Yes. Death.

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This thread is a little depressing. Reading that a lot of people aren't happy collecting Joes anymore kind of bums me out.

The movie will be a definite slow down point for me, which will be a relief to my dwindling savings account, but I'm not getting out of collecting any time soon. I get too much enjoyment out of it to quit right now.

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I don't think it is that. I just think the "high" from Joe being back on shelves has worn off. People are realizing they bought stuff because it was cool at the time or whatever and now they realize they have a lot of stuff that doesn't even come close to their childhood favorites. Most of the people in this thread won't stop buying GI Joe or toys altogether. They'll just be a lot more selective because that "Gotta have it" syndrome is gone.

I had plans for stuff I bought but realized they'll never happen. I just don't want to do it anymore. So I've gotten rid of stuff I don't care about. I'll buy new stuff. I'll look for old stuff. I'll buy some movie stuff. I'm just not getting it to have it though. I'm getting it because I want it.

I think another issue that faces the current toy collector and is part of the cause of the "gotta have it" is that the toys come and go and then are gone in such a short time. We see images of the item online months before they are released. We search the stores the minute we hear about a sighting and continue until we find it. We buy it, mess with it for a bit. And then what? There's this constant hype surrounding anything new that only lasts as long as it is new and then it is time to move on to the next item somebody in Wisconsin just found at a grocery store.

The old days of having an entire year to get an item are long gone, but so too are the days of having an entire year to enjoy that toy. There are things I missed the first time around in the stores. I just didn't want to hunt it down at the time. I just checked ebay and every single thing I wanted is listed and some of it can be had for even cheaper than I would have paid for it in the store. I didn't really miss anything.

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Hooo, boy, is THAT ever true, and the number of toy lines that THIS can be said about -- hardly exclusive to G.I.Joe -- well, it's added a real level of frustration to the hobby in general.

For me, due to the dip in having my business not doing so well, not having the time to get the D&J Toys stuff up and going due to KB closing, plus KB closing, I'm not so great on funds right now. I've sunk a lot of money into the Cobra Base project, so I've had to cut back a little on some of my collecting.

But, the base is about to start shipping. I'll be doing that official announcement soon and contacting the first group of people that'll be getting the base. My t-shirt shop is gaining back a lot of customers that my brother chased off, so I'll be gaining some much needed pay days from that. So yeah for me it hasn't so much been about not liking the products.

I'm still a huge fan. I want the movie toys as well as other items coming out. I don't regret buying what I have bought either. I do however hope that things slow down. Part of what drove my credit cards up was the end of last year having so much released. I had pre-ordered a lot of it with the thoughts that it was going to be stretched out. It was hitting 2 or 3 boxes a week. I got slapped left and right from it. Much of it I still haven't had a chance to open.

So if the new stuff has to hit like a B-52 dropping bombs, I'll have to skip stuff. Not that I'll want to, but because I'll have to. Even after I get my account built back up, I just can't keep up with the buying habits that toy companies are forcing on people now. I liked the way it used to be when you had a chance to stretch out your buying. Not be forced to get it all at once.

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The last toy that I bought (of any kind) was back in September, and that was a Snow Serpent. I've been trying to cut back more and more over the past year or so and finally decided that my toys and toy collecting are just eating up way too much of my time and money--time and money that could be spent better elsewhere. Like the gun store.

Yesterday I was out with the wife at Target and I saw the Cobra diver (or whatever he's called). I thought he was cool, actually walked around the toy section with the figure in hand, but then after looking at him for a while and the price tag, I put him back. Kind of sad to say it, but that figure would have given me about an hour of entertainment, and then he would have found his way into a box in the basement. Just like every figure before him.

I still hit the toy section every time I hit Target or Walmart--I don't think I'll ever give that up since toys will always be cool--but for now, I've moved on. Like others, I've been thinking about selling some stuff, too. Probably starting with the big things like my Terrordrome and moving to smaller things from there.

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Thanks for all of your thoughts, everyone.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person with lessening interest in the line.

The point about feeling like a "sucker" is absolutely right. I didn't even really make this connection until it was pointed out. The newest Tripwire is a perfect example. The figure itself and the accessories are identical to the first version except for the visor is now a flat black instead of glossy. But then there's the element w/case. So, if you really want that element, you're going to cough up $8. For $8 for an already released character, how about releasing Scarlett in a parka?

The Tiger Rat comes with Wild Bill this time around? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong). Was it really too much work to throw together a Skystriker figure instead?

The other point I completely agree with is that the poor distribution seems to have returned.

Well, I'm looking at the movie line as a good... slow point. I won't be gettting everything.

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I have only bought the new Joe five pack this year so far. I've bought some new Marvel stuff though. I didn't even realize how much I'd spent on Joes in a year until my wife told me. I was pretty shocked. Then I looked in my Joe closet and realized that it was pretty much out of control.


I think it might be like trying to collect back in the RAH days right now. There was tons of stuff, maybe not as much but there was still a lot.

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Definitely gonna slow down this year, with the Movie toys being far from my "Most Desired" list. I won't be army building, and I won't be getting many vehicles. Just what I like and what custom parts I can glean.

But I have slowed down a lot since October. And it's not lack of desire, or any kind of burnout. I've known what I wanted from a GIJoe collection since 1997, and after a number of half attempts and "completist" turns, I liquidated most of my new sculpt stuff (still have a small army of VvV Vipers and such that need to get gone), and waited for the "perfect line".

Then Hasbro did it. And I've reveled in it. This is what I wanted, this is what I demnaded of G.I.Joe before I went hog wild with collecting again.

