Do you have rules or some way of deciding whether you really need it
>>11660412I've been abandoning a bunch of my collections, I need to focus on dumping like 90 percent of them for my sanity's sake, shit like WWE I have 1000s of, I don't know where to start, but where I am now is "does it serve you or are you serving it?", a lot of these lines want you to pay 6-12 months in advance for figures you may not even care about later, like I get packages I don't even remember ordering and never get around to opening, like it's out of control
Try and limit yourself to a certain scale.Constantly think about what you're going to do with the toy once you own it. Will you be playing with it a year from now? It has to fit with your collection.Are you actually a fan of the subject? You don't NEED to complete teams, because even writers/creators/artists leave out the shittier characters.When i buy other scales (my primary scale is 1:18), i only buy long time favorites ... but I'll buy various monsters and aliens, because most times they look like it can fit into any scale. pic related.Most importantly: set a budget. $50. $100. $200. $300. Weekly or monthly.You'll become more selective. You learn about what you actually are interested in, versus just buying flavors of the month. You can also carry the budget over to the next period, so you can save up to buy larger shit.This is all shit you should have learned when you were a kid and having parents who gave you an allowance.
I have two rules: 1: $75 per month budget2: No completionism. I don't buy toys I don't really want just to have the whole set.
>>11660431this, have a budget, buy just what you love and fuck fomo, periodically curate/purge to keep things in check
>>11660412I have a rules like no single item over $100 dollars and it has to be my most favourite character or scrimbly blimboo boba fett ass motherfucker. Things I know I loved the design of or loved the show it's from the most.
>>11660412I got into toy photography and dioramas, that alone makes every figure a more impactful event because I now spent more time, posing, shooting, editing and ruining foam boards than going to walmart or looking at amazon, the only toy I got from october to right now was a christmas present and it actually felt good to have a single item for the whole seasonI'd usually go out in search of things like tools, rocks or fake plants but there is a world of difference between buying a grass mat and some sandpaper for $9 and spending $20-30 everytime I'm near a mall
>>11660451That looks lovely, anon.
>>11660412idk man i have 20 toys coming all the way to oct next year release
>>11660412Here are some pointers on saving money:-Never buy Super7-Never buy SHF-Never pay more than $80 for a single import-Never pay more than $25 for a single domestic, $50 for a 2 pack, $75 for a 3 pack, etc.-Never buy a multipack where you don't want all figures in it-Never be a completionist-Never buy a figure that is bad just because you need to "complete a team" or because of some other figure you ownFollow these rules and you should purchase roughly 2-3 toys or less in 2026 and pretty much the only thing you will be able to buy is stuff on sale.
>>11660556Your rules are too soft, this is the full version:- Never buy shonen shit-Never buy cape shit-Never buy female figures just because you pp hard-Never buy because you just saw a show or played a videogame and now you want to waste more money -Never buy because it's cheap-Never buy to compensate a bad day There, now you would buy only the most curated stuff and not because you are a filthy addict to pop culture
>>11660507Thanks anon, Im triying to get cute pictures
>>11660412I have a monthly "fun" budget. That includes buying toys, Vidya, going and doing activities, anything that can be seen as a pleasure activity. As long as I don't go over that monthly budget, I don't have issues. I even have months where I barely spend any of my monthly fun budget and I'll sometimes roll over whatever I didn't spend into the next month. Only when I have a large sum left over.
Toys are my main indulgence. I buy video games every now and then but I don't play them as much as I used to. To keep everything in check I make sure anything important is paid (Rent, utilities, phone, other bills, food, transportation, etc.) and then I use whatever I have left on toys. If there's a toy out I want but can't afford it, I don't buy it. If it's above $100 for one toy, I likely won't buy it. If the only way to get it is a scalper charging double & up on it, I don't buy it. If I don't get to buy something I was wanting, that's fine. If doing any of this is a problem for you then you're already on a course to hoarding or ending up homeless. See an addiction counselor and seek help for you and your family before it becomes too late.
