No there is nothing here, sorry about that.

Really I want to talk about the gotta have it mentality in collecting. Who has it? How bad? Why?

I mean when that black Cobra Commander from retaliation showed up on Ebay someone payed what 100 bucks for it? Or more. I purchased it like 2 weeks later at K mart for retail, and still thought I over payed.

now rare prototypes I think I am cool with, since they are a part of the history of the toyline, and chances are hasbro would toss them where it not for collectors.

but retail stuff, seems to demand high prices mostly due to hasbros failure to distribute merchandise in any sort of consistent manner. So something that is 6-10 bucks get scalped at 30 and fans pay it. over and over, or like that black CC they buy it for much more to be the first to have it.

moving to exclusives, or fan direct stuff I am not a huge fan of Master collector, but about half of the figures they do I like. Some are worth it to me, footloose for example, dialtone not so much but I got him for free by being a member, but with the sets somehow getting into scalper hands each year (mostly thinking of the dude with ten boxed 2012 sets and his what 5 or 6 hundred in cash tossed on them lol) why do fans keep buying? I mean I don't know more than 2 fans that are completely cool with MC and what they do. so why continue to support them?


is it a straight addiction thing? or is it something more? I keep seeing people say the need this or that. Sure a lot of that is hyperbole but is it?

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I think it is an addiction. I once had it, I can admit that. There are things I look at and I think, "Ew." Currently anything that I "gotta have" exudes coolness or hilariousness.

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My gotta have it only goes so far. I won't pay insane amounts of money to get stuff though. Really with Master Collector, I don't necessarily say their prices are insane. Some are such as that $100 Indy repaint German truck. I didn't buy that either. I liked the repaint of it and all but I wasn't going to pay $100. Another example is that JP figure. I held off and finally got one for $8.99 flat.

My trouble comes from there being far too many things I lime and no real room for everything. Even though I'll pass on paying crazy Ebay fees or going way out of my way to get items, there is still so much that comes out in a given year that it clutters up fast.

I will admit there have been items I thought I wanted that I later don't understand why I wanted it. I bought that Space Ghost figure that recently came out. The more I looked at it was the more I realized it was an impulse buy. I like the character, but I really didn't need the figure so I brought it back. I am getting better with that aspect of collecting.

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aint that the truth.
i have things i sort of get a got to have it feel about but still have limits i am willing to go on them, and they are generally vintage and not mainstream lines like joe and star wars.

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As much as I dislike how the Club runs things, or handles problems and interacts with fans, I do like a lot of what they do. If I like it, I'll buy it, but I won't usually pay more than what they sold it for originally. I'll get someone who's going to the con to help if I can't make it, or try and get a good deal on eBay, but I have my limits. I like the Python Specialists, but I won't pay 100 dollars for them. If I get some extra mad money? Maybe, but 100 bucks buys a ton of retail stuff too. Retail I pretty much never pay extra for. Now I'll grant that I'm usually pretty lucky/dedicated and have found everything since the start of the "Modern Era" that I've wanted or been able to trade for it at retail prices or close to it (Cycle Armor, Sand Serpent, etc). I don't see any point in paying more. If I don't find something I might be tempted to go elsewhere, I do it on rare occasions for other toylines, but if I've found it all so far, I don't see any reason to worry. SDCC exclusives I do get a little ridiculous with, but I still have my limits. Plus paying a bit extra once a year isn't too big a deal to me, especially if the stuff is as nice as it has been the past few years. I'll usually get one of everything I want as cheap as I can on eBay, and then take a shot at HTS to try and help people out or recoup my cost. I do buy a lot, more than I should. And I spend more time/gas than I should too. My biggest issue is buying for fodder. If I don't find anything I'm actually looking for, I might pick something up for fodder that I don't need, or, I'll buy something I see that's new or hard to get from a line I'm not really into saying I can always use it for fodder. That I need to stop doing, especially given how little I customize these days. Same deal with army building, I buy lots, saying I'll trade or fodder out anything I don't want, but I never really seem to. Thrift store vehicle and playset fodder is a killer too. Cheap, but it takes up a lot of space and I never seem to do anything with it. I'm living in a place where I've got less room to just buy random stuff now so hopefully that will help me change my habits a bit, and actually start using what I've got. Once I get it back out of storage anyway . . . .

