I agree and there are reasons why a hobby is a hobby. But difference in income does change a person's lifestyle, personality, and point of view which is true.
I usually value the toys that were the hardest to land. Whether it be outgunned or slept past a toy 3-4 times and then finally landing it. Or the toy that rarely surfaces and you luck out cause no one else noticed, and you watch the auction clock count down and no one enters. Or when you sign onto a board and someone throws up a sale of exactly what you are looking for. The other side of the coin is the snipers, the flippers, the toy quality being questionable. Etc.
I would still be here and on the other forums I frequent if I had a lot of money. Maybe not QUITE as frequent, but I definitely would still be on them. Also, if I had lots of money I would still hunt for the figs too, because it would be more fun to call your contact in Japan who found the toy you're looking for and buys it, and I jump on a plane to Tokyo first thing to pick it up!
I enjoy finding semi-obscure toys at good prices, so I guess I would be here regardless of income. Part of the fun of collecting Japanese vinyl for me is learning about colorways/sculpts that I had no idea existed before an auction for the item pops up on YJA. It is also in my nature to hate overpaying for anything.
That's exactly my point. Money does alter how u spend and how u think even if it's on a hobby that u love. I think we should put a poll in finding out income statistics of everyone on the board - Low, Average, High. That will be very interesting in showing the distribution of Kaiju collectors.
good point! toys released last year way more than before. collectors amount of money to spend for toys prolly still the same. what to do??? ...like brian pointed out very well in that video. if ur short with money but need to buy newest figure because u love it or ur a completist, seems to be natural to drop recently acquired stuff that often had a lack of quality/style. who would want to part with all the good old stuff??? but "buying without thought" isnt the case either, u can see a lot of good stuff doesnt sell within minutes like it used to as seen with the S7 mutant chaos and S7 shop is filled with awesome toys too. all these changes - personally helped me find a clearer direction in collecting which feels good, a lot of pressure gone like u know what u want and focus on special lines or sizes [way less minis for me!] which u love. ...but what to do whith new companies/toys???
Not necessarily the new 'it' item . . . sometimes it's a once in a blue moon 'holy grail' opportunity! In that instance (and knowing yer potentially gonna end up paying outta your ass) sacrifices sometimes have to be made . . . for the greater good and all that bullshit! I've also found that tastes and preferences develop and change over time, or financial and spatial restrictions mean collections have to be trimmed or re assessed sporadically . . . if I'd kept everything I'd collected over the last 10 years I'd be living in the garage. When I get into the 'it's going' mindset, the sooner I can offload it and move on the better! By the same token it means some great deals if you're in the right place at the right time so it's all good!
Liquidsky you hit the nail on the head here. I think I've been lucky about 3 times with getting something that rarely surfaces and each time as the clock clicked down I was numb with fear I was going to lose. It's quite invigorating when you actually win! I'm kinda happy to be sorta broke now actually. I played the catch up game and got 80% of what I was looking for. I think it also helps that I pretty much ignore 90% of new releases because most of what I want is older (97-04). If I had any advice to anyone going broke is don't use a credit card. I don't have one and if it ain't in my bank account I don't spend it. Debit card only.... Chris
It seems to me like 80% of the sales threads are by the same 20% of the people. There always seems to be a spike in selling activity in the Dec/Jan and June/July periods. I always figured it was a pre and post Xmas and SDCC effect.
I'm not an economist, but it doesn't look good: FRANKFURT — Fears that the United States is in a recession reverberated around the world on Monday, sending stock markets from Frankfurt to Bombay into a tailspin and puncturing the hopes of many investors that Europe and Asia will be able to sidestep an American downturn. ... Investors in Asia have been in a state of denial about a possible recession in the United States, said Adrian Mowat, JPMorgan’s chief strategist in Asia. But now, he said, “there’s no debate about it.” The only question, he added is “how long and deep” a recession might be. In Japan, which may be facing a new recession of its own, most indexes were off by more than 3 percent.
Money is a little tight this year for me. some new goals and responsiblities are ahead. I spent a lot of money last year on japanese neo kaiju because it was new to me. I wanted to try different things--went a little crazy sometimes. my focus--well it..focused and refocused, and I started to slow down. balance is so important This year, I hope to score some old wants and pick up new figures I've been following. I hope to spend maybe about %25 of what I spent last year which really isn't much. I'm trying not to buy into the hype with some companies, and with any costly items that I'm looking for, i'm selling a little behind the scenes when I can so that I don't royally fuck myself. Gotta be careful though. there are so many ways to screw yourself that you didn't even see coming (i.e. KT solid label, custom work, the insanely active sales threads) This year, for me, is about discipline. It feels good.
The dollar is so weak against the Pound and Euro that I almost never buy from Europe (if the currency required is GBPs or Euros). Really wanted to buy some of Donnie's listings but the Pound is strong and the dollar is crap. It completely sucks but become used to a stronger dollar in relation to those currencies and its hard to accept the dollar being so devalued in comparison. The Japanese Yen doesn't feel quite as brutal next to the dollar although this is likely an illusion.
