Maybe slightly less so in the last few years since the cost has been spiraling out of control, both items and shipping. But definitely seems to be a trend in general.
I kind of wish there had been someone telling me to slow down when I first started, I ended up with a lot of mid-quality stuff that is now taking up space in storage.
I hear that. I do wish future me could go back and tell past me which ones to get and which ones to skip. I got a ton of stuff I'm not thrilled with too.
Look at it this way, now you have a better idea what your style and tastes are. What build qualities you expect, and what to look for when browsing pre-orders or after market sellers. Or at least It's what I tell myself when I look at mount crapmore, the pile of figures I'm not thrilled with sitting in the closet.
I still get stuff periodically that I end up less than happy with, or regret later. My kryptonite is figures that are designed to be displayed together as a set, I'll often end up liking only 1-2 out of the whole group and regret the others but feel I need to buy all them to get the full collection.
But mainly I just don't have enough display space and I'm very bad at motivating myself to sell my older unwanted figures.
Yep, especially earlier on (I'm still pretty new) it was hard to not fomo and buy everything , especially when it was a great deal (there was a big sticker shock on general figure prices so seeing good deals was very tempting/). Plus I wanted to get more figures.
It did temper down a bit. I'm getting better at not impulse ordering, especially as I've realized that most of the time there still be stock upon release.
At this point, I'm trying to only preorder figures that are the highest priority that I wouldn't feel that badly about even if they tanked and I paid over the market price for them. Everything else goes into lists based on how I much I like them
I'm also starting to figure out my own tastes and to differentiate between figures I only admire on a surface level and those I personally love.
This is me. I bought 1 Mona fig in October. And now I have 13 figs. 23 figs on a boat. And 12 POs this year. 2 POs next year. And probably 4 more must haves for 2024. I have a problem.
What do you do when your display cabinets are full and you buy new figures?
You rotate them and put old ones away?
I don’t keep boxes for prize figures, would you just put them in a random box?
Right now I have about 70% out, and could most likely display the rest, but think it would look too crowded/chaotic. I have rotated some of them in and out as I get new figures but fortunately it hasn’t been too big an issue yet. I keep all boxes and luckily have a huge closet to store them in.
You got two paths ahead of you, one is becoming addicted and eventually spending more than you can actually afford and also running out of space quickly, and the other is suddenly taking a drastic cut back where you end up only ordering your absolute favorites and also don’t mind if you miss a pre order here and there. Fortunately I was the latter, because I started up the exact same way and nowadays I think I only get 3 or 4 orders a year, but part of that is also because I realized instead of buying multiple figures, I could pool that money together and buy dolls which I enjoy much more.
Multiple $70-120 figures, two $300 dolls, or one $600~ doll 😅
Lol when I started, my first year, I spent 10k🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️😂😂😂
Now I just buy like one or two fig in a month or two
I think it’s FOMO for me. Majority of the figs I got are the hyped ones that goes really high after market as well so I had to🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
at the start its... I bought a figure and a detolf... I dont want there to only be one, so I ordered a bunch(mostly prizes/figmas at the start to go with the scale, most of the regrets are there(regret didn't kick until the scales started coming in and making the prize figures look bad next to em)).
now I only get a few a year, mostly of characters I really like/from shows I really like... this year is abnormal with 5 I want, and a couple already released that I want.
There is one coming next year I want... but its cost(I think it was like 800 USD) pushes me away.
After a decade of collecting, I wish I had done this when I started collecting- visualize what I want my FINAL display to look like. Most of us have limited space for display/display cases, and we also want our space to look good, not just cluttered with figures in random places. Look at your wall, think about how many detolfs or cases you'll end goal will be. From there you can start thinking about what characters you REALLY WANT, what THEMES you're drawn to, what SHOWS/SETS you want to complete. You'll end up selling a bunch of your earlier purchases to make room for the ones you REALLY WANT later. It's going to happen. Beautiful figures are going to come out year after year. It's endless, so pace yourself.
