I WANT IT ALL AND I WANT IT NOW! - Part I - Is This The Future Of Collecting?

Alex Magraw wrote:Totally insane It's why I struggle to collect these days.
I appreciate that prices do rise and that there are high and lows in the market usually brought on by certain things like the release of a new movie etc. etc.
But to me, the reason around this current ridiculous rise in price can be summed up in one word... Impatience
You speak to any of the old school long time collectors and they pretty much tell a similar tale, got back into collecting after my childhood years, started with a full Kenner run with the handful of listed variants, then discovered the reality of variants and went down that path, then realised the world of foreign variants and went down that path and then discovered bootlegs etc.
That's pretty much how it was.
Today though it seems to run in the opposite direction. People who start collecting now have in many respects started late in the game and it seems to push them into a hurry, fuelled by the show boat society of social media. No one wants a Kenner run any more, or Kenner variants, they just want a Burgundy Cape Bib and a full Ledy run, something with 'wow' factor that will get a 100 'like'
Ignorance also plays a huge factor, buying figures with no idea of why they are what they are? No interest in the research element of the hobby and the contribution to it, Just a "I have this cool figure what else matters" kind of attitude
I have seen people post pics of truly rare figures saying, "just bought this, any info"
Seriously??? I have 500+ figures in my collection and I can tell you a lot about pretty much all of them, where they were made, which factory, what cards etc. etc.
I'm not saying you have to know this shit, but to me the very word 'hobby' means you are interested in that particular subject and there fore you should want to know these things. Football fans tend to know the off side rule and a basic history of the team they support, because it's a passion, this is no different but it seems to have lost that.
And no, all the work hasn't been done! which is an easy excuse, I can only think of only a handful of figures that have a very well documented history through focus collectors, there are many more figures to study!!!
It's a shame, but it is what it is :/

cantina_patron wrote: I dare say that as quickly as these impatient collectors arrive, we will see them drop out of the hobby & sell their collections for a loss, to the advantage of those of us in for the long haul!

Sturm86 wrote:I've noticed a few times weapons selling for higher prices than figures...
Sadly I think this will have for effect to make the market of reproduction accessories and weapons grow.

Sturm86 wrote:I fear the worst is yet to come, once 3D printers will be cheaper and largely accessible.