This is similar to me, I was out of work and out of room. It caused me to take a look at what I had and what I wanted to keep.
I ended up selling all my bayverse TF's, and a lot of my MU's as most were impulse buys when I had the money.

I'll do another cull very soon, and let go of some more things that just arent important to me anymore.

With moving into a newer apartment with more space, I've taken the opportunity to reassess what I really like and want to collect. So for now it's just PAK, some MP Transformers and a few Marvel Select.

The thing is that I have a whole unfinished basement I could just fill with stuff if I wanted to store it but I carried around enough toys and boxes from my childhood that I've decided I don't want to be that guy. I have my office set up with a computer and some display bookcases, a detolf, etc. If it doesn't fit in here or I am not stashing it in the closet for when the little one gets older then I probably won't miss it too much. I hope. I should probably buy one more detolf in here and then I'm maxed out.

In the late 90's, I sold off my entire collection except for ten figures- I was a MOC collector and the piles of TF, MOTU, Marvel, loose GI JOE, and Star Wars just got to be too much to even display in my tiny apartment. I got chump change compared to today's prices, but it was one of the best things I ever did.

When I got back into the hobby a few years later, my interests had changed, I had a better job, and the ease of ordering imports changed my whole perspective- I started collecting a lot of different things, and specifically newer loose 3.75 figures, something I really didn't think I would get into. Now I do a purge every few years- it helps me to maintain my focus, and keeps everything from getting too out of hand.

I haven't had too much difficulty re-buying things I sold back in the day, if I wanted them, beyond the carded/boxed stuff, the more obscure and vintage import and bootleg TFs, and the vintage Joes. Almost everything else I second guessed and rebuy is never really more than $5-10 more on average.

If the choice is to use it to fund your life (like, say, you're out of a job, to go back to school, equipment for your business, move out, etc) and selling your stuff makes that happen, that's good.

Choices I agonized for, like "My carded Star Wars, or go tech school?" or "My Mego collection, or a month trip to Europe?" - picking the non-toy thing always, always was the best option. I miss those pieces sometimes, and they go for big money to try to re-buy... but then I think how much I got to live... AND collect again... no contest.

Truth to be told, I found myself with this thought in more than one occasion. This hobby at one point became encumbering for my finances and I had more than one of those moments where I stared at some of the figures I bought and WONDERED why I have them. Then again at a certain point of my collecting endeavor I strived to buy ANYTHING that HAD to do with Marvel. It didn't matter if it was super squad, if it was a Marvel character I liked, I bought! And that's just one example! Space was getting sparse and the budget was getting thin and yet I still had an undying hunger ... that's when I realized I had to stop and recalibrate the way I thought and bought.

That was a couple of years ago and truth to be told, I haven't stopped collecting. I slowed down a bit and became more selective. Admittedly, I started becoming enamored with the pricier(and in my opinion, BETTER) figures and when it comes to the casual ones like the Marvel Legends, I am VERY selective. A collector always knows and if s/he doesn't, s/he will have that moment where space lacks and maybe the product isn't as enticing anymore. One might either go through a serious purge, stop cold turkey, or maybe just take a break, and like many have mentioned already, the impulse buying stops, but each scenario is different. I know that one day I know I have to stop completely, but that day is not now. Point is, I think we have all had these moments.

What I have been coming to realize a lot lately is that a lot of the stuff I have, mostly in the action figure category, is not really worth anything. My dilemma is do I just hold on to them, do I open the sealed figures for easier storage, or do I just give them away?

I can't agree more. I have these thoughts time-to-time but when I look at some of my collection it just brings me joy of my childhood and that nostalgia factor. My main collection are Transformers and Marvel. I have cut back in purchasing but I still do buy some new, cool stuff when they come out. :)

Definitely depends on the line there. A lot of the older stuff with low articulation goes down in value when a better option gets released unless it was really nostalgic for people.

I've been tempted to do so, still debating currently especially with a baby now, but then I think about it and I'll have something to pass down to him. But if I really had to sell my stuff off, I would probably sell of my TF's first and then whatever last, but would try to hold onto MU and the MP's as much as I could.

