so I've been thinking this week, and wanted to ask others here, how everybody approaches collecting when there is a deluge of new stuff coming out?

For instance, this past month and a half has seen Gargamel, Blobpus, and Cronic all release Lucky Bags (6 from Cronic alone), new SB releases, there's a ton of new RxH coming soon, new S7 releases, a handful of new Rainbow, Bwana stuff, as well as a bunch of regular releases from some of the above and many others as well...

now I am trying to focus my collecting a lot more lately, but even just focusing on Cronic, Rainbow, and then select pink vinyl pieces I am spending a fortune...so I'm forced to be super selective about anything else...

so how do others deal? Do you focus on a specific goal (company, line, color, etc?) and just try to ignore everything else? I know that not everyone on this board has money to burn, I certainly don't, but I also find it hard to look the other way with so many cool things coming out all at once...and there's the extra added stress of knowing that chances are by not buying now you'll miss out...

I guess it's more of a philosophical question I'm asking along with the financial aspect...how do you deal?

I think it is always particularly bad in the early part of the year, as a lot of the companies are starting to produce lucky bags, and the past year ends with Sofubi Matsuri and begins with Superfestival and Wonderfestival back to back.

I basically thinned it down to specific sculpts from a handful of companies, and even then it can still sometimes be problematic...

I'm on a strict budget now, so I have to be picky about what I buy.

Also, I only collect certain RxH, those dai kaiju monsters, and anraku(when the new stuff comes out)...so I think I'm better off than a lot of people on here in that regard.

You can't have everything all of the time...that's how I look at it these days. The new RxH release, for example, will see me buying one figure out of the lot. It's tough, but I'll deal.

i'm also saving for tokyo towards the end of the year...that will be way more worth it to go shopping than buying random stuff throughout the year.

I thought 2007 was supposed to be the year of the flood of new toys and overwhelm collectors but I found it to be manageable for the most part.

So far, 2008 has been brutal, especially with a couple recent shows.

I'm not focusing or limiting myself to certain toy lines, but I am much more selective these days. Also trying to determine what figures will disappear and rarely if ever surface again versus deals I can pick up in the after markets at or below cost at some point.

It will be interesting to see what toys rise to the top and which languish in the after markets. Even strong brands like Gargamel, RxH and Secret Base are probably going to be susceptible to the flood of releases.

I'm looking for quality figures and interesting strange pieces across many toy lines so I'm not committed to any one or few companies to complete (even if that were possible).

Being super selective allows you to have a really tight strong collection where every piece is solid. Versus big bloated sprawling collections of repetition. Quality not quantity.

There might also be alot more trading this year as collectors find themselves strapped for cash. And then there's the recession.

Does it ever really stop??

The saddest thing for me is that the dollar amount for the toys I am interested in has grown, while my disposable income has not!

<drowns sorrows with pints that could be spent on toys>

That's a good point. Cause it's so easy to get caught up in the hype and hysteria that the boards create. Everyone is excited about something and buying it at flipped prices so I should as well. That sort of thing.

I have a coworker who collects rocks that she finds on trips. I was thinking how peaceful and tranquil it must be to collect those. Yeah, you might have to lug some back to camp etc but its a virtually cost-free collection that she gets real satisfaction out of.

there really hasn't been anything released this year so far that's gotten me excited (although there are a couple on the horizon)

which is good for me. i needed a break.. i think this year i will try to limit myself to rumble monsters and toys with skulls

among the many costly things I'm into, I also collect religious tracts (the kind believers hand out in the street)...I find that collection to be one of my favorite, as it's always free and is a ton of fun if it's looked at critically...

too bad there aren't kaiju fundamentalists who hand out the latest figures outside the subway.

everything else I collect costs a lot o' cash...I have a huge art book collection, and then the toys just cause all sorts of agita.