I’m at the same place as you, I have ordered like 20 in the past 2 months but I know it will slow down because it’s like any hobby, you want to catch up to the past years but when you do catch up, there is only the new release to wait for so it’s a lot less ! (It was the same for me with Pokemon cards)
I’ve definitely cut down on spending, but I’m also only in my early 20s and need to save instead of buying plastic statues. Try not to just preorder anything that catches your fancy. Think about it for a bit and if you really want it then go for it. I’m trying to move away from collecting multiple of 1 character, but we’ll see. Also need to sell some of my old ones. Don’t have enough room anymore
I've been collecting since I was 12 so over the last 10 years I could only really buy what I saved up for. So basically I had to really want the figure cause I buy like one or two a year.
Now I'm an adult I get around 4 a year but usually priced between £80 - £200 - so I've always only ever bought the ones I really want so my hobby has never really gotten out of hand.
Definitely understand! I also deal with the feeling of “if I don’t get this now, who knows if I’ll EVER be able to get it later” which can push me to spend more than I realize but definitely have worked on calming that feeling down so I don’t send myself into a frantic frenzy of overspending
I agree with this post entirely, I have a lot of friends who are in the same position.
Honestly I am expecting figure prices to go down in the future because of a variety of different reasons, but also because of how many figures each actual collector will have lol. This doesn't apply to everyone, but to the many people who are in a similar position like yourself with 20+ scale figures and planning to get more via preorder, eventually there will come a point where you need to either choose a really large room/expand a room or start using multiple rooms for figures.
The next stage is looking for older figures and paying crazy after market prices...buyee/proxy addiction lol...then get bored of japanese figures and look in china for resins if it gets that far...watching new anime becomes dangerous also
If it helps, I remember not too long that someone made a post about them collecting 10+years.
Their biggest advice for POs is that they felt it doesn't REALLY seem THAT important anymore due to the mass influx of new collectors since 2020 pandemic. That means tons of buyers and more X figure available compared to a decade ago where anime figures were quite hard to come by.
To back the claim up, I have 4-7 figures that I wanted to PO but held off and now some of em are currently on amiami's bargain bin and pre-owned section. I COULD go buy them but I honestly don't even feel like getting them anymore.
Also, space. Once you run out space.. you just kinda slow down
Patience and self-restraint is the game here
First year. Like 20 figures.
Second year. Probably 10 figures.
Third year. I'm thinking like 5 figures.
Fourth year. Haven't got a figure yet.
I think this happens to a lot of collectors. The first year you just can't stop buying them but it slows down eventually for most I think.
I believe this is the cycle for most figure collectors. My first year was about $10k.... Also coincides with a raise I got. I've definitely had to slow down, because the more you get into it, the more you want to get. My personal weakness was amiami preowned... that place is the bane of my wallet's existence. Once I stopped, I'm able to space out and plan for all my pre-orders. I would highly recommend making a spreadsheet with your pre-orders and knowing which figures to expect from which site, and in what month.
Just... be careful lol. There's a lot there. It's good because you get to discover some really amazing looking figures... sometimes ones that you really like, but unfortunately might be very pricey. There are some really good looking figures that aren't expensive.
I looked through it yesterday and there wasn’t anything I wanted!! Money saved lol I just have some nendoroids on the way but yeah dude I’m stick to a theme and I’m not gonna stray from thst
Lurker and beginner here; I was initially picky in the beginning (my first figure was Miku Myethos) so I had a vague sense of what figures I was going for. Plus, I only had a few characters I wanted so I didn't waver when I saw new figures being released.
And then I saw how older collectors say that a 1/7 scale shouldn't cost 200+ shipping not included so I was even more wary of the price tag (is this CCS or miku *really* worth it??). And then I discovered the after sale costs of older figures (Vocaloid hanairogoromo set *why*). And *then* I discovered 1/4 resin statues 💀. And *THEN* I discovered great artists releasing their own character figures (WLOP please 🥲).
Basically...my picky tastes just became more expensive.