>>11660412I only buy what I like. I've been buying so many toys for half my life that I realized I don't need to buy everything. I don't buy to impress people, because I traveled all this way, nor to throw money at a great corporation just because. The toy HAS to be so special to me personally. Let's say a toy ive always wanted is finally on (deep) discount. I will be impulsed to put it in my cart, but Im still going to hope that I can return it in the event that it truly sucks. Ive also learned to just be happy that the toy exists. I'll tell a company that they're cool for making it, but I won't waste money as the proper way to tell them, because i really really dont want it anymore
I've become hyper-strict on the characters I get now. For instance, there are a billion X-men and X-men adjacent characters, so I decided 4 is the "lowest common denominator" per IP to get the point across. What I mean is Prof. Xavier (founder) Wolverine (most popular one) Magneto (the main villain) and Apocalypse (ultimate villain) make up the most fundimental core of what X-men is. Similarily, my MOTU shelf is only He-man Teela, Skeletor and Evil Lyn. That's it.
>>11660412Idk I kind of just buy everything I want I started collecting imports this year and calculated the other day I think I averaged like $200-400 a month. Is that bad? I feel like it’s kind of bad…>>11660577Damn this is pretty real and straight… I already went overboard and have started regretting some purchases. I need to reign it way in next year but already have a bunch of non cancellable or deposit paid preorders. Sigh
>>11660684You need to ask yourself why you buy anything. You shouldn't really care what we/others think. You can buy cheap shonen SHF shit IF it really truly matters to you. A multibillion dollar company wont care if you buy a whole line or not. You just really need to justify it to yourself, and maybe anyone you share a house with. buying toys shouldn't be in the way of anything more important in your life, like bills or health.
>>11660684Everyone faces the same basic dilemmas just at different scale. So the number is irrelevant desu.Anyway this thread helped since I took the advice about sticking to your favs and imagining actually playing with it. >>11660451I actually have a similar thing with cheap accessories. Like you can buy a new figure, or buy a fun bunch of accessories to use with existing toys.
>>11660556>>11660577Just shorten it to "Never buy anything because everything is shit" you losers. All you fucking need is an empty bedroom with pristine white walls and money to pay rent.
>>11660412I collect multiple lines at once: G1 Transformers, 80s GI Joe, Classified GI Joe, Final Fantasy, and various random stuff like from McFarlane. It's a real pain in the ass, but it's enjoyable. >>11660431>2: No completionism.Same here. When it comes to collecting, it's always better to be hungry than it is to be full. There was a guy around a year ago who had a massive vintage Star Wars collection where he pretty much had everything. Once he had everything, he got bored. He then sold it all off at auction not because he needed the money but because he didn't give a fuck anymore. Then there's the GI Joe Youtuber HCC788 who had everything from the 80s GI Joe line, and once he had it all, he simply got bored and walked away from it all. The worst thing a collector can do is have everything because they will burn out and stop giving a shit once they do. Just buy a few things you like while being mindfully aware that there's still plenty out there if you ever get the desire for more.
>>11660412I actually cut back a lot due to the tariffs. I now basically wait until stuff gets confirmed US releases. Thankfully, the new Figuarts Gokus that are coming out are all dirt cheap.
>>11660834Tariffs really didn't bother me too much. The worst of it was ordering a $50 repro G1 Transformer, and ali express wanted to add an $86 tariff fee to that. So I generally avoided ordering from abroad during that time. Locally tariffs raised the price of a $25 figure to $27 (average). The toy makers would have jacked up the prices anyway because that's what they've done for almost a decade now.
>>11660412I go out and shoot frogs.If I kill them dead,Or I kill them dead while managing to shoot them in the face,I reward myself with a new toy.
>>11660846Frogs are useful. They eat spiders, flies, mosquitos, gnats, and other nuissance insects.
>>11660412Ive found that being a true poor fag has helped to curb my desire for more toys.
For me it’s not a money problem, it’s a space or “hoarding” problem. I can buy what I want because I don’t spend like crazy, but a big part of that is because I’m picky.1. Ask yourself if you want to buy it or if you actually want to own it. Buying stuff is fun, opening stuff is fun, but a lot of times owning it afterwards is largely meaningless.2. Realize that less is more. When you have a bunch of crap it begins to blend together. I’d rather have less quantity and more quality as well.3. Consider how much you will use the product after getting it. I only have 12 toys (all bought in about a year and a half) and I still barely have time or the inkling to mess with them. Having more figures would mean more things collecting dust.4. Recognize the fleeting joy of buying something new. I have 3 unopened boxes that are months old in my closet yet I still want to buy more stuff. Like the Lingjihun turtles, the deformed BW megaton, Cuphead nendoroid. All things that I will like and enjoy, but I know that if I do buy them that I’m just going to move on to the next thing. These fixations are very fleeting. Which is why preorders suck. By the time they come, what are the odds you actually still want the item?By nature this “hobby” leads to accumulation so it’s imperative to be really picky. At the same time though, life is short and spending money on something dumb and fun like a toy can help lighten the monotony of life.
