I don't think embarrassed/ ashamed are the right words...

More curious how the other person might react.

Thats actually only semi true. I did edit my post yes but the part that I edited in about my age was put in BEFORE Omega had posted. I put it in as I felt my thread was too short. What I edited in afterwards was the part that said about it being the 1,000th post here.

Andycr: yeah I dont care what people call them either. Dolls, action figures, toys, or whatever

Oh, well then I stand corrected. My bad man.

And I don't think I need to explain that my "Acksun figgas!!!" was just a joke, lighten up people, they are just toys by any name.

Thank goodness, I feel so much better now.:D

I care as much about what certain people think on here about me as much as peoples opinions on me collecting, dolls, toys, action figures or whatever else you want to call them.

You know, in all fairness, I RARELY get teased about collecting toys. I don't know if I've been sheltered from this stuff or just somehow went to the right High School, but I was never really teased for collecting toys except by one girl who I dated and she wasn't even born in Canada and was a rich snobby brat. In my schools and workplaces, people weren't so much teased for their interests (at least not on a wide scale) as they were for poor hygiene or deviant behaviour.

And yeah, if you're going to work smelling like pee, picking your zits and boogers and leaving a trail of dandruff everywhere you go, then I'LL kick your damn ass myself. Like I said, maybe I was sheltered from it at times, but I really don't think toys are the problem. It's because some of the people who collect toys have bad hygiene or exhibit deviant behaviour or both. Plus I've said this before, not all geeky nerdy people are nice people and it's often assumed that they don't deserve some of what they're getting.

I mean surely I'm not the only person who feels this way. Example:

Guy acts "creepy" and smells like pee and doesn't shower for days, probably weeks at a time. His scalp scabs over from his sheer lack of personal care. He's always scratching and leaving dandruff everywhere. He picks at his face and his nose and assumes just because people don't always point it out, that he's "getting way with it". He acts arrogant and often treats others like crap and takes advantage of people. He's also extremely paranoid and thinks that people are talking about him ALL the time. He also happens to collect toys. He's teased for the WHOLE package, but because the only thing he can hang onto and defend is that he collects toys. He comes onto these toy forums and tells us that he's teased for collecting toys. WE can't smell him. WE don't know what he's done. He's obviously not going to tell us he hasn't showered in weeks.

I collect toys, I don't get teased for it, I'm rarely embarrassed about it (though I sometimes joke about it in a pseudo-self-deprecating humour sort of way). I'm comfortable with my hobby. I'm sorry, if the only thing you're doing is collecting toys and someone just won't lay off, then that person is an idiot. I have rarely seen this happen, though.

Sorry, just another long dark post from me. :p

Im with thechris .....

Whatever you do do it confidently and there will never be a problem ...

On another note whose to say you have to choose a side ... I spend too much at the bar,have funneled many a beer, have had my years of whoring it up (ended sadly due to marriage), im a huge sports fan AND buy a shit ton of dolls! ... I say do it all!

I'm not embarassed or ashamed in anyway whatsoever. My girlfriend embraces it, goes hunting with me, talks about them, gives me recommendations on what she thinks looks "cool", and the best part is that she tries to be involved with it as she knows it's my biggest hobby.

I think as long as it makes you happy, and doesn't get in the way of any other parts of your life, you shouldn't feel any type of shame at all.

Now after saying that, I do feel some regret when I buy too much when I should be saving, but that's a whole different issue :p.

Exactly. Like I said, toy collecting has nothing to do with smelling like ass and being socially awkward. There are many people who are athletic, socially competent and/or successful that enjoy collecting things.

Embarrassed, only when I have to bring it up to women. It's just one of those things I don't care much to mention to them, especially if it's one I'm aiming for. If they don't like once they know then I'm usually done with them.

Ashamed...not at all. I like what I like and will continue to collect as I age. It's just a fun little hobby.

Most of the family doesn't get it but, I really don't care what they think. Friends will usually poke fun but they don't mind that I collect since they have their own hobbies that make little sense to me as well.

I actually created a similiar thread a while ago drugs vs collection. which stated the debate topic is it more socially acceptable to be an adult buying children oriented toys or drinking/drugs. and that more people find legal/illegal substances more socially acceptable then having a collection of plastic crack.

I thought this thread sounded familiar. But that one had a specific comparison to debate. This is just about the hobby (and the participation therein).

Personally, I'm too damn old to care what people think about my hobby. At one time I might have been hesistant like others have said, mostly because I didn't want to get into it with anyone.

But now, I couldn't care less. My money, my choice, my life.

There's still a spelling error or two. ;)

Spell-checking and proper grammer were drilled into me at a very young age, so when it's incorrect I tend to notice it more that others. I would normally ignore it as long as the meaning was still clear, but in this case, I couldn't resist a friendly poke.