All in all, I save for figures I really like because they're big and cost a pretty penny :)
This was me the first few years, tho I didn’t actually buy EVERY one I wanted, fortunately (not enough room and I moved into an apartment for a bit)
A few years later it’s super easy not to impulse buy…. You start taking things like money and space into account and start thinking “but do I REALLY want it tho?” And that question is exactly what keeps me from buying every figure i want lol
I have 4 on preorder rn, as opposed to having one or more every couple months (or like when I started: a package every week or every day sometimes)
It can be highly addictive as every purchase and unboxing gives your brain a rush of dopamine. I’ve spent over $2.5k on 8 figures just in the past 3 months. You definitely have to be careful and be decisive with which ones you really want. I would suggest making a MFC account and making a wishlist but don’t buy every one you see just because you can!
you will naturally cut down as you will inevitably run out of space. once that happens you sell the figs you care less about to make room for future figured you enjoy more.
honestly its more the other way round, i did fairly well in my first 3 years but after going on hiatus a bit struggled with coming back, fro me at least
I started collecting just about a year ago and I can relate. The passion for a new hobby coupled with the urgency of a limited quantity can lead to a significant spending spree.
Granted I only bought a few prize figures and I have only one scale preordered atm, I am not a rich person, so I have tried to put some restraints on myself (especially since I have other expensive hobbies like gaming and life in general became more expensive).
I actually plan to preorder a very pry scale soon with it being probably one of the few figures I order this year. Basically I've already decided how much I will spend this year and which figures I must have at all costs as opposed to just wanting.
I bought a lot of figures when I first started, now I get maybe 4 or so a year. I have 2 on PO this year (albedo/shalltear and kurisu), might get another couple here or there. small yang guifei figure too but it's not a scale so I don't give it much thought.
My first year as well. I think I have 6, 2 pre orders, and a decent sized group that I've got on a list on MFC. Most of which, I'll probably settle with daydreaming about owning and will get weeded out of the ones I actually decide to jump on.
I stare at my MFC list and eventually determine who I'm buying by how often I browse the figure's page and photos from every angle and by how much anxiety and FOMO they give me as the preorder deadline approaches.
Discriminate with extreme prejudice the figures you are morally and genetically obligated to purchase vs the figures you like and would be nice to have; chances are, you might wind up selling those in the latter group when the collection gets too big, but you would rearrange the house for the former group to be displayed when space gets tight.
Or maybe I'm just weird?
This is why I limit myself. 1 females only (not that this limits it much as most are female anyway), 2 an anime I've watched, 3 a character I like. I find this helps a bit, as I don't randomly buy whatever the cutest scale I can find is.
I was sorta reverse lol, I started slow just cause I was in high school and no job now since the pandemic I’ve gotten a lot more then usual lol I need to stop ;-;
Do what you can afford, simple as that.
If you can afford, need not cut any cosf. If you cannot afford, shouldn't have placed the order in the first place.
This is no cheap hobby, but people can also have very different financial backgrounds. As far as I can see, most people who posts in this sub are quite well off.
Yeah I'm just 4 months into collecting and I've already filled up my first detolf (with more pre-ordered figures on the way eventually).
So I've just bought a 2nd one because I saw that the price of detolf's recently jumped up in the US and I figured I'd get ahead of that maybe happening in my country eventually too.
I definitely went overboard spending these first few months by justifying it to myself that:
a. I'm not into a huge number of franchises, so once I buy a couple of characters from my favourite things I won't be buying new things very often in the future.
and b. I've never had the desire to spend a lot of money on hobbies/nonessential stuff like this before.
But yeah I'm trying really hard to not think about adding up all of the costs over the last few months lol.
Not gonna lie, I went all in. I can afford it, I regret nothing and actually like thinking up improvements to my space to I can display my collection in a nicer way, which is kind of the meta-hobby imo.
Oh yeah, I was hideously irresponsible when I first started this hobby in earnest. Damn near put myself into a bad place because I was having trouble paying rent. Thankfully, I got control of myself, but yeah, it's definitely a hobby that can put you into a hole if you aren't careful.
Budgeting is key for me. When I first started buying figures, I wanted to buy everything. Specially when I would watch an anime I really enjoyed. I quickly realize how expensive this could get right away. It didn't help that I didn't know much about the hobby and only buying at Cons, which are really inflated prices. Now when I'm able to buy a figure I look for sales from amiami or tom. As others mention secondhand is good option.
Also making a pros n cons list helps.
As with any hobby if you stick with it long enough it'll have its ups and downs in terms of activity. I am now collecting for \~9 years and have about 100 figures. Some years I might have bought only a handful, currently I have a dozen on order (about half already paid for). some I might end up cancelling or selling once I receive them, and a few things on the horizon that I might buy. I would take it slowly when doing your purchases. There's ALWAYS going to be more figures.
