Your wrestling figure "resolutions" or goals?

The hobby, which was once a source of casual joy and pleasure for me, turned far more into an obligation in 2020. You are exactly right with the lines selling the notion of "Missing Out" and it's awful. It's not a hobby anymore, it a job, and somewhere along the way, collectors (and by far kids) stopped being the target audience. Now, these figures are sold with the intention of building hype and going the figure version of VIRAL.

There's a lot that can be said for the horrible concept of influencers and their kind. I remember in the 90s when everyone, outside of maybe a few professionally run businesses, bought their BCA and TTL figures at KB just the same. There were no "perks" or "influencer samples" for action figures. Nobody was sending toys to housewives to post reviews for in an issue of Good Housekeeping.

I almost became an influencer, once. For tea. I was on a large tea-review website posting detailed reviews for everything I drank daily. Soon, companies started sending me free tea.

I stopped posting on the website.
That's how much the "influencer" market has come to disgust me.

Because, here's the thing. When companies, the manufacturers, developers, and producers of a product start to send you stuff for free, you can't help but think it's because your opinion matters to the community.
And it isn't a large leap in thinking from there until you reach "Well, maybe I'm just more important than these simple retail-hunting folk." Influencers, more often than not, have a huge head on their shoulders about their chosen field and the current business practices only encourage their crap and feed their egos.

The dark realization of all of this has led me to two resolutions for the new year.

1. Stop hesitating on buying the things you want. If there's a figure you like, get it. Due to the current market and crap surrounding it, these things aren't getting any cheaper. Spend that 40 dollars now so you don't feel compelled to spend 70 later. Also, I need to remember that my shelves are poorly lit and in a dark corner. Stop aiming for perfection. Not ever figure needs to be Mint off the card. Short of excessive paint rub and figures with missing or damaged parts, there's no shame in having pre-loved figures. You're poor, Shanie. Suck it up and realize that if you want a DM Crow Sting figure, you're either paying 60 dollars, or you're getting one that's slightly worn. And you know what? There's no shame in either of those options.

2. But don't waste money on items you feel obligated to collect because "the community" tells you it's good. You know what, if I had Mattel shoveling figures for free into my mailbox every week, I'd go online and say that Mattel was the best company ever to exist as well. They're not, and stop treating them as such. Be more discerning, pick out only the stuff you want, and stop shelling out money on figures you don't really care about. Yes, this includes buying exclusives and chases when you see them just because they're "Rare". Just because something is hard to come by doesn't make it good.

Sorry for the long post/rant. I'm in a mood tonight.