[behindthemask]

I think when you get to the point of stealing toys because you can't afford to buy them but crave them or spend your grocery $$/rent money on toys you have a problem. Not to say I haven't spent my last $20 on toys haha, but I know my limit and my rents gets paid. I don't have the financial means to shop online as much as some do, or have the luxury in aquiring an entire wave with the click of a button, I have no car so hunting is limited, especially with the # or retailers that stock toys let alone MU. I have over the years narrowed my toy collection down from anything that looked cool to strickly Marvel. If I had the means and time I would try to aquire every Marvel Icons,legends,universe,showdown and masterworks figures, then go for the big statues and 1/1 scale stuff *aka won the lottery. But I don't so I buy what I can, preferably on sale or stagger it, like this pay I can get 1 toy, *Like a parent I have my own nagging voice say " you can only have 1, decide" lol. Some paychecks I go nuts and drop $200, but it doesn't happen often.
I try to find toys through other collectors in bulk lots/loose lots to cut down on overall price. Like 5-6 months back I snagged nearly 20-30 Marvel Legends figures for $250, but it included 3 complete baf's sentinel, galactus and mojo. I would love to get to my dream set up eventually, but I'm a collector with other priorities, such as my gf, tattoos, music, movies, games, my art etc... So for me collecting is a nice way to fill a void, or self destructive habbit that leaves me nothing to show. As for the question, I think some collectors do it for potential monetary gain, we all see the 40 yr old virgin, if your smart and keep the rare stuff moc, it's worth big $$ down the road. MU is the new ML and some ML is worth a shit ton, so why not MU. The other half does it out of pure love of the action figure art form/comic/cartoon/movie related love of Marvel and the ability to own wolverine and pose him, rip his head off, paint it and not here him say "What's up bub" haha. I love me some plastic crack!