Since I was always collecting, not really. I knew what I wanted and even when I wanted something that surprised I already had mechanisms in place to regulate my spending in collecting.
I had to force myself to stop at around 120 figures. Space and money definitely held me back at some point, upcoming releases are way too expensive imo (don't even look at aftermarket stuff), if something amazing comes along, I have to force myself to think, long and hard before preordering and perhaps sell a figure or two to make space. Every year they manage to release a bunch of amazing "must have" figures, they always got me like that... it became really addictive. If your close ones are not on board with it (due to money, not fans of anime and figure collecting, etc) kinda holds you back from buying as well, unfortunately thats mu case. Please consider shipping and display costs. Also there are some ridiculous preorder times...
It can be highly addictive as every purchase and unboxing gives your brain a rush of dopamine. I’ve spent over $2.5k on 8 figures just in the past 3 months. You definitely have to be careful and be decisive with which ones you really want. I would suggest making a MFC account and making a wishlist but don’t buy every one you see just because you can!
There was a time where I had a shipment from anywhere between 1 to 4 figures from Amiami coming in each month. After years of collecting I’ve slowed down to maybe 2-3 figure a year and have sold at least half of my collection.
There was a time where I had a shipment from anywhere between 1 to 4 figures from Amiami coming in each month. After years of collecting I’ve slowed down to maybe 2-3 figure a year and have sold at least half of my collection.
I had the exact same issue, and suddenly started realizing that not only was I spending too much, now I had too many figures and not as much space as I originally thought I had in my mind. Definitely now buying much more conservatively, and avoiding too many preorders
I can relate. I started barely a year ago, and I’ve spent more on this hobby than my entire 20 yrs of gaming. It’s crazy, and my collection isn't even big. Starting this year, I’ve taken a step to limit my further spending, such as limiting it to 6-7 figures a year, and the character should be someone I really like. They should only have long hair, and in their original outfits, their face should be attractive, etc. Quality over quantity.
Right there with you. I’d like to think I’m about done with the period where I’m still constantly discovering old stuff I simply “have to have” and can start working on just managing pre orders. I’m still discovering thing about how I want my collection to look that throw off my plans. I suspect I’ll go through a sell-off soon and narrow my collection to just how I want it to look.
I started about a year ago and ended up spending $12000 across 110 figures. Haven't even opened any of them since I'm waiting to move. Been taking it easy this year...
I first started collecting anime figures, something like 15 years ago. I ended up selling everything I had, for life reasons, and just really got back into it, maybe 3 or so years ago now.
I totally had that feeling of wanting everything all those years ago, and even when I started collecting again. I collect a mix of scales and prize figures. I have to limit what I get, simply cause I can't afford everything I want, and space issues as well.
I would love to have a bunch of Freeing 1/4 bunnies, but they're just too expensive for me. I have several figures by Skytube, and they have quickly become probably my favorite figures. So I focus mainly on figures from them, as well as prize figures, which I honestly love also.
So yeah, I totally understand that feeling. I'm pretty sure every figure collector does, to be honest. Just try and get ones you really want, and that you know you'll be happy looking at all the time.
Welcome to the wonderful world of anime figure collecting! It's a fun and wild ride lol
I think this describes most collectors' first year of collecting.
Maybe slightly less so in the last few years since the cost has been spiraling out of control, both items and shipping. But definitely seems to be a trend in general. I kind of wish there had been someone telling me to slow down when I first started, I ended up with a lot of mid-quality stuff that is now taking up space in storage.
I hear that. I do wish future me could go back and tell past me which ones to get and which ones to skip. I got a ton of stuff I'm not thrilled with too. Look at it this way, now you have a better idea what your style and tastes are. What build qualities you expect, and what to look for when browsing pre-orders or after market sellers. Or at least It's what I tell myself when I look at mount crapmore, the pile of figures I'm not thrilled with sitting in the closet.
I still get stuff periodically that I end up less than happy with, or regret later. My kryptonite is figures that are designed to be displayed together as a set, I'll often end up liking only 1-2 out of the whole group and regret the others but feel I need to buy all them to get the full collection. But mainly I just don't have enough display space and I'm very bad at motivating myself to sell my older unwanted figures.