Heh sorry I know my spelling isn't the best but also I do a vast majority of my posting from my droid phone which doesn't have spell check.

Also sorry if anyone feels this has been done before. I searched for threads like it and came up empty so I made it.

^^ This comment wins the thread.


I'm not embarrissed at all about my collecting. Well, mostly.
I've been told a couple times "Man are you messed up, you really need to start getting out more. Start hanging out at bars." Sadly, this was not ironic, or a joke.

The only real obsticle I have, and the only one I try to hide it from is my dad, who's convinced I need to sell every single thing I own, and gets more than a irate anytime I buy something I don't actually need (IE, anything that's not food or clothing).

I also get tired of cashiers who insist on not keeping their comments to themselves. "Oh, is this for your son, or a little brother?" I say no, it's for me. And get a very flat "Oh."

Though, I'll admit I get embarrissed anytime I want to buy a new FiM pony.

Odd, my Droid 3 does. Though I haven't really paid attention to it when I browse websites. I see it all the time when I text - even for words that are spelled correctly. Regardless, I know it can be a chore typing on a cell phone anyway, no matter which type of input you use (keyboard, touch, keypad), so no worries.

I wouldn't worry about it. behindthemask's thread is a specific comparison of the social acceptance for drinking/doing drugs as a hobby verses collecting toys.

Yours is just about the social acceptance of collecting and how (or if) it affects us in our personal lives.

Miles apart, IMO.

By the way, here's his thread if you want to chime in on the topic:
http://www.toyark.com/harder-say-i-c...s-drugs-66661/

Well, there are limits to everything. ;)

No discussion of staff actions. - Toyark Staff

A thread like this is much more appropriate and belongs in a toy forum. Not a thread on if you are more ashamed you collect drugs or toys. Seriously?

This, a thousand times over... I don't care what people think of my choice of hobby, because I don't do it for anyone else. I do it for my own amusement, and no one else.

But I'm also lucky I have people around me who don't go out of their way to make me feel like I should be. I've had friends in the past who have given me crap over my hobby, but they weren't good friends to begin with. And my girlfriend accepts that I am a collector now, because she knows I won't go overboard with it. But even then, what should I have to be embarrassed about?

I was thinking about that thread when I started posting in this one.

I wonder whatever happened to that thread?

It's right here dude- Is it harder to say I collect toys or drugs? - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com

I think it is harder to say I collect toys than it is to say I do drugs, even though I don't do drugs.

Kids: don't do drugs.

I'll admit that I go through times of being ashamed but I think it is more self-driven than anything. I know what I am - I'm not a jock or a ladies man so I'm going with what I know. I have a great wife who loves me and supports my habit. She thinks it is cool and always loves bringing people over to show off my room. BUT - I am the one who is sweating bullets when new people come over or I am at a store with something in my hand. I do not admit my hobby but to my close friends (who are all cool with it). My parents don't seem to mind it and my Dad is a man's man so if he thought it was stupid - he would tell me. He is more concerned with what he see's as money going to material possessions (he'd rather me invest the money!) I have had one person in my life say something negative to me and I just changed the subject but I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me on some level.

I am sure if I had a room that had sports memoriabilia instead of Star Wars, Comic books, and Marvel figures I would feel better. It is just viewed as more socially acceptable to do that. Course, it is funny, a lot of you bring up drinking or going to bars. I go out drinking and to bars a lot. I'm one of those that is known at a bar and has a drink waiting for him when I get there. When I admit that I get a lot of negativity about that too so I am surprised that there are so many people who suggest doing that rather than toy collecting.

How the hell did this thread turn into this?

What we need is a community thread to air any problems that we, as the fans on this fan site, may have or things that need to be addressed within, on how to improve the site and its members as a whole. In a way, of course, to adhere to board/site rules.

Never. Everyone knows. My parents, my friends, my co workers, and definitely my postal delivery guy. I'm not ashamed at all. I find it no different than being into cars or collecting sports memorabilia, etc.

My sentiments exactly. Everyone likes something different in life, we happen to like collecting toys. :)

But ACTUALLY! I have something to add to the topic. I do sometimes realize I get a little embarrassed when I buy WWE figures, especially Cena's and big names like him ,cuz Like crazy Jetty described I always get a "Oh, is this for your little brother?" and its especially bad when my little brother is with me and they are like"Oh is your big sister getting you a toy" in which he replies "No that's for her" they look at me with the most horrible look ever!One time I was having an awful day and I had an incident similar to what I described . After I told them its for me they say "oh ,you just want him cuz he is a hunk ya know we got in Justin Beiber toys too"I came SOOOOO close to just walking out the store.but instead I just told them"Ever consider I might just be a fan?"