How To Beat Collecting Addiction.

[mharless]

I am about a year into collecting Sideshow PF. I have a total of 9 items. Being a Star Wars fan I was only going to collect Star Wars items. But as you know these items are so great that I have found myself purchasing non Star Wars items also. For instance...I really like the Hulk, but without much hesitation I purchased HULK, Grey Hulk, and Red Hulk without even thinking. It's to the point that I am having trouble saying NO to just about anything that I can tie to my childhood that I may have liked.

Has anyone went through this to where they having trouble saying NO to items? If so how did you beat it? I have thought now about doing only 12 inch figures. That does give me a cheaper price point, but so many more items to choose from. Could be the same problem. Then I have thought about finding one character that I like the most. That would be Vader and I could just collect his items and be done with it.

Any advice on how to beat tame or beat this collection addiction would be great.

 

[Lejuan]

Why is this a problem for you? Money?

 

[EVILFACE]

You beat it by running out of money.

 

[shells075]

Why do you consider your collecting to be a problem? Are you falling behind on mortgage payments or struggling to put food on the table? Or is someone round you nagging at you about your collecting?

 

[GeneralZodLives]

It's easy to pick up everything you see when you're just starting to collect because it all looks awesome. It takes awhile to find your focus, and some people never do--they just collect what they like. Whether it's Star Wars, Superman, Alien, Iron Man, or a mix of all of them, the hobby is supposed to make you happy so let it. You'll be fine as long as you're still paying your bills and not going into insane debt.

 

[mharless]

I don't want to say that money is not the factor, but no I am not falling behind on the mortgage or anything like that. I do get some nagging about how can I spend that amount of money on stuff that doesn't do anything. But it does for me...I see it...it makes me happy by bringing back old memories as a child and all of that stuff. I guess my main problem is saying NO. I can almost justify every item they make. So that is why I have considered only buying Vader stuff. Still will be expensive especially if I buy a bust or legendary scale figure.

 

[Lejuan]

Then what Zod said. There are worse habits you could spend your money on. You can always sell this stuff at some point, sometimes at a loss, sometimes at a profit. You can't say the same about cocaine or hookers.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Cancel some stuff...see how you feel

 

[67L88Stingray]

Cancel some stuff...see how you feel

Regret over missing a piece is worse

Seriously, consider all the factors you can. Space, money, etc... and you should be able to figure out a plan that fits you. There is not a magic cure-all and once the newness of the hobby wears off it becomes easier.

 

[cokebabies]

Methadone.

 

[jkno]

I don't want to say that money is not the factor, but no I am not falling behind on the mortgage or anything like that. I do get some nagging about how can I spend that amount of money on stuff that doesn't do anything. But it does for me...I see it...it makes me happy by bringing back old memories as a child and all of that stuff. I guess my main problem is saying NO. I can almost justify every item they make. So that is why I have considered only buying Vader stuff. Still will be expensive especially if I buy a bust or legendary scale figure.

Collect what you like and try understanding that you cannot have everything. Also try to focus on something you'd enjoy having in your collection and stick to that focus.

Then what Zod said. There are worse habits you could spend your money on. You can always sell this stuff at some point, sometimes at a loss, sometimes at a profit. You can't say the same about cocaine or hookers.

You can also sell cocaine and hookers, sometimes at a loss, sometimes at a profit

 

[Stryker2011]

You beat it by running out of money.

 

[surforia]

I focus on one area - 1/6 scale figures. No matter how cool the HT 1/4 figures are, I put them out of my mind (and my wallet thanks me). I also started off getting any figure that looked cool, but over time realized that I preferred a more focused collection, so for me that's batman, SW and the 80s stuff I loved as a kid (e.g. Tmnt, bttf, ghostbusters).

 

[mharless]

There is so much I like such at TMNT, Masters of the Universe, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Aliens, Predator....the list does not stop. Just about anything I look at I can justify it as a purchase because I had an awesome childhood memory to it. But I am a Star Wars fan above all of it. I even tried to limit just to that, but then I want every single one. So I have thought about picking one character and that would be Vader. Maybe just collect him and that could help reduce the urge of having it all.

I went to a comic store and looked at some 1/6 scale stuff today. I am still leaning toward PF. It seems on average a person can buy two to three 1/6 scale figures for one PF. I still am not 100% store.

 

[SnakeDoctor]

It's not an addiction. It's an intentional decision. So ... just knock it off. If it's a problem for you, do something different.

SnakeDoc

 

[Shawpaw]

You beat it by realizing that when you die, it doesn't go with you.

 

[RIDDICK]

You beat it by running out of money.

Pretty much.

 

[NASEDO]

You beat it cause you don't have a girlfriend. My girl also loves collecting, so no way I'm beating it. And I got a big collection.

 

[Jameson Rook]

If you feel like your collecting is more of a compulsion rather than a commemorative gesture to celebrate your love for a character and your financial freedom, then you can always consider psychiatric intervention. People toss around the word "OCD" everywhere without even knowing that people with real OCD are suffering in real life.

 

[epitaph04]

The more you collect the more you'll realize what you actually like, what actually looks good in the collection, and what is actually worth its worth.