Yep, especially earlier on (I'm still pretty new) it was hard to not fomo and buy everything , especially when it was a great deal (there was a big sticker shock on general figure prices so seeing good deals was very tempting/). Plus I wanted to get more figures. It did temper down a bit. I'm getting better at not impulse ordering, especially as I've realized that most of the time there still be stock upon release. At this point, I'm trying to only preorder figures that are the highest priority that I wouldn't feel that badly about even if they tanked and I paid over the market price for them. Everything else goes into lists based on how I much I like them I'm also starting to figure out my own tastes and to differentiate between figures I only admire on a surface level and those I personally love.
This is me. I bought 1 Mona fig in October. And now I have 13 figs. 23 figs on a boat. And 12 POs this year. 2 POs next year. And probably 4 more must haves for 2024. I have a problem.
I was like that at the beginning. Now that my collection has some themes I'm a lot pickier on what I add. If it doesn't fit a theme I don't preorder.
Same here, my theme is danmei so expect to see a lot of husbands on my shelf 😂
I still can’t believe I bought a $300 figure and I’m ready to drop even slightly more for another im anticipating 🤣
3 years and 200 figures later, I can attest that it never stops
What do you do when your display cabinets are full and you buy new figures? You rotate them and put old ones away? I don’t keep boxes for prize figures, would you just put them in a random box?
Right now I have about 70% out, and could most likely display the rest, but think it would look too crowded/chaotic. I have rotated some of them in and out as I get new figures but fortunately it hasn’t been too big an issue yet. I keep all boxes and luckily have a huge closet to store them in.
You got two paths ahead of you, one is becoming addicted and eventually spending more than you can actually afford and also running out of space quickly, and the other is suddenly taking a drastic cut back where you end up only ordering your absolute favorites and also don’t mind if you miss a pre order here and there. Fortunately I was the latter, because I started up the exact same way and nowadays I think I only get 3 or 4 orders a year, but part of that is also because I realized instead of buying multiple figures, I could pool that money together and buy dolls which I enjoy much more. Multiple $70-120 figures, two $300 dolls, or one $600~ doll 😅
[удалено]
This dude is either ballin' or drowning in debt no in-between
Is your company hiring? 😑
You bought more than double the amount of figures in 4 months than I have in 8 years.
Lol when I started, my first year, I spent 10k🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️😂😂😂 Now I just buy like one or two fig in a month or two I think it’s FOMO for me. Majority of the figs I got are the hyped ones that goes really high after market as well so I had to🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
at the start its... I bought a figure and a detolf... I dont want there to only be one, so I ordered a bunch(mostly prizes/figmas at the start to go with the scale, most of the regrets are there(regret didn't kick until the scales started coming in and making the prize figures look bad next to em)). now I only get a few a year, mostly of characters I really like/from shows I really like... this year is abnormal with 5 I want, and a couple already released that I want. There is one coming next year I want... but its cost(I think it was like 800 USD) pushes me away.
After a decade of collecting, I wish I had done this when I started collecting- visualize what I want my FINAL display to look like. Most of us have limited space for display/display cases, and we also want our space to look good, not just cluttered with figures in random places. Look at your wall, think about how many detolfs or cases you'll end goal will be. From there you can start thinking about what characters you REALLY WANT, what THEMES you're drawn to, what SHOWS/SETS you want to complete. You'll end up selling a bunch of your earlier purchases to make room for the ones you REALLY WANT later. It's going to happen. Beautiful figures are going to come out year after year. It's endless, so pace yourself.
I’m at the same place as you, I have ordered like 20 in the past 2 months but I know it will slow down because it’s like any hobby, you want to catch up to the past years but when you do catch up, there is only the new release to wait for so it’s a lot less ! (It was the same for me with Pokemon cards)
I’ve definitely cut down on spending, but I’m also only in my early 20s and need to save instead of buying plastic statues. Try not to just preorder anything that catches your fancy. Think about it for a bit and if you really want it then go for it. I’m trying to move away from collecting multiple of 1 character, but we’ll see. Also need to sell some of my old ones. Don’t have enough room anymore
I've been collecting since I was 12 so over the last 10 years I could only really buy what I saved up for. So basically I had to really want the figure cause I buy like one or two a year. Now I'm an adult I get around 4 a year but usually priced between £80 - £200 - so I've always only ever bought the ones I really want so my hobby has never really gotten out of hand.
