Jumping back into collecting

You “Jumping back into collecting”

Distribution says :

Amazing!!!

Yeah, I didn't realize how many different exclusive lines there are now. This is going to be a hunt.




Good advice, thanks. I don't collect any current guys, but until I catch up I'm limiting myself to mostly first time figures that I missed.

When you factor in time and money spent getting to and from the stores to hunt for figures, the online prices don't seem quite so high.  When I read about people going to 3, 4, 5, or more stores in a single day on a weekly basis hunting for figures I cringe at the thought of how much they spent on gas and how much extra wear and tear they put on their vehicle.  Online shopping may cost a little more but it is quick, easy, and done from the comfort of your home.  As someone else has said, you don't even have to wear pants while you do it.  Plus, you can usually find deals to get discounts (for example 10% off at RSC with the code WFIGS) or free shipping (for example Amazon Prime) to offset the higher prices.

You can wait for special sales.  RSC has them almost monthly not to mention the "big empty the warehouse backlog" Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at the end of the year.  You have to be a little smart about picking which figures you wait on as some will sit around for months until going on sale while others sell out in days to be available only on the bay of E for jacked up prices.  It's a question of how badly do you want certain figures.  There were a half dozen figures from last year that I was on the fence about.  Along comes the Black Friday sales and I got them all for an average of ~$12 apiece.

If you're a loose collector, look for deals on damaged packaging figures.

Lastly, if you have trouble finding certain exclusives that you just can't do without, check the boards for other members who did find them.  Maybe you can work out a deal to get someone else to pick them up and send them to you for retail cost plus shipping plus a finders fee.  Or work out some trades.

Welcome back to collecting!

I just started colllecting last Spring. I haven’t found it that bad at all.

Unless I have a totally free day, I’d don’t do that much hunting around for figures. I still stop at stores on my way to and from work. Maybe if I find out about a good clearance deal online, I’ll drive a little out of my ways to take advantage(20ish minutes?), but even when I try to strategize it with my day so I’m not taking away from my usual routine in life. Me and the wife do shopping weekly, so I just make sure to swing by the Toy dept during these visits. No inconvenience to my life.

Being patient is the key. Most of these figures aren’t jumping off the hooks, so unless you know one will or if there’s one you really want, I wouldn’t pay full price for anything and wait it out. There’s so many other options; Big Lots, Five Below, Ollie’s, Gabe’s, TJ Maxx, Ringside Sales when they’re cleaning out old inventory, resale stores, etc.

Over the last 9 months I’ve acquired around 150 elite figures(that feels sad to type out lol), but I’ve only spent more than $10 on around 30 of them...and most of the figures were NIP(no matter how cheap I got them). The 30 I did pay full price were ones I really wanted and had the feeling they wouldn’t stay on the shelf long, or a few pre-series 40 figures that I really wanted and found at reasonable prices.

I think the only “exclusive” series I haven’t come across is S3 Walmart Flashback Elites...but it is what it is. All I wanted was the Steamboat really, and if I’m meant to have one, that series will show up at another discount retailer or I’ll find one on eBay for under $17 eventually.

It’s a hobby. Don’t let it be a burden. Just enjoy the chase