Do you ever feel overwhelmed by figure collecting ?

I generally keep a list of what I want in my phone and delete them as I buy them. I wouldn’t say I get or feel overwhelmed but sometimes I’ll pass on stuff I want if I know I’ll find them again. Luckily I I have 2 targets and 5 Walmart’s that service multiple days a week for work so I eventually find everything with little problem. I think Gorilla Monsoon has been the only chase I’ve never seen in stores since they started with them.

I read it, it’s just weird talking about action figure finances with strangers on the internet. More people need to post their collections and not whatever else pops into their head.

I manage my collecting by making my choices very specific - Golden era with a strong focus on the WMIII roster. I’m missing King Harley Race but it wasn’t meant to be. And that’s how it works for me. I stick to what makes sense for me but if I can’t get it,…no worries.

It was a banner year for me, though, as I was able to buy 3 figures in Valentine, Beefcake and Davey Boy Smith. Rock and roll.

I miss the playsets Mattel used to make like the entrance stages and the backstage playsets and all that jazz. For years the only playsets have been for the fake Barbies or the gimmick lines. The main lines get stumpy vehicles. I want more pieces to attach to all the old K-Mart sets I have! I think the highlight of Mattel’s output was 2011-2015.

This past year has been really challenging as a collector. The spike in prices has created some legit FOMO. In the past, there was a pretty good chance that if I passed on a figure and changed my mind down the road I could grab it for well under retail on RSC or loose off of ebay. But passing on a figure now means there's a good chance I'll never see it again at retail, it'll be sold out online, and within a few months online prices will be well above what I want to pay.

At the same time, my collecting has really expanded over the past year. Really curious if anyone is/was in a similar boat. The Jazwares has taken off, plus I started collecting Micro Brawlers, the GI Joe line, and have continued picking up Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black figures. On top of that, I got back into Magic The Gathering for the first time since high school, and taught my wife to play while we were cooped up in the house. Figures can't even hold a candle to the price inflation there.

The end result was I found myself spending waaaaay more than I was comfortable with, even if it was within our budget. The good news is that I'm pretty much caught up because I bought everything I was interested as it came out. But I'm trying to be a lot more selective, and have a mental shopping list of what's coming out over the next 3 or so months that I want to better space out purchases.

Ultimately I think the next phase will come this fall or winter. I have a big backlog of figures waiting to be opened and shelves that need reorganized. I have a feeling that I'm going to downsize or need to majorly reorganize in order to fit everything in my displays.

I recently spent several days bagging and labeling my elites/basics/ultimates. Over the years I've just stacked figures in totes (with bubble wrap between the rows), but for my sanity I wanted to bag them with their original accessories and label the series and exclusivity.

When I finished, it felt great to have everything catalogued and pictured.

I don't set a limit on WWE Mattel and Destiny 2 items. I collect Arcade 1up, as I think it's fun to hunt for them while they are on clearance. I also collect video games (mainly Switch games). Nothing like Limited Run stuff, but RPG games mostly. I put a stop to hunting DC and Marvel because I've gotten burnt out on all the different story arcs.

To keep my spending habits within my comfort levels, I pay my bills first and add to my savings second. Then, whatever I have left I spend on wants and needs. I don't get every wrestling figure, but I'll almost always buy at the most opportune time or buy the figures I think will be harest to find first.

Lastly, I invested in a rather large display case. Only things I display in there are left out to be admired, the rest gets stored. Keeps things fresh all the time! Also it helps to have such a loving and understanding wife!

I don’t think overwhelming is the word I would use. There is a good amount to keep up with for sure, but for the majority of what I buy RSC and Amazon have allowed me to keep with up getting the product I want for the last year and a half or so during this pandemic. It would be very overwhelming if I was mostly relying on in-store retail to buy what I want. The more overwhelming part for me is where to put everything after I buy it, which is also partly because I keep my stuff MOC.

Not really. My WWE figure buying has gone down tremendously over the last year and a half to 2 years. I would say my collection is honestly almost complete at this point. I'm not a fan of the current product at all and Bill and the team for some reason don't like making RA Era figures.

I limit myself to characters from the 80s and 90s.

If I could do one thing differently, I'd have avoided getting into custom stuff. It really never ends when it comes to custom heads, figures, hands, decals etc etc.