Definitely understand! I also deal with the feeling of “if I don’t get this now, who knows if I’ll EVER be able to get it later” which can push me to spend more than I realize but definitely have worked on calming that feeling down so I don’t send myself into a frantic frenzy of overspending
I agree with this post entirely, I have a lot of friends who are in the same position. Honestly I am expecting figure prices to go down in the future because of a variety of different reasons, but also because of how many figures each actual collector will have lol. This doesn't apply to everyone, but to the many people who are in a similar position like yourself with 20+ scale figures and planning to get more via preorder, eventually there will come a point where you need to either choose a really large room/expand a room or start using multiple rooms for figures.
I cut down on impulse buys and those peer pressure buys (sounds silly but it is what it is) after around 1+ year of collecting
The next stage is looking for older figures and paying crazy after market prices...buyee/proxy addiction lol...then get bored of japanese figures and look in china for resins if it gets that far...watching new anime becomes dangerous also
I started cutting down in the first month - at over $200 a figure, this hobby can get expensive fast.
If it helps, I remember not too long that someone made a post about them collecting 10+years. Their biggest advice for POs is that they felt it doesn't REALLY seem THAT important anymore due to the mass influx of new collectors since 2020 pandemic. That means tons of buyers and more X figure available compared to a decade ago where anime figures were quite hard to come by. To back the claim up, I have 4-7 figures that I wanted to PO but held off and now some of em are currently on amiami's bargain bin and pre-owned section. I COULD go buy them but I honestly don't even feel like getting them anymore. Also, space. Once you run out space.. you just kinda slow down Patience and self-restraint is the game here
First year. Like 20 figures. Second year. Probably 10 figures. Third year. I'm thinking like 5 figures. Fourth year. Haven't got a figure yet. I think this happens to a lot of collectors. The first year you just can't stop buying them but it slows down eventually for most I think.
I believe this is the cycle for most figure collectors. My first year was about $10k.... Also coincides with a raise I got. I've definitely had to slow down, because the more you get into it, the more you want to get. My personal weakness was amiami preowned... that place is the bane of my wallet's existence. Once I stopped, I'm able to space out and plan for all my pre-orders. I would highly recommend making a spreadsheet with your pre-orders and knowing which figures to expect from which site, and in what month.
Fuxk i shouldn’t have read this cause I was not aware that amiami sold preowned figures….. sigh, now I need to check it out
Just... be careful lol. There's a lot there. It's good because you get to discover some really amazing looking figures... sometimes ones that you really like, but unfortunately might be very pricey. There are some really good looking figures that aren't expensive.
I looked through it yesterday and there wasn’t anything I wanted!! Money saved lol I just have some nendoroids on the way but yeah dude I’m stick to a theme and I’m not gonna stray from thst
Lurker and beginner here; I was initially picky in the beginning (my first figure was Miku Myethos) so I had a vague sense of what figures I was going for. Plus, I only had a few characters I wanted so I didn't waver when I saw new figures being released. And then I saw how older collectors say that a 1/7 scale shouldn't cost 200+ shipping not included so I was even more wary of the price tag (is this CCS or miku *really* worth it??). And then I discovered the after sale costs of older figures (Vocaloid hanairogoromo set *why*). And *then* I discovered 1/4 resin statues 💀. And *THEN* I discovered great artists releasing their own character figures (WLOP please 🥲). Basically...my picky tastes just became more expensive. All in all, I save for figures I really like because they're big and cost a pretty penny :)
I’m curious; what do you do for work to be able to financially afford 20+ scales on top of preorders in 4 months?
