Do you ever get tired of your collection? Bored of it I guess. I’m having a bit of a situation where I’m just kind of tired of looking at the constituent pieces that make up my collection right now. I still love my collection, but right now I’m bored of it. Does that make sense? Anyone ever get this way about their collection?
I feel the same way sometimes. The wanting is always more powerful than the having. I find reorganizing and cleaning everything sometimes gives you a fresh perspective.
I found as i slowed down and stopped chasing stuff so much, my appreciation has grown for what I already have.
I definitely appreciate what I have; and while I’m sure part of it is the endorphin rush of getting something new… there are pieces of my collection that have been in my possession for decades. The majority of my collection has been boiled down to it most concentrated form. I don’t plan to let the stuff I’ve kept go- but I’ve been looking at the same items for decades… I feel like I’m experiencing the negative side a bit more than the positive right now. This feeling may pass at anytime, but I’m interested to know if other have felt similarly.
Never, I am always seeing new details in my toys, they grow in personality. Over the years some have fallen out of favour and are boxed up, I should sell them but it's daunting logistically.
Definitely not tired of my collection, and I started collecting sofubi in 2007 (17 years!). I've donated dupes and things I fallen out of love with, to the Suicide Prevention toy raffle. Toys have gotten so expensive these days that adding new stuff has slowed to a trickle. That and just running out of room to display them! As much as I love toys, I want to balance displays with other art and ceramics I collect, and not have solid walls of "stuffness" to overwhelm me. I greatly appreciate what toys I have and haven't gotten bored yet
I've definitely felt what you feel (or at least something similar) about the entirety or segments of my collection from time to time. I go through phases where I think I'm done—never really making plans to sell (at least not everything), just with new acquisitions. In time the boredom always fades and my enthusiasm for collecting returns. I think this is good advice. I'm in the middle of dusting toys and associated shelving throughout the house for the first time after my daughter was born, or about 2 years since last I did a complete wipedown. I've spent a couple of weeks and I'm about 80% done. For as long as it has taken me you'd think I would be flush with feelings of wanting to purge everything in my home but reorganizing and handling each toy brings back fond memories from around the time I purchased them, new appreciation and attention to details in sculpts or paint applications I never noticed before.
I don’t necessarily get tired of it in an ownership sense, but aesthetically on occasion. Switching up the display and mixing artists’ toys around helps with refreshing and re - appreciating. In the moments I have where I do get tired in the collector sense I’ll sell some toys I’m not crazy about anymore to fund something new, whether it’s literally new or an old hunt.
I think about rearranging my displays, but my collection isn’t exactly small anymore. The thought of moving a couple hundred various figures doesn’t thrill me whatsoever. lol.
Pack it up and leave it in boxes for a while, until you start to forget what you have. Then you’ll be excited to rediscover it all.
Adding to the collection is a collector’s thrill, no doubt. With the changes in the “modern” sofubi climate, both monetary and aesthetically, it has become easy to hold back on purchases. The hype-filled fandom these days bums me out too, but it could still never turn me off to the hobby. I know what I like, and going through my collection always brings me happiness. Luckily, I have other collections that need purging and curating, and since records have also gotten expensive, I’ve been paying the most attention to my little die cast cars. Just like a perfectly done vinyl monster, I consider a well done die cast model to be a perfect toy. Complete in its simplicity, it’s a whole little package containing nothing but joy, and super affordable. So, I can go back and forth between the two collections, effectively eliminating the boredom that might occur from thinking about just one all the time. I also agree with Joe; having a big chunk of the vinyl collection boxed away is great. It gives me more room, and when I go to storage and “visit”, it’s super exciting to see the toys again.
This. We have bags of shame. Where we have been putting toys in and right now we are unpacking and curating. It's been so much fun finding out what we have! Downside is the error of accidentally re-buying but that's not happening as much since we more or less slowed down with collecting. But I understand how one can feel bored. That's why I catalog. Haven't been able to, but taking pics always brings me a lot of enjoyment from the collection.
