Once in awhile, I have to stand back and look at these beloved toys from past and present and ask my self "WHY". 

 

I have such a large collection, that 90% of it is in storage, and has been there, costing me a good $70 a month just to sit there (and its been about 3 years). 

 

$ wise, I had to cut back totally on collecting.  And (try) to narrow things down to just Alternators, and the occasional (cheap) Diaclone variant I don't have yet (and there are not many left I don't have.)

 

All of it sitting in storage, waiting for me to buy a house, and build a really great collection display case on an entire wall in hopefully the basement/entertainment room. 

 

I think if I were a sports nut (I have season tickets to the AFL, so its not like I'm not interested) I'd probably have a football or hockey (definitely hockey) shrine.  But instead its Transformers...which people look at as I weird at times. 

 

I had my brother in law ask me why I didn't sell off my stuff and use it as a downpayment.  Because then I won't have it was what I told him. 

 

Sure I even thought about firing up ebay and selling the unwanted, but can't make that final step.

 

And what if we had a fire and lost all our stuff?  How in the heck are you going to rebuild a collection, where you may have gotten, say a rare Diaclone Bluestreak in box with the black hood for $20 WAY back in the day?  How would one ever find a deal like that again? 

 

My bad luck, I'd build the house, and it'd burn down, sure I'd have $$$ in insurance, but no prized collection.

 

What would you do?

And how do you feel about your collection?

I think you're asking the wrong group of people.

 

 

<_<

 

 

 

*Goes to Wal-Mart*

Heh.

 

I think it's great that people who collect toys reflect on their (Our) behaviour once in a while. Not many sportsfans would ask themselves why they like sport so much as they do I guess. It is however, the same thing. It's your hobby and a hobby is what it is; a way to keep your mind busy in times where it isn't busy. Everyone fills it in in their own way and some people do such with toys.

 

If I weren't in to toys, I'd be in to something else I would obsess about, it's as simple as that.

 

Why would we do anything at all? It's not like we can take it with us after we died or that filling in free time the way we do is going to change things in the allmighty cosmos. The bottom line is that we do these things because we like them, it's the way we get our kicks.

I also think that you`re asking the wrong people. I collect the Alternators because of how similar they are to their G1 versions and I`ve always thought since Beast Wars that it`d be cool if they remade the old TF`s with the BW technology so they`d be more poseable. As for what Id do with a collection that`s costing me $70 in storage I think in that situation it`s either time to sell enough off theat you can house them in your apartment or go out and put a down payment on a house so you can display them. Either way you need to do something cause at $70 a month that`s one month`s mortgage payment in 10 months. Shoot for that matter in 10 months there`s your down payment. Here`s an idea for you. Why not just take your whole collection that`s in storage and move it in where you live now? Don`t unpack it just store it in the corner of your room or something and in 10 months take that $700 and put it down on a house. You can buy most houses nowadays with a $700 down payment and just pay $700-$800 a month for your mortgage. I know that my down payment 6 years ago was only $500 and my monthly mortgage payment is only $625 so it is doable.

Heh.

 

I think it's great that people who collect toys reflect on their (Our) behaviour once in a while. Not many sportsfans would ask themselves why they like sport so much as they do I guess. It is however, the same thing. It's your hobby and a hobby is what it is; a way to keep your mind busy in times where it isn't busy. Everyone fills it in in their own way and some people do such with toys.

 

If I weren't in to toys, I'd be in to something else I would obsess about, it's as simple as that.

 

Why would we do anything at all? It's not like we can take it with us after we died or that filling in free time the way we do is going to change things in the allmighty cosmos. The bottom line is that we do these things because we like them, it's the way we get our kicks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very well put.

 

Me, I collect so that I can post on here and go "haha, look at what I have!!!" :D

And what if we had a fire and lost all our stuff?  How in the heck are you going to rebuild a collection, where you may have gotten, say a rare Diaclone Bluestreak in box with the black hood for $20 WAY back in the day?  How would one ever find a deal like that again? 

 

My bad luck, I'd build the house, and it'd burn down, sure I'd have $$$ in insurance, but no prized collection.

 

What would you do?

And how do you feel about your collection?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Get your TF's insured.  Why the heck not?  It cost alot of money for these toys/collectables.  Get them insured at value not cost 20+ years ago.

I've got no real idea why I keep collecting, I just do.  Since I'm not married, wish I was, and don't have kids to care for, wish I did, then after the pays and buying food, I sometimes have a little left over.  So I hunt and collect.  Maybe I should insure the collection, maybe.  I know I'm going to have to sort out more space because I'm running out of storage ideas.

 

-Chuckles

I too sometimes question why I continue collecting, these questions have finally broken my completist streak at over 10+ years... though even if I didn't collect I don't think I had have to replace it with some other compulsion like sports... I'd probably just save more money for travelling.

 

For insuring a collection, I have renter's insurance, so I've got a spreadsheet of everything I have(need to update), but I think the total value is less than I have renter's insurance for, so I should up the coverage/premium on my policy.

Not the right group of people?  What was supposed to do?  Go to Eagles Football news group and ask?  You can imagine the response there. 

 

I applaud the low mortgage you have there.  You don't live in NJ do ya?  $$$ to live here.  My main problem is I have been waiting to get the car paid off, so I can afford a house with this dream basement of mine, only its not working out like that and I probably have to do with out. 

 

I can see years down the road, if I take over a "Spare" bedroom that it'll eventually get phased out for kids or something along those lines.  So it kinda has me thinking about what I am doing with all this stuff. 

 

Mind you, I want to be BURRIED with my G1/Diaclone related cars and things, as well as Alts/Bt.  And its great and all that I have the majority of the G1 series, BW and even a lot of the Japan, Brave and UK TF stuff. 

 

Problem is, sooner or later, even the best collections room of all time is going to run out of room.  Is it worth the $75 a month to stick them in boxes and let them collect dust. 

 

See I think 1/2 my point here was to get some more reassurance that its probably worth it, and all that jazz. 

 

Moral of this story.  Get a bigger job, to buy a bigger stuff, to buy bigger lots of toys and make the display even bigger. 

We collect because we are all C-R-A-Z-Y !!!!!  :tflaugh1