A lot of what I have are older SW figures, and you're right, they have gone down in value due to better figures and a swarm of reproductions.

And that's one of the reasons I wouldn't even bother selling MU, but who knows...Although TF's usually keep there value some what?

Depends. I find the only ones of the last decade to do really well across the board (meaning: significantly more than retail) are the Binaltechs from Japan, Masterpiece line, as they are diecast, and the Classics/Generations. The vintage ones, it's all about completeness and condition.

I've gone in and out of Marvel over the years- it's best to sell them while they're hot. There hasn't really been a line that holds its retail value longer than 5 years- they re-boot the line and fans usually only pay a premium for current new stuff, or classic old stuff (say, Mego). Like, right now, MU are at their peak so to speak, ML are on the decline, with few exceptions. The time to cash out is now on MU if you're on the fence. There are a few which buck this tradition (like some of the Toy Biz exclusives, and a few of the variant MLs, are quite expensive and rarely up for sale) but for the most part, comic fans are fickle and only really pay significant premiums when something is first released.

That's good to know then, maybe I'll unload some of my ML's then, as I do like the MU's a lot better, and don't care if the value of them drop since I got 80% from retail to begin with and half the time on sale.

Yeah, thanks to sales and buying from people in the community I've kept my per figure amount low. The line may keep in some form for awhile and even if it doesn't the most solid articulation is not likely to be surpassed any time soon. Maybe 3D printers will change stuff but I don't really care if it isn't worth as much in a years. I don't plan to sell and if I had to I'd just accept whatever the going rate is then.

Sweet thread, lots of good first hand account on here. It seems that there are many options rather than quitting. Most are more along the lines of taking a break or focusing on certain lines rather than amassing a large collection.

I've been considering getting shut of a lot of my collection too, and restricting myself to Lego, minimates and Marvel/DC. My main concern is that I will not get anything near the money I've spent out in return.

The only thing I'd make a profit on is probably the IM2 set featuring Black Widow.

Sorry to dig this up but I've been contemplating quiting collecting.
I have most of the 25th Joe stuff but it's all boxed up with no where to display it due to my hot toys collection. Also have most of the MU figures, loose, once displayed but now boxed up with no display space. I'm thinking about selling everything including the hot toys. The hot toys while amazing in detail, don't seem like they will last forever. Between the fading iron men and the peeling leather, I'm not sure it's worth it anymore. Sorry for venting but I know you guys will understand.

^ I could probably get rid of everything except my 25th Joes. And for RoC, Resolute, PoC, 30th, Retaliation & 50th Joes... I would only keep the ones that are ARAH inspired.

I like my MU, but thanks to the newer ML they seem kinda obsolete now and could part with them easily. And for ML I would only keep my 90's X-men... that's it.

Thankfully, I never really collected SW stuff as a kid or an adult.

But yah, sometimes you just outgrow stuff or your tastes suddenly change for whatever reason. I was a huge anime fan from 2004-2011ish... bought crap ton of anime merch, but just woke up one day and didn't really like anime anymore and was like... wtf am I gonna do with all this anime crap. LOL.

Sell the Hot Toys. Keep the Joes.
In 2 years 2 months a better Joe film with a bigger Hasbroverse shall soon arrive.

Interesting thread. I've actually been considering the idea of keeping my toy spending habits to a character-specific collection (Captain Phasma in my case) for 2018. For the most part, Im more of a dabbler anyway..there hasn't been many lines where I felt I needed to own them all.

Sell everything. Start over with one sigular Mezco, if that does not get you back in the game, nothing will.

Or just don't buy ANY toys for a while, and see if you can hold off haha

I suppose I should add, that I know what he means my GI JOE, hasbro really dropped the ball with the POC line - while it was white hot, they disco'ed it in favor of shitty peg warmer Movie figures, then they pulled the movie for another year, and no Joes to show for it. What a shame. I am shocked Hasbro has not announced 6" GI JOES yet...I would be all over them.

I got 4 Zombie GIJoe 2 packs for trade. I'm looking some old MU. I have other stuff for trade as well here - http://www.toyark.com/showpost.php?p...postcount=3716