I tried cataloging for a while, but then I got away from it for whatever reason and never got back in the habit. Mostly because it’s quite an undertaking and time at home is always at a premium. I like the idea of maybe putting some of it in storage, and then bring it out at some point in the future and change the displays up a bit. I do that with some other things I’ve collected over the years, but my fear is that I’ll never get back to swapping it out and once in storage it will just stay in storage indefinitely as I purchase more to fill the space left by putting stuff in storage. That’s another thing. I have a room in my home that is all mine. It’s not a large room and I’m about maxed out of display space. I’m not at critical mass yet, but nearly so and then decisions will need to be made. Decisions I’m Not looking forward to.
I have started cataloging using an online application called CatalogIt. It's going to take me quite a while to get all my pix taken, but I have most of my collection itemized. I really like that I now have good documentation for insurance! Taking pictures as I go through and complete my personal dusting challenge for 2024. I'm keeping some of the info private, but you can publish what you want, and my collection is posted here: https://hub.catalogit.app/12693
I'm not sure what everyone's set up is but do you think you could make more space by changing how you display or is it possible to upgrade the cases? I know I don't have a ton of space left BUT I do know that if I were to change things around I could probably get 30% more in there.
Since I got my new displays it's been easier to pass on stuff. If I don't know where it goes I just don't buy it. I've definitely gotten tired of buying whatever I saw that was pretty cool because I didn't want to miss out. There is a lot of good stuff out there but resources are finite and at this point in my life if it doesn't make me feel like it enhances my collection, I don't bother. Also, sometimes I pass on stuff I like just to give other people a slightly better chance. The health of the community is something to consider beyond what hits that Dopamine receptor at the time.
This is something I’ve tried to do when I can, and it’s often met with confused looks when I’m at events and other collectors ask what I got and the find out I passed on things… I have more toy collector friends than non-collector friends at this point in my life; and I know how cutthroat this hobby can get, so I try not to be greedy.
This is something I’ve tried to do when I can, and it’s often met with confused looks when I’m at events and other collectors ask what I got and the find out I passed on things… I have more toy collector friends than non-collector friends at this point in my life; and I know how cutthroat this hobby can get, so I try not to be greedy. I’m pretty packed. I’ve managed to pack 160 secretbase fighters in two detolfs. In the others I could maybe squeeze figures in tighter, but they are already crowded given the different figures and risers used. Upgrading the cases could be done, but the toy room is on the third floor of my 115+ year old (narrow steep steps) home. The 7 cases probably aren’t being swapped out anytime soon.
This is our dilemma right now...with unpainted. I mean straight out unpainted toys, I don't lump marbled into this along with well done glitter toys. Do I send it off for custom work? That's money we would be spending in a tight economy. Do I just store it? I don't want to do long term storage anymore. We've done that and it just takes up space. I have always felt unpainted is incomplete. There's the third option of letting it go too but the toy hoarder in us is reluctant.
Sometimes i've been bored with the song and dance of it all. Sometimes i look at all my stuff and i'm like "Why though?!" If i've been in my collection space a bit too much, i just focus on something else for a while. Something a bit more interactive. Toys are fun, but i can only look at them for so long. They're like favorite books; i read them over again, and i'm happy to have them; they've changed me, colored my life, connected me to people, places, and times. They are things i've picked up along the way. But they're not who i am, so i need to tend to the garden and not the color of the pots. it's good to feel that happening. Most of my focuses are displayed pretty much how they've been for years. i don't really pour over them like i did when things were constantly being added. We've moved a few times over the years (and we're looking at another move soon enough), so that's when i'll be handling the collection so much that i'll fall in love again. By the time i get things up and running, it'll be enough action to let me feel content with my boredom of it. But i still enjoy what i have very much. just in a different way. it isn't always front and center, and i'm relieved. It took a lot of energy and resources when it was full throttle.
Honestly I like what I see some artists doing with blanks where it is a gift/available only to friends, family and long time supporters. It makes them stand out a bit more IMO and helps limit the risk/spread of bootlegs. I have hundreds of toys but less than 10 blanks and most of them are cool because they have a special story/memory about them and not just "I clicked buy faster than someone else" This is very much how I feel. My 2 favorite toys in my entire collection are associated with the memory of how I got the piece as much as the piece itself. But they tell a story in my office of my collecting. I appreciate the story of the collection and the overall vibe it brings to my home just as much, if not more, than specific piece #247911-7B
While I wait to switch my office with my youngest daughter's bedroom, my collection has been packed up and placed into storage. So in an opposite move, I actually miss my collection. Separate from collecting fatigue, or staring at the same ol' set up for too long.
