Question: How do you guys acquire your collections?

[Boobytrap]

17 minutes ago, auberondreaming said:

Yeah I think most of us were collecting back when Yamato was "flooding" the market.  You could get a v2 vf-1 for under $100 shipped to america.  Heck I picked up my vf-11c for $120 I think?  It was warming shelves if you can believe it.  I remember being mad that I had to pay $120 for the vf-1d with option parts because I missed the pre-order price.  For a long time you could pick up the unpainted Yamato 1/60 blanks for $50!  Ah the good old days.

I missed the M&M's and won't buy them now at the aftermarket prices.  Have just resigned myself to dream of a rerelease from Arcadia and be happy paying the Arcadia new prices for 1/60s.  My advice is to preorder always.  Aftermarket is only for that "final" piece your collection needs and you just hate having money.  Starting a yamato 1/60 collection now... yikes.  

You should check out this thread. I think you'll be pleased.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/42594-whats-next-for-arcadia/?page=51

 

[arbit]

Nice to hear your collecting tales.

I gave up on ever getting a good valk in the 80's. I searched every toy store I ever entered for a good decade to no avail.

Then I gave up forever in 2000 after seeing the parts-forming Yamato V1. 

A decade or so after that, I read that Yamato's V2 was an amazing valk and "one of the best toys ever".  

And here we are with a closet full.

[MacrossJunkie]

Yeah. Not to discourage anyone starting their collections now, but I personally wouldn't be able to afford having a collection like mine (and I don't even have a huge collection compared to many others) trying to get the same things years down the road with the aftermarket prices. It would just be too daunting to me. I've only paid high aftermarket prices on one thing which was the super parts for Alto's 29, and I felt like I paid far too much, especially since I found it was missing a piece. I regret not buying Alto's VF-25 Armored parts when I had the chance to and now it's just far too much out of the range of what I would be willing to pay for them, being priced at several hundred dollars.

I only had the benefit of starting early and keeping up with the releases which made things possible for me.

[Eslim109]

I have actually only been collecting figures within the past 2 years. Just like other fellow MW members, it all started with a trip to Japan and discovering all of the awesome figures that I had no idea were available in the market. I bought my first figures while I was in Japan and lucky for me, the prices were relatively reasonable for aftermarket and sealed figures.

Once I returned back home, I began to frantically search for other figures I wanted and needed to complete the sets that I started. I regret doing that as I paid too much for some figures which I later found at better prices at Japanese sites like HLJ/NY/AmiAmi and second hand stores like Mandarake/Jungle.

I have learned that the best way of collecting (and easiest on your wallet) is to be patient and actively look for figures to be on sale for a price that you feel is worth spending. Basically the same advice that everyone else have been providing. 

[hachi]

17 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Yeah. Not to discourage anyone starting their collections now, but I personally wouldn't be able to afford having a collection like mine (and I don't even have a huge collection compared to many others) trying to get the same things years down the road with the aftermarket prices. It would just be too daunting to me. I've only paid high aftermarket prices on one thing which was the super parts for Alto's 29, and I felt like I paid far too much, especially since I found it was missing a piece. I regret not buying Alto's VF-25 Armored parts when I had the chance to and now it's just far too much out of the range of what I would be willing to pay for them, being priced at several hundred dollars.

I only had the benefit of starting early and keeping up with the releases which made things possible for me.

I think that only applies if one just wants to collect the Yammies and other stuff released years ago. We now have Hi-Metal Rs and MacDelta DX Chogokins--more variety. But if the old stuff is what one focuses on, then you will have a hard time because of the prices. The only recourse for this is to be patient and hunt for bargains, or pay the high prices, or hope the stuff gets reissued. I fall in the last category--I also do want those perfect transformation valks. They're awesome. It's just that I am at a disadvantage space-wise and money-wise, and I have come to accept that. So they are not my priority anymore.

Before I started on the HMR rabbit-hole, my only Macross toy was a Yammie 1/48 VF1A Max. I found it too big for me, and dreaded playing with it because I was afraid of breaking it. I was just  content with collecting books and in the process of building a gunpla collection. A year ago I was on my trip to Japan and was looking for a regult kit. I didn't find a kit but I saw the HMR Regult--I had no idea what HMR was all about since I never really bothered with the Macross toy releases. So I researched about it. I came across the wonderful HMR thread at MWF--and the rest is history. Anyway, I have stopped collecting gunpla (thankfully I didn't buy a ton). Though my problem now is my toy budget that clashes with the book budget. It is a balancing game that I play all year.

 

[Roy Focker]

I acquired my collection when they first announced them for sale.   Didn't have to preorder much back then.   A year after a new release I could swing around and pick one up on clearance.   I wouldn't attempt to collect my exact collection now as I don't want to pay double or triple on the 2nd hand market.  If my house ever burns down my new Valkyrie collection I'd buy with the insurance money would look very different. 

[Cowboy17]

I acquired my collection through years of financially irresponsible impulse buying

[Kanedas Bike]

4 hours ago, Cowboy17 said:

I acquired my collection through years of financially irresponsible impulse buying

 

this

 

-b.

[Nightbat]

For me it was a combination of a steady, decent paying job, living at home, no financial responsibilities, the advent of online shops and the low prices 1/60 and 1/48s commanded when new

[blackconvoy_D01]

It used to be in bulks, but now bits and pieces. Ive always been in flux with my Macross collection; i used to impulse buy, getting anything in the 1/60 scale from Bandai and Yamato. With maturity I've learned to be a little patient and wait for deals. I've also learned to buy what I truly love and not what others have just to feel a part of the group. Much happier this way.

Edited April 9, 2017 by blackconvoy_D01