items weren't selling. Nevertheless, it still becomes quite an expensive hobby, and my collection is only a fraction of what other members here own.

[Zulithe]

Most of the stuff I'm into isn't too expensive, and I try to limit what I collect.

Also, yeah I don't have kids... I think about that kind of thing a lot though. Would be great to have kids, but that's just not where I'm at.

I think you should budget and get the remaining items you need for your collection. Then you will be DONE. You can say you have the full, complete set and be happy knowing that.... just don't fall down the hole where you start collecting another series that could be just as expensive if not more so.

[Colonel Schrader]

i sell my body so I can afford to buy some toys.

[darthwahl56]

Originally Posted by Heather Breckel

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.

If you read this, thank you and for the response. I honestly have been a bit stuck in my art career, mainly on where to start again. I have loads of ideas for many things just not a head for where to put the energy to make it matter.

Anyway enough about me, how do we afford our collections people?

[darthwahl56]

Originally Posted by Colonel Schrader

i sell my body so I can afford to buy some toys.

Don't sell your body for toys, find something better to do, like make a friend or two, or even just do something you enjoy that doesn't take up so much space as a collection of toys, take it from someone who has amassed too much.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Originally Posted by 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...

That made me lol,

but anyway, I think if times are hard you have to get what you really really really want. Don't get tempted to get stuff you think you could live without.

[Sofistocat]

Good job, ability to budget. I don't(very rare if I do) sell any art, and keep this thought in the front of my mind when considering a purchase. If I think I could flip it, I don't buy it because I only see value and not sentiment.

Have a kid due at the end of August, so that's gonna be a game changer. I'm sure I would reply much differently come Labor Day...

3 rules:

-Don't spend rent/bill/food money on items, only disposable cash.

-Don't change budgeting habits more than 2 weeks to afford whatever. If you can't swing it changing how 1 or 2 paychecks get dispersed, you can't afford it...

-If you completed a goal obtaining something, DO NOT IMMEDIATELY SET A NEW GOAL OF OBTAINING SOMETHING ELSE! SAY NO TO IMPULSE. Give it a few days and let your new acquisition sink in. You may look at your collection differently after each addition. Let that thought sink in to your brain.

[Candy Kappa]

How?

I have a job, that pays me money each month for the work I have done. A small amount of that's left after rent and bills I sometimes use to buy stuff that isn't food.

[Sofistocat]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

How?

I have a job, that pays me money each month for the work I have done. A small amount of that's left after rent and bills I sometimes use to buy stuff that isn't food.

I'm not sure what everybody else does for a living. I have a very good job that pays very well. I've been in the same field of work for the last 10 years, Telecommunications. I'm now a Data Center tech for Verizon Business, it's a great job and I love it. I busted my keester for years in private co.'s salaried positions to get where I am(regarding experience and academics). VZ pays the bills, and then some, now and is going to pay for our family soon. Or at least a good portion of it.

We live pretty far apart, so most of my days are treated as me being single. I stay in most nights, don't really have any other hobbies that cost significant amounts of dough. I don't have alot of revolving bills either.

Believe me, if I didn't have as good a job, I wouldn't have as good a collection... 100% correlation

[tmntman]

Originally Posted by tipet

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.

I'm not expecting prices to crash, but I would expect to see fewer people thinking that every carded TMNT figure must be worth three figures. If the popularity drops off quite a bit, and as people begin to sell off their collections, prices will likely come down.

There are several things that could change how that plays out though. Now that Viacom owns the property, they may take more steps to keep the property viable over the long term similar to how Hasbro does with the Transformers property. We are also reaching the point where fans who grew up with the 2003 cartoon are reaching adulthood and could fuel another entire wave of collectors.

[Nameless]

i don't live by the NEED to collect them all... plus i only go for the old stuff or old themed stuff. no Nick stuff at my house. a lot of the items i have also only cost me a couple bucks to acquire, i love to thrift shop and search for things... its half the fun of collecting.

i also live with my Girl friend so expenses are low and i have a great job in the summer which pays for me to survive during the winter and to try and work on building my app company, Ruppah Inc. i actually have 2 cards games on the Apple app store (Cowboy Whist and Salad the card game).

last key piece is i only buy what i can afford and i try to get the best deals i can. to me living in canada the biggest problem is shipping so i love when i can do a big purchase and save on shipping.

[tipet]

Originally Posted by tmntman

I'm not expecting prices to crash, but I would expect to see fewer people thinking that every carded TMNT figure must be worth three figures. If the popularity drops off quite a bit, and as people begin to sell off their collections, prices will likely come down.

That sounds good. Hope to see prices going down too, otherwise the vintage carded figures price will be prohibitive, and sadly I will have to stop collecting.

Originally Posted by tmntman

There are several things that could change how that plays out though. Now that Viacom owns the property, they may take more steps to keep the property viable over the long term similar to how Hasbro does with the Transformers property. We are also reaching the point where fans who grew up with the 2003 cartoon are reaching adulthood and could fuel another entire wave of collectors.

You're right. Never thought the 2003 fans could be influential because in Spain the success of the serie was ridiculous.

[tmntman]

Originally Posted by tipet

You're right. Never thought the 2003 fans could be influential because in Spain the success of the serie was ridiculous.

It was quite successful here too. That is why I said that it could change the collecting community. Kids who were 5 to 10 years old when that series started are now just hitting their twenties. Give it another few years and they will be reaching the age where they have finished college and have more disposable income.

[tmntmikey23]

Originally Posted by Colonel Schrader

i sell my body so I can afford to buy some toys.

dont do that cus in the bible (Dont get Made If you Dont think bible is real or fake) but in the bible it says to not sale your body for nothing i think you can get a better job you seem quite talented

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

How?

I have a job, that pays me money each month for the work I have done. A small amount of that's left after rent and bills I sometimes use to buy stuff that isn't food.

you get paid once a month oh my family gets paid every 2 weeks

[TheCanadiandrome]

I can't.....er....shouldn't AFFORD my collection lol!

I'm not married, and don't have kids, but like most folks I'm up to my butthole in debt.

However, I've got two decent paying, not perfect paying, jobs and inbetween payments on loans and credit card, I find some little bits of moolah left for TMNT