Addiction of choice for many.

Competition in their own minds.

Instant gratification syndrome.

Skewed priorities... IE accumulating debt, toys before responsibilities, ripping off 'friends' to get what they 'need'.

And, then you have some actual collectors that have their lives in order, have extra money, and truly like and love the hunt and adding to their collections.

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Any version of "I gotta have this" disappeared with age. The last item I felt I physically had to have was the Cobra Blueshirts packs. I intensely wanted all the US release masterpiece transformers, but lack of availability killed that one. Ultimately I've figured out that most all the nostalgic stuff I once wanted I've owned twice and it did less for me the second time around.

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I'm still waiting on Grimlock to start hitting stores.

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When that black (movie color accurate) version of Cobra Commander showed up on ebay there was no guarantee that he was going to show up at retail. It could have been a running change or it could have been an alternate color scheme (like the yellow and orange Hazard Viper or Red RoC Ice Viper).

But there is precedence for this. The canceled blue Rise of the Robots Cobra Commander, the mail away Cobra Commander with mini HISS before the club got a hold of them, and the recent Joe figures from the Jurassic Park line, all went for big bucks when they first popped up. The gamble is not knowing Hasbro's intent for these and how many they made. Sometimes that results in getting something that shows up at retail and sometimes it results in Arctic Alpine. Sometimes you bite and it becomes common and other times you bite and your one of 3 people who get it.

As notpicard will tell you, even if it does get released, there may be variations of it. Pursuit of Cobra Zartan was sold on ebay months before it showed up at retail. When it did show up, the actor likeness was gone. It is all too easy to say a purchase of a collectible line is stupid after the fact. Ask anyone who ever got stuck with a McFarlane chase variant Sports Pick figure. But in the moment you don't know. With all that said, and I said this at the time, the guy got a cool looking figure before everyone else and didn't have to hunt for it all. I only mention that because I never saw a black CC at retail.

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If you want a Black CC I still see them at Target. And he'll be back in the spring I imagine. Now the blue one, only seen two of that one.

I got one, but not at retail. I also saw like 15 blue CC's.

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I just had to pay an average of $17 each for 35 Dollar General Cobra troopers because I needed them quickly for a project and there is only on DG by me. I could have driven my car into the ground looking for them, or just paid eBay prices. I paid eBay prices, and live to drive another day.

I think you may be thinking too much about the statement. Barring those extreme cases where the person is going to bend Hell or damn near bribe a toy store employee, the statement is just as you said. We may all see that one item or six that makes us say, "Oh, how much are kidneys going for??" But in reality no one (at least I hope not) is taking a butter knife to their son or daughter's piggy bank slot to fish for figure money.

I bit a very big bullet in the purchase of that Fantastic Four set online with the crystal clear Invisible Woman, because I really needed her to complete a custom set I am enjoying. Just because I may say "need", doesn't automatically put its importance with gas or food money. Just that I needed her to complete the custom of my own specifications and desired look.

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Exactly. The burning need to have any new Joe stuff is just gone. The prices are too high and availability is piss poor, due to either Hasbro's bumbling (the Dollar General figures) or Master Collector's greed ($600 on eBay for the new convention set?!).

Any figures that I can't outright find just become inspiration to make a custom.

I rarely, if ever, pay much more than retail. The last time I spent over retail was 30th Stormy ($15 BIN before his price skyrocketed) and most times I find that is pretty close to my limit. I might go to $20 for something very cool but a 3& 3/4 fig simply isn't worth it in most cases.

I've found patiants really pays off, I ended up getting HTF figs like MU Solid Vision, McQuaree R2 and 3PO (Before the Maquarie boxed sets), Darth Revan, Balista Shan, ect eventually make thier way to me for reasonable prices (Or trades at least which some have been very generious). There is still a long list of figs I want but I keep having faith and don't feed the scalpers.