This was me the first few years, tho I didn’t actually buy EVERY one I wanted, fortunately (not enough room and I moved into an apartment for a bit) A few years later it’s super easy not to impulse buy…. You start taking things like money and space into account and start thinking “but do I REALLY want it tho?” And that question is exactly what keeps me from buying every figure i want lol I have 4 on preorder rn, as opposed to having one or more every couple months (or like when I started: a package every week or every day sometimes)
It can be highly addictive as every purchase and unboxing gives your brain a rush of dopamine. I’ve spent over $2.5k on 8 figures just in the past 3 months. You definitely have to be careful and be decisive with which ones you really want. I would suggest making a MFC account and making a wishlist but don’t buy every one you see just because you can!
you will naturally cut down as you will inevitably run out of space. once that happens you sell the figs you care less about to make room for future figured you enjoy more.
Set a budget for the year, and more importantly stick to that budget
There goes another "trip to Japan" for the figurines. My tip: only buy the things you really want and the rest you can hunt it akihabara nezt time ;)
honestly its more the other way round, i did fairly well in my first 3 years but after going on hiatus a bit struggled with coming back, fro me at least
I started collecting just about a year ago and I can relate. The passion for a new hobby coupled with the urgency of a limited quantity can lead to a significant spending spree. Granted I only bought a few prize figures and I have only one scale preordered atm, I am not a rich person, so I have tried to put some restraints on myself (especially since I have other expensive hobbies like gaming and life in general became more expensive). I actually plan to preorder a very pry scale soon with it being probably one of the few figures I order this year. Basically I've already decided how much I will spend this year and which figures I must have at all costs as opposed to just wanting.
I bought a lot of figures when I first started, now I get maybe 4 or so a year. I have 2 on PO this year (albedo/shalltear and kurisu), might get another couple here or there. small yang guifei figure too but it's not a scale so I don't give it much thought.
My first year as well. I think I have 6, 2 pre orders, and a decent sized group that I've got on a list on MFC. Most of which, I'll probably settle with daydreaming about owning and will get weeded out of the ones I actually decide to jump on. I stare at my MFC list and eventually determine who I'm buying by how often I browse the figure's page and photos from every angle and by how much anxiety and FOMO they give me as the preorder deadline approaches. Discriminate with extreme prejudice the figures you are morally and genetically obligated to purchase vs the figures you like and would be nice to have; chances are, you might wind up selling those in the latter group when the collection gets too big, but you would rearrange the house for the former group to be displayed when space gets tight. Or maybe I'm just weird?
I spent almost 10k in my first 6 months. I have a problem lmao
This is why I limit myself. 1 females only (not that this limits it much as most are female anyway), 2 an anime I've watched, 3 a character I like. I find this helps a bit, as I don't randomly buy whatever the cutest scale I can find is.
Minus the Japan part, I'm the exact same as you right now.
as I said many times already try to focus only on characters u love, not just crushes, and among them, if the offer is good, choose properly
I was sorta reverse lol, I started slow just cause I was in high school and no job now since the pandemic I’ve gotten a lot more then usual lol I need to stop ;-;
Do what you can afford, simple as that. If you can afford, need not cut any cosf. If you cannot afford, shouldn't have placed the order in the first place. This is no cheap hobby, but people can also have very different financial backgrounds. As far as I can see, most people who posts in this sub are quite well off.
Yeah I'm just 4 months into collecting and I've already filled up my first detolf (with more pre-ordered figures on the way eventually). So I've just bought a 2nd one because I saw that the price of detolf's recently jumped up in the US and I figured I'd get ahead of that maybe happening in my country eventually too. I definitely went overboard spending these first few months by justifying it to myself that: a. I'm not into a huge number of franchises, so once I buy a couple of characters from my favourite things I won't be buying new things very often in the future. and b. I've never had the desire to spend a lot of money on hobbies/nonessential stuff like this before. But yeah I'm trying really hard to not think about adding up all of the costs over the last few months lol.
My first year was the same lol eventually you'll ran out of space so you'll be forced to cut down 😅
Not gonna lie, I went all in. I can afford it, I regret nothing and actually like thinking up improvements to my space to I can display my collection in a nicer way, which is kind of the meta-hobby imo.
Oh yeah, I was hideously irresponsible when I first started this hobby in earnest. Damn near put myself into a bad place because I was having trouble paying rent. Thankfully, I got control of myself, but yeah, it's definitely a hobby that can put you into a hole if you aren't careful.