>>11660412I don't buy other stupid shit so I have all the money i need for this stupid shit.
>>11660577>Never buy female figures just because you pp hardAnd yet you will buy 100s of figures of half-naked men. Sounds kinda gay desu
>>11660869then it's ai that data-farmed the right parts
>>11660869You aren't a collector if you only have 12 toys.>You're absolutely right. I will reword was I said...
>>11660906True, it's better to ask some fat tub of shit on how to lose weight.
>>11660869AIs can't bypass the captcha, bro. It's just someone trying to give useful advice.
>>11660975NTA and you're probably right, but we have seen at least one anon using arguments he got from GPT before and got caught because he copy pasted the prompt, too.
>>11660975People will come up with anything to avoid their problems. Whether it's blaming AI >>11660869Or it's bullshit like this, as if the only collection someone can have is toys >>11660906They say they don't want to be cucksumerist victims, but at the same time they're addicted so looking for every reason to discredit the people trying to help them stop.
>>11660817>>11660856Relating to the subject of hoarding, I read somewhere about the "museum method" and it applies here too. Like museums, your house is not supposed to be filled with purposeless filler nonsense covering every possible surface area. Each and every item should not only be organized in a way that's easy on the senses but also have a purpose.Having a small, incomplete collection has more character and dare I say soul than those examples you gave of complete ones. The few items present say so much about your favorite characters, why you've decided that those few are a cutoff point, and it's easier to remember each toy's story on how it came into your life as opposed to figure #1,489 that's only another variant of a figure you already have.
You all are probably just very sad people thinking that buying less toys would make you less lonely or something, that's stupid, toys as we know them in this board only exist because people hoard them, if you don't have money or space just stop already and quit in silence, don't try to make it look as a noble cause against consumerism when toys are literally the product of a product lol
>>11661037You came into a thread from someone wanting advice about keeping his spending in check only to complain about people actually giving advice. This is how you know you have a problem. This thread or the replies in it are not for you. Except they actually are, you feel attacked because you are a cuck in denial. Instead of being an off-topic cuck, try being an on-topic cuck in the million other threads.
>>11661037why are you fags so needlessly hostile about everything
>>>11661037 projecting his need for toys onto othersI buy toys for entertainment.It's the same as buying a movie, video game or book, except my stories and play with my toys is basically endless.>>11661063I'm pretty sure it's just some poorfag who lost his job and is angry he can no longer afford the hobby. Since he's projecting and because of his consumerism, he doesn't understand that even after he lost his job, his collection is still useable.His enjoyment of the hobby ended the day he couldn't buy new shit.
>>11661063>why are you fags so needlessly hostile about everythingPoverty, autism, inceldom, take your pick. Or just the plain old need for attention-whoring.
>>11660660>Similarily, my MOTU shelf is only He-man Teela, Skeletor and Evil Lyn. That's it.So main hero, main villain...and the babes? Makes sense actually, I don't collect MOTU but if I did those would probably be the first four I would pick.
>>11661092Kino jail scene.
It's easy for be because I suppose my interests(that get toys anyway) are limited, I'm a bit of a snob so I don't want 5 PoA trash, and I'm a generally cheap bastard.If something is going to cost me more than $100, it better goddamn well be worth it.
>>11660849Frogposters are none of those things, and certainly not useful in any real way
I don't keep any kind of weekly/monthly/etc. limit but I have a hard rule of never spending more than $50 on a toy.I guess "hard rule" isn't quite accurate since I'll bend a bit for bundles or starter sets etc. but the sentiment is to always remember they're just toys and not something I actually *need.*
>>11661322many imports that cost $100 now are full of QC issues.
>>11661342>>11661989>tfw not american so basically everything costs you $100 dollarydoos or moreI use aliexpress some times since their shipping is cheapest and have only been scammed with kos once. but they were skeletons so luckily it didn't matter as much.