And now, it's mostly over. A few Joe members, the Stinger Jeeps, and maybe a fleet of Morays... and I'd consider my collection complete, and I'll never really need another one. I'm done. Not because it lost it's sizzle, but because I got everything I wanted.

Not trying to argue, but I'm actually happier with Joe than ever before. I have almost everything I want, with very few things outstanding. Having what I want, in the way I want, and with the vehicles I want, enables me to do with Joe what I've always wanted.

For years I've said I wish Hasbro would give me my toys and leave me be for a bit - this next year is exactly that. I'm on the verge of having absolutely everything I want or need - a good place to be. And considering that I got a nigh-unending supply of foam core for free now at work, I'd say my work is just beginning...

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That's where I'm at, for the most part. I'm just in a place where the things that I want to do with my toy collection overall, I just can't do. It's not even mostly about money, either, it's about time. I work long days, and my days off are overwhelmingly accounted for before they come. I never have time to get the shelves set up, never have time to do those tweaks to characters, never have time for customizing.



I checked Ebay the other day, and I see the same thing. Even HTS has most of what I'm looking for right now.



And to me, that's the heart of the issue, and the thing that bugs me the most. I'm tired of buying something that's almost what I wanted, then six months later, here it comes again, but now it's closer to what I wanted, yet still not quite. I'm tired of seeing the characters I wanted come out in comic packs, with the daffy coloring. I'm tired of being forced to buy something I don't want in order to get something I do. I just don't find enough going on to keep me buying stuff with the hope that I'll somehow find the time to do those projects I keep putting off.

oh, and with all of the better photos that came from Toy Fair, the movie line is almost a complete wash, for me. I might get one of those H2's, and a couple of figures for fodder.Everything else is a pass, and It's a shame, because I really do think this movie product is going to kill the line again.

I do that so much now. A fig I wouldn't hesitate to get at $5, I'm putting back at $8. A comic pack at $9 I might get 2 of, but at 12 I'm only getting 1. The cobra diver was a perfect example. I got 2 Torpedos when they first came out, because he was tough to find, and I was worried his gear would break. Then I got another Torpedo with the TRU set. So do I really need a Cartoon Cobra Diver, when I'm an Eel fan? Am I gonna pay $8 for the element. No. I wait until there is a sale, or a discount code (or both) to get those nice but not "must have" figs. And what about the 5 packs and Hall of Heroes? Do you shell out the $25 for 5, when you just want 2 of the 5, especially when the HoH figs look better? But are you gonna spend $10 for a fixed flint, when you can just head swap a V1 with the 5 pack? Is a different paint app on the HoH Flint enough to justify, because you already have the accessories not to mention a single pack?
And what about army building, or in my case squad building? With the 5 packs and the original low prices it was fairly easy to get a decent squad of troopers. Now I have to decide if I'm gonna get a multiple or a new fig I don't have yet.
Hey there are worse problems that trying to figure out which joe to buy.

As for branching out, I only pick up a few Star Wars figs, but again the re-hashes are ridiculous. Microman fizzled out, and other anime toys are way too expensive for me.

Truely, The toy market has become a fast area of "get it, sell it, don't sit on it if you want to make a profit." If you do you are out money (sorry was on the other end for a while, still tend to look at that once in a while).

Me I just wish the shear volume would slow down a tad. Last year was a great example, the whole year was supposed to have 5 waves, then suddenly that changed and the fandom was bombarded (what it was like 5 waves in Nov-Dec by the time all was said and done). They say these are marketed to the kids, but there is no way any kid could have kept up with that level of distrobution.

[quote=ThMick]And to me, that's the heart of the issue, and the thing that bugs me the most. I'm tired of buying something that's almost what I wanted, then six months later, here it comes again, but now it's closer to what I wanted, yet still not quite. I'm tired of seeing the characters I wanted come out in comic packs, with the daffy coloring. I'm tired of being forced to buy something I don't want in order to get something I do. I just don't find enough going on to keep me buying stuff with the hope that I'll somehow find the time to do those projects I keep putting off.
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You hit the nail on the head to my aversion to most of the repacks I have seen in the last 6 months.

I've been trying to figure out were I am heading in the hobby. This is my 12th year in the fandom as a "collector" and while I have accomplished so many goals I have to take stock and see if this is still something I want to do.

Right now, it's all about the retail hunt, trying to keep current, get one of everything and have this great little collection but after the nightmare of waves 10-13 I am beyond fed up.

Someone dropped the ball BIG time on distribution. Who ever makes the decision on production numbers AND case assortments had NO clue how small the G.I.Joe market really is - or how fickle Joe collectors really are. How many here have found the fifth MASS set? So y'know, you can complete this year-long project of building the MASS Device - not too many I'll wager. Wave 8 and 9 revision cases are still being stocked WEEKLY - think about that for a minute, wave 8 was first spotted in June.

So the retail situation is abysmal at best.

I then take a look at what fuels me and honestly it's just the academic side of collecting - the history and concept behind vintage items and ones that didn't make it to market. Running a major Joe site is a big motivator too - but it is also a source of great agony and stress but ultimately its satisfying.

I really want to streamline my collection and I got a good start on it this year. I finally got all of my vintage figures out of storage after nearly five long years. I sorted and organized and inventoried all of my Joes and got them into large storage tubs that are easily accessible. I dumped all of my 2002-2007 era figures (with exception of ARAH) and I put a lot of money and effort into international vintage figures. And that's where I think I want to go, I want to keep focusing just on figures, very few - if any - vehicles and consolidate my collection from dozens and dozens of boxes of stuff I never see into two really nice display cases of what matters to me.

So it's time to dump the non-Joe stuff like Gundams, Transformers, 12" Joes - things like that. Like what others have said, there's great joy in collecting and immense liberation in selling most of it off and getting to your roots.