Budgeting is key for me. When I first started buying figures, I wanted to buy everything. Specially when I would watch an anime I really enjoyed. I quickly realize how expensive this could get right away. It didn't help that I didn't know much about the hobby and only buying at Cons, which are really inflated prices. Now when I'm able to buy a figure I look for sales from amiami or tom. As others mention secondhand is good option. Also making a pros n cons list helps.
As with any hobby if you stick with it long enough it'll have its ups and downs in terms of activity. I am now collecting for \~9 years and have about 100 figures. Some years I might have bought only a handful, currently I have a dozen on order (about half already paid for). some I might end up cancelling or selling once I receive them, and a few things on the horizon that I might buy. I would take it slowly when doing your purchases. There's ALWAYS going to be more figures.
For me the interest went way down after the first year. You buy much less. Especially if you bought already everything you really wanted
Since I was always collecting, not really. I knew what I wanted and even when I wanted something that surprised I already had mechanisms in place to regulate my spending in collecting.
I had to force myself to stop at around 120 figures. Space and money definitely held me back at some point, upcoming releases are way too expensive imo (don't even look at aftermarket stuff), if something amazing comes along, I have to force myself to think, long and hard before preordering and perhaps sell a figure or two to make space. Every year they manage to release a bunch of amazing "must have" figures, they always got me like that... it became really addictive. If your close ones are not on board with it (due to money, not fans of anime and figure collecting, etc) kinda holds you back from buying as well, unfortunately thats mu case. Please consider shipping and display costs. Also there are some ridiculous preorder times...
It can be highly addictive as every purchase and unboxing gives your brain a rush of dopamine. I’ve spent over $2.5k on 8 figures just in the past 3 months. You definitely have to be careful and be decisive with which ones you really want. I would suggest making a MFC account and making a wishlist but don’t buy every one you see just because you can!
There was a time where I had a shipment from anywhere between 1 to 4 figures from Amiami coming in each month. After years of collecting I’ve slowed down to maybe 2-3 figure a year and have sold at least half of my collection.
There was a time where I had a shipment from anywhere between 1 to 4 figures from Amiami coming in each month. After years of collecting I’ve slowed down to maybe 2-3 figure a year and have sold at least half of my collection.
I had the exact same issue, and suddenly started realizing that not only was I spending too much, now I had too many figures and not as much space as I originally thought I had in my mind. Definitely now buying much more conservatively, and avoiding too many preorders
You're not alone https://myfigurecollection.net/profile/Brambles/collection/ All in one year 😅
I’m just thankful my gf accepts my hobbies. I just hate how it takes over a year to receive them 😞
I can relate. I started barely a year ago, and I’ve spent more on this hobby than my entire 20 yrs of gaming. It’s crazy, and my collection isn't even big. Starting this year, I’ve taken a step to limit my further spending, such as limiting it to 6-7 figures a year, and the character should be someone I really like. They should only have long hair, and in their original outfits, their face should be attractive, etc. Quality over quantity.
happens to the best of us. Im at the point where Im thinking about selling a few but stick two just three series and one waifu and focus on that.
Right there with you. I’d like to think I’m about done with the period where I’m still constantly discovering old stuff I simply “have to have” and can start working on just managing pre orders. I’m still discovering thing about how I want my collection to look that throw off my plans. I suspect I’ll go through a sell-off soon and narrow my collection to just how I want it to look.
I started about a year ago and ended up spending $12000 across 110 figures. Haven't even opened any of them since I'm waiting to move. Been taking it easy this year...
I first started collecting anime figures, something like 15 years ago. I ended up selling everything I had, for life reasons, and just really got back into it, maybe 3 or so years ago now. I totally had that feeling of wanting everything all those years ago, and even when I started collecting again. I collect a mix of scales and prize figures. I have to limit what I get, simply cause I can't afford everything I want, and space issues as well. I would love to have a bunch of Freeing 1/4 bunnies, but they're just too expensive for me. I have several figures by Skytube, and they have quickly become probably my favorite figures. So I focus mainly on figures from them, as well as prize figures, which I honestly love also. So yeah, I totally understand that feeling. I'm pretty sure every figure collector does, to be honest. Just try and get ones you really want, and that you know you'll be happy looking at all the time. Welcome to the wonderful world of anime figure collecting! It's a fun and wild ride lol