I'm really going to have to learn to pass things up. I've long known that something else cool is right around the corner...it's just so hard not to pull the trigger on something I like...

just this week i have spent almost a grand on Cronic LB stuff...although I'm happy I have one of the C bags in my future...I am afraid to look a my bank balance right now.

yah this year is starting out tough
started with the blobpus LB will have to pass on the new ones coming out
plus frank dropping that evil that is total going to wipe me out
im not only running out of money but running out of room
though on a plus side i have picked up some older SB for pretty cheap

I've found focus is the key . . . some cool trades and selling off stuff that I've found I can live without to help balance the $$$ works too!

focus...

RxH, Cronic, Bemon

Very true. My focus is mainly standard sized glowies but not all. I pick only the ones I like (usually not a lot) but I have to agree that 2008 is emptying my pockets quite fast. It has toned down a bit but selling off some stuff to prepare for the worst!

Realise that this stuff will still be here in 5/10 years and just get on with it. Theres enough coming out at retail to not have to pay crazy money any more.

I own the toys, they don't own me.

I think with all the new releases, it's good for the collector, but will force the producers to step up their game. More releases=more choices=better pieces for the collectors. i've found myself passing on lots of stuff recently that absent other, more interesting pieces, I would have purchased. ie: the Blobpus 3rd anniversary stuff, Gargamel Hedoran set,

Before, any new colorway that was put out by say...Secret Base was just automatically purchased. No question about it. but now, With so many other options, mediocre stuff will just sit. This forces the producers to step up their game. Cure Oni comes to mind. Blobpus DX, RxH Minis, etc.

the bar is being raised and overall for the hobby, this is a good thing IMHO.

Being a new collector is even harder.
Lucky Bags were dropping left and right.
New stuff coming out here and there.
And on top of it, I'm trying to find some older releases that I like.
I think I've done alright so far by somewhat focusing my collection.
But just from these last two months, I can see I need to slow down.

Shame you painted over it then

Cut the fat and focus on what I REALLY want but yes so far I have sent some cash but mostly on older things that have come up for sale.

I appreciated liquid's remark about trying to determine what must be bought now, and what might be found on the aftermarket for awhile, but haven't been at this long enough to always have a good sense of that. I'm just glad that without such horse sense, I grabbed some things that almost instantly became unavailable.

I'm just now ending a four-month period of intentional self-restriction on the toy budget. It was good for discipline. I'm really happy with the toys that I bought during the austere period. The more-limited budget forced me to think twice, thrice about how much I'd value something in the long run vs. that sometimes-fleeting "this is so cool!" first impression.

My dilemma is that my love for vintage toys has grown exponentially. Do I buy this one old Bullmark and nothing else for a couple of months, or several new toys for that regular "fix"? For now I've chosen to settle for repros. Even if they lack the cool factor of original issues, at least the classic sculpts are available in excellent newer colorways. That's what it all comes back to for me ... the sculpt. I'm still in that "little bit of everything" sort of mode so I try to focus on what the basic sculpt does for me more than the rarity, the "name," completist intentions and so on. It helps to diversify the portfolio so to speak.

i believe that one really needs to focus on what they want. there will always be bigger & better things that come along. this year has indeed been crazy so far!

As Flynn has said before, it's all about making choices and decisions.

focus is the name of the game...all I've bought this year is the full color captain. Before that, just before jesus day, I bought hasheem.

Yep... decided early to continue with Skull Pirates, but not to start on the Skull Captains... sigh...

Sell the Pirates and start over with the Captains!

I was just gonna say that. Pick and choose, which can be hard, but totally necessary unless you can just throw money at toys left and right without worry. If so, can I be your friend and pass me a few?!

And to make good solid decisions, you gotta do your homework and decide how a toy will fit into your collection or if its redundant or if its special and what makes it special.

Is it something that will go down in value and you can pick up down the road when someone has a firesale or is it a seminal release? Is it something that only appears in the after markets once every couple years or is it just yet another colourway?

xoconostle, vintage is scary to me as there is so many more toy lines out there.