Anyone Have Any Collecting PURCHASING Regrets?

[WishItWas1984]

I saw 10incher's post about collecting regrets in terms of things you wish you got and missed opportunities, but in this thread I'm talking about the stuff you bought...that you wish you didn't. The part of your collection you're ugh or meh about and look forward to when you can sell it for the space.

For me it's just 1. Modern Star Wars.

It's how I got into collecting, and I'd likely keep that one POTF2 Luke Skywalker X-Wing that started it all, but my IKEA cablnet of modern Star Wars can really just go.

I started buying them with a goal. I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan and wanted to own EVERY Star Wars figure ever released. Looking back at the vintage line, I figured it was doable. But then the money train that was Hasbro just ruined it sometime after Episode I.

The re-releases and slight changes to constitute a "new" figure were doing me in and killing my spirit. I changed my goal then..."Ok, that's ridiculous. So now I want to point at that cabinet and go, 'I have every character ever released!'".

But then the exclusives happened. The droid packs. The slight coloration differences in R2 unit, battle droid, clone trooper that denoted a "new" person.

That was it...sometime in the beginning of the Saga line I gave up and lost all interest. The price increases didn't help. At the time I was like, "For that money I can get 10x the plastic in a figure from McFarlane or another line!".

I do love the Episode I midnight opening experience. The fun of collecting them all and starting this madness. But even though I have every POTF2 figure, all but 3 Episode I figures (all vehicle bundled)....about 450 in all....one day I'm just going to take pics and post an auction and pray that I get $2 back to put in the bank and give a proper home to what matters.

Vintage Star Wars!!

[spockoda]

Quite a few of your thoughts about modern Star Wars are such that I felt like I was reading something I could have wrote, minus the part of regretting buying any of it. Did Star Wars toys get insane and a bit out of hand? Oh yeah. However, it is mostly the prequel stuff I regret buying and a few years ago I got rid of everything from the prequels I have had no regrets so far.
Stepping away from Star Wars, there are times when I see older photos of my collection and see items that, if life had a rewind button, I either would have never purchased or never would have gotten rid of. There are too many items that fit in either of those categories to quantify.

[waywardmonk]

Definitely McFarlane Toys. I never really liked pre-posed statue-like articulation and just got caught up in the craze.

I'm not sure I really regret getting the modern star wars figures. I viewed them as an upgraded alternative to the loose originals. It did get to be too much and I have sold off all the 12" figures and ships, just keeping the 3.75" figures. I stopped collecting them because I really didn't care for the way they started "over"-articulating them. They lost their retro feel after that. I think I still have a few of those I need to get rid of.

Oh, I did recently purchase a custom bootleg figure that I later regretted. It was a cool figure to be sure, but it just turned out to be a direction in collecting I did not want to go.

[homeschoolman]

I would have to say lanard joe ko's. They're so cheesy. Also bought a couple food fighters out of a flea bin for 10 cents each. I like em alright, but it's like my collection is never ending. I can't stop buying.

[rihia2k]

Suppose I've had occasional experiences with that very typical purchase regret, the one which applies to basically everything. Turn around 5 minutes later and see it cheaper elsewhere.
It's unavoidable with, say, modern tech, tools & necessities. But I'm fairly thorough now with exhausting all alternate routes when picking up slightly expensive toys on the secondary market. And I practically never buy retail shelf toys anymore. (the store needs to be severely slashing prices to tempt me)

[brcthrift]

I bought the Thundercat's lair and hated it. It was too big for my shelf at home, and too big for my desk at work. The play features were lame, and there just wasn't much to it. I sold it and actually made a little money on it, but I wish I had never purchased it and maintained the illusion of how awesome it was that existed in my head. That is why I won't buy a Flagg.

[spockoda]

So far, it seems like regret purchases are part of collecting. Good thread!

[dogpoopwalker]

The only ones I really regret are when dealing with a shady seller on ebay. Usually if you do get it you have to send it back and get nothing for your trouble and then don't feel like going through that again and just give up on getting that item.

I also have Mcfarlane regret, but only because that is what got me into collecting as an adult and I have so many of the things that I don't know what to do with them and I can't bring myself to throw away a perfectly good toy, especially a still sealed one. I have a set of Beatles Yellow Submarine toys that someone would like to have and I would get rid of for a good price, but the cost of shipping the mammoth package wouldn't be worth it for anyone.

[anna]

A few of my bigger things(The dora castle for one) as well as Abby from Cubix but most of the time no regrets.

[bowheadwhale]

I wish I bought a lot less Beanie Babies fifteen years ago...