Toy collecting bankruptcy

[Cheers Ian]

This is exactly why you never "invest" in collectibles.

Listen, I'm not going to lie - I make a little bit of extra money by buying and selling toys. Pretty much all of this extra money goes to either high end collectibles (3rd Party, Hot Toys) or Trips (Botcon, NYCC) - the thing is though, when I do decide to have children, I won't be buying and then sitting on toys or other collectibles. The whole thing is you need to get something, move it as quickly as possible and then not look back. Honestly I can only think of a handful of times where I said "Geez, I wish I had to have held onto that a little longer" Pretty much everything else DROPS in price.

There's been too many times this has happened - Sports Cards, Pokemon Cards, Beanie Babies, Comic Books and pretty well anything that from the items I just listed "BOOM Period" are next to worthless now.

Never ever buy something as an investment if you are truly really counting on it to pay off. Put your money in banks and other saving programs. That way if your "investment" fails to pay off you still have real investments to rely on.

[wedge1021]

Originally Posted by Pascal

I am. Not that bad, but still. I hit the wall earlier this year, it's just impossible to keep up now. I used to freelance more on top of my full time job to afford the toys, but since we got the kids, I've been freelancing less and less to spend more time with them and my wife instead of working 8am-1am. Yet I kept buying at roughly the same pace. Comes a point where it doesn't add up. That's why I'm reducing my collection and completely forgetting about getting mainline stuff from now on except for a few characters (Prime, Meg, SS and BB). I'm also passing on tons of 3rd party items, there are just too many of them. I'll be honest, at this point, I'm almost starting to be disgusted by the hobby. I sometimes look at my collection and feel sick to my stomach thinking about all the money "invested" there.

My story is almost exactly the same. My "real" job goes 100% towards family expenses, and I do side jobs to pay for the toys. But a recent increase in toy spending, decrease in side work, and extra life expenses have all come together such that I have re-evaluated my hobby. I'd rather start putting my extra money into my family commitments, while taking time to actually enjoy the toys I already have. A lot of my stuff is sitting in storage, which is basically a waste. Trimming my existing collection and keeping future purchases tightly focused is where I am aiming.

[chans formers]

for myself,my 430am to 230 pm job is basically for the tax man and main family bills(mortgage/car payment/groceries/ whatever the young'un needs/etc),while autobody from home/side jobs/custom commissions feed my plastic crack addiction.
it also helps that lately hasbro hasn't been offering too much tempting stuff on shelves(except for the upcoming metroplex)

i also do feel that the sheer amount of 3rd party stuff out now or upcoming is starting to get hard to even keep track of it all,let alone affording it all once you figure out which company/version of same bots you choose.

[CobraCommander]

Originally Posted by Slayback

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDsyj5eLmo

Dude... aren't you kinda shooting yourself in the foot? Don't you want people to buy without a conscience instead of having this on the back of their minds when making a purchase.

[Slayback]

Actually Walt, not to sound preachy and self serving here - but I'm totally aware and conscious of my position and what i do. I have more than a couple of customers who are having a bit of financial difficulties or have other obligations. Its none of my business how they spend their cash -but I do sometimes stick my nose in it anyway - to make sure that the purchase they're about to make isnt going to come back and bite them on the ass. For one thing i dont want to see grown men cry and try to return something to me, 2 - Having your SO - curtail things so you're never allowed to purchase anything ever again would be a bullsh*t existence.
I've had people linger around my table 'looking' for something to buy -and as much as i appreciate them coming to my table - i'd rather they just chat with me than purchase something for the sake of buying. I know there are dealers out there who really do a hard push on sales but i'd rather people like the experience of buying stuff from me -rather than regretting it later and pissing about it. I've had to sell my collection before because of debt - its one of the worst experiences i've ever had - i wouldnt want friends or customers have to go through the same experience.

Don't worry Walt... i'll make sure you and Linh are the exceptions to the rule Battlebeasts and gobots..

[vectorsigma2]

Originally Posted by Slayback

Don't worry Walt... i'll make sure you and Linh are the exceptions to the rule Battlebeasts and gobots..

SIGH BATTLEBEASTS

Right now i have my mortgage and my wedding to help pay for so things are tighter then usual but like others have said on this board once the kids start coming I'll be buying them everything they need and saving for their education from the day they are born. Plus buying them lots of toys lol. I really dont see how much longer this transformers bubble will last maybe another 5 years at best. So sell now or if you collect for the fun of it keeping buying my friends!

[Wheeljack Off]

There are many things to throw your money at that retain 0 value, let alone any possibility of a positive return on "investment".

You can do worse than buy toys.
You may also be able to do better by putting your money elsewhere but there's always risks and time put in to consider.

Maybe a poor investment, but a great hobby that does offer you the ability to leave it with some money when you're done with it.

You can't say that about a lot of hobbies or vices.

[Rodimus1982]

I had a similar situation that started 2 years ago... My ex-wife and I parted way and with that come everything from separating the stuff U accumulated together but I also had a company that I closed at the same time due to people not paying and was tired of chasing after them! But because of that I had to revaluate the way I collected stuff... I was in Comic, Magic the Gathering and Transformers... So I sold almost all my comic and almost all the TF I had amassed but wasn't necessary and did the same thing with Magic. Now When I buy something I tried to sell for the same amount... It usually goes well that way...

[CobraCommander]

Originally Posted by Slayback

i wouldnt want friends or customers have to go through the same experience.

And that's why you da man! For the record I like buying stuff from you and various other vendors for the friendly atmosphere and chit chat (oh and prices).