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Re: Too many TF toy lines? Which do you collect?
If I had to specify specifically which lines I hunt down, I say Generations, Studio Series, and older TV lines prior to RID 2.0. I have strayed away from the TV lines since RID 2.0 simply because of the style of Transformers. I love the concepts and designs(Mainly in RID), just the execution is personally not my jam. Every now and then I do invest in a 3rd Party figure if it catches my attention. (Note: I say invest not because I view as a money-making opportunity but because they are typically not as cheap as a 'mainline' figure) I tend to stay away from MP style figs just cause of 'scaling' and due to them typically not being fun toys and more so replicas(Yes play with my Transformers people, sue me)
My collection is definitely not too big in comparison to others. I can't remember the exact number but I believe last time I checked I was getting close to 300 maybe 400 figures. I don't really buy everything in a line, typically only the figs I like or feel an attachment to. If I were to buy a line regardless of my feelings of the figures, typically Id limits it to a size class or teams, such as the Prime Masters or the Scavengers. Though I'm thinking of trying to collect all of the original Beast Wars line, but time will tell how achievable that is.
It only gets overwhelming to manage multiple lines when deciding between which figures to buy at a given moment. To clarify I'm a uni student so the dough ain't exactly rolling in. So when I happen to find a couple of figures I do want to get, especially when it comes to older figures that I buy loose, choosing over getting a complete, older figure loose and complete, or a new release can be kind of stressful.
The only time a stopped collecting a line just cause it was too tedious was Kreo. I did enjoy the little blind bags and combiners, but finding the IDs and then it being canceled made way to hard to keep up with all the stuff I collected at the time which I believe was Pokemon cards, Transformers, and Beyblades.
As for whether the market is oversaturated with options, I don't think so personally. Unless you are mainly a MP/3rd Party MP collector, cause there are definitely so many options there and I can only imagine that having all the different stylistic takes on the same characters and on top of that all the 'MP' takes on the same characters, that just having to evaluate all the pros, cons, prices, general aesthetic, and QC can be stressful and overwhelming. On the other hand, the Hasbro lines have such niche and broad range in terms of characters and types of figures that, say if you want your classic modern reimaginings of classic characters you go to Generations. If you want your cool, slick movieverse figures with little to no interpretation you got Studio Series. Maybe your more of a gimmick and fun style type of peep, the current Cyberverse seems to cover that. And if you just like to maybe pick up some cheap but fun and funky figures, Bot Bots has got that covered. Probably over-explained it there, but what I'm getting at is that the lines are such that you don't really have to worry about which version is better(aside from exclusive repaints) or which is more bang for your buck, whereas 3rd Party is more about getting that fan-catering, higher-quality figures(Def not all the time tho, not to name names but Impossible Toys)
So yeah I say that if you're not in the 3rd Party/MP realm of things, everything is pretty well defined and accessible, mainly just being a do I like it or not. And for a final note, I know it wasn't a question but there is also that manufacturer factor in collecting, not so much in mainline series(At least not so much anymore), def in 3rd Party, but personally, it's not much of determining factor unless there are clearly design differences like exclusives or style approaches.
Sorry for the ramble. Too much time on my hands as of late.
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