Is the anticipation of an item just as good as the item?

[RagingBull]

I much prefer getting the item than anticipating it

The best bit about this hobby is seeing your collection slowly grow IMO & seeing lines your collecting complete.

The worst part of collecting is definitely delays.

 

[meth head]

I enjoy both aspects equally. I don't have a lot of spare cash, so I don't PO on impulse and I have to be very selective about my purchases. Once I get a new figure it goes into my office at work and I get a kick out of looking at it every day I'm there. If I had to stop collecting tomorrow I reckon I'd keep my figures on display rather than sell them.

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

the worst is when you pick up the box and it feels like there's nothing in it.. *deflating*

some pieces I can recall delivering big.. Hulk PF.. Doom PF.. Skaar PF.. Venom 1:1.. Man Thing..Hulk LSBs, GR LSB, Doom LSB, Superb quality in packing, materials used, paint application.. If they can make the teeth look real on venom why did they look flat white and unfinished on the other pieces.. For the prices paid home runs should be hit like that consistantly.. YOu honestly wont know what youre getting regardless of specs till it's in hand.. You can return em, but it's a bit of a shame at times.


Bodie

 

[Intruder04]

Sideshow should just sell anticipation.

I think I'm going to start a collectibles company that never ships anything, and takes a non-refundable payment up front. If this is why people collect, then my customers will be the most satisfied customers in history.

Will we earn reward points? And I hope a decent QC would be in place

i never expect, that way i'm never disappointed.

Quite the opposite with me. With obvious consequences!

I anticipate some things more than other. And while I may not be able to take these things with me after I'm gone, they'll be with me till I'm gone.

 

[Darth Cruel]

I can't even imagine having the feeling of anticipation if I ended up consistently getting something I was not excited to have.


Personally, I feel that having the item is far better than the anticipation of having it.

I have been disappointed in figures that I have received, but rarely. If it happened very often, I would lose my motivation to order them at all.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I enjoy both aspects equally. I don't have a lot of spare cash, so I don't PO on impulse and I have to be very selective about my purchases. Once I get a new figure it goes into my office at work and I get a kick out of looking at it every day I'm there. If I had to stop collecting tomorrow I reckon I'd keep my figures on display rather than sell them.

I can't even imagine having the feeling of anticipation if I ended up consistently getting something I was not excited to have.

Personally, I feel that having the item is far better than the anticipation of having it.

I have been disappointed in figures that I have received, but rarely. If it happened very often, I would lose my motivation to order them at all.

When I'm spending $150-$350 on a toy, I damn well better enjoy the final product as much as the anticipation. Even IF the anticipation proved to be more exciting than the actual getting, then that would only last 1 figure. I would learn my lesson to NOT drop $250 on a whim, and be more level headed the next time something catches my fancy.

When I first started out in this hobby in 2008, I bought Deux Ex Machina Deunan Knute from Hot Toys because I just liked the way she looked. I really didn't know much at all about the property or the character. I just thought it was a cool looking figure. And it also gave me the opportunity to see what a famed Hot Toys figure was like, since all I had gotten up to that point were Sideshow figures. Once I got her it was very anti-climactic and ho-hum. Yeah it was a cool looking figure, but so what? I learned then and there to only buy what I am emotionally invested in. The figure and the character it represents has to really mean something to me. I ended up selling Deunan and a few others that I just didn't have that emotional connection with. And I am a much happier collector because of it. I don't look at my shelves with regret, only pure joy.

I will add that I personally would favor instant gratification over anticipation any day! None of this waiting for 6 months to a year business!

 

[cokebabies]

In this hobby specifically, absolutely.

In fact, it's rare where the item beats the anticipation. Which explains why I pre-order an item, get super excited for it, then when it arrives a year later, it sits in the box.

 

[Darth Cruel]

LOL...with so many people that seem to enjoy the build-up more than the item, I guess I can see why the "for sale" section is always so busy.

 

[TheFiend]

Anticipation lasts a lot longer than the excitement of products one you have them

Coming to this forum everyday doesn't help it. Looking at pics everyday, discussing it everyday, watching YouTube reviews etc.
No wonder its lackluster once it hits your doorstep. Can't say I haven't been guilty of it.

Nowadays I try to keep the visits to threads of any highly anticipated upcoming figures to a minimum. Ill post and discuss the first few days its previewed then do my best to avoid the thread until its within shipping time.

Sent from my LG-E739 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kai]

Coming to this forum everyday doesn't help it. Looking at pics everyday, discussing it everyday, watching YouTube reviews etc.
No wonder its lackluster once it hits your doorstep. Can't say I haven't been guilty of it.

Nowadays I try to keep the visits to threads of any highly anticipated upcoming figures to a minimum. Ill post and discuss the first few days its previewed then do my best to avoid the thread until its within shipping time.

Sent from my LG-E739 using Tapatalk 2

Hype surrounding certain pieces is a great way to fall into buyers remorse. Self control goes a long way. If you see a piece that you genuinely like, have the space for and funds for, you shouldn't have a problem enjoying it (QC issues aside).

 

[crowinghorse]

Great conversation!

A few comments I have regarding some of yours:

EXCLUSIVITY - if something is exclusive, does it mean you anticipate it more? If you're "one of the few" who have something, do you think it gives it an intrinsic or extrinsic value?

That leads me to....

SRP vs SECONDARY MARKET - we've probably all done it; bought something at retail that we thought we'd like but we didn't...and then we come to find out others LOVE it and the value skyrockets on secondary market and - sometimes - we fall in love with it too because of its extrinsic value. That ever happen to anyone?

OR - as Lejuan mentioned - you aren't that excited for something, you preorder it and, while cool, you simply can't justify keeping it because of the resale value on the secondary market?

 

[Vitus]

Hmmm I guess I'm then opposite.. Right now I have No preorders, everything on flex is done... and it feels good!

I usually anticipate all the things that can go wrong before it gets to me... damage, theft, etc so it's not fun waiting.

 

[Frank Jaeger]

I would go as far as to say they are both equal. Only the anticipation lasts longer

 

[KBA]

If the chase is just what's fulfilling you, there's probably some issue that's being band-aided that needs actual repair.

 

[crowinghorse]

KBA - great point, that means it's a "wanting" and not the "having" that's fulfilling, which is or certainly can mean there are some issues there. That said, I think we sometimes talk ourselves up so much for something and then, when it is released, it's not nearly as impressive/awesome/amazing as originally thought...and some get over it and keep the piece, some find satisfaction, some get buyer's remorse and return it, some keep it for a while and sell the piece later on, etc

Personally, I quit buying a lot of figures and collectibles about 6 years ago when my wife pointed out that I'd been collecting Star Wars figures for about 12 years with the *supposed* express reason that my kids would play with them someday. It was really me who wanted to simply own them (they were all MOC/MIB) and in storage, so I never got to even enjoy them displayed.

I sold ALL of my figures (about 1,000 pieces in total) at my church's garage sale and - while it was painful to watch them be sold for $2 each (vs the $6-8 I'd paid!), it was a HUGE release and relief to know I no longer had to worry about them anymore...

Now, as I'm still a collector, I collect belt buckles or rings or t-shirts or something that's functional beyond sitting on my shelf gathering dust and looking cool.

Not that I don't have a few figures I buy from time to time to "play with" though

 

[Eli26]

If the chase is just what's fulfilling you, there's probably some issue that's being band-aided that needs actual repair.

Shutup. You don't know me!

It's true! ALL TRUE!!!

 

[crowinghorse]

Shutup. You don't know me!

It's true! ALL TRUE!!!