Doc Thomas Probes > Does Collecting Make Me Unhappy?

The opinions in the post below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Poe Ghostal. Posting it on the site does not imply a tacit endorsement of said opinions, just as this notice does not imply a tacit disagreement. As always, caveat lector. –PG

It’s now been nearly three months since Rob Bricken’s original article about how collecting toys evidently makes him miserable. When I first read it I thought it’d make me more reflective and I’d have to chew over it a while, but I didn’t – I don’t really identify with most of what he talks about, although I completely understand his position and the addictive nature of the hobby.

Not many of you know that I actually have qualifications in psychology, among other things – I trained for five years as a psychologist but decided not to study towards a PhD due to the cost and having many other interests. From a psychological viewpoint, people tend to collect items to fill a void in their life, and often representations of living beings allude to social gaps. This isn’t the total majority of action figure collectors obviously, and nor is it a conscious motivation; I don’t want to seed the stereotype of a friendless geek, as now more than ever hobbies that would have once been considered “nerdy” are now mainstream and thus celebrated in large social circles. But there’s some truth to the notion that many, many collectors find the control they feel is lacking from some facet in their life, be it social or otherwise, within their collecting.

I haven’t displayed an action figure or a collectible in over two and a half years, and yet I regularly spend over a thousand dollars a year on action toys – toys that go directly into these boxes. My question is this: What the fuck am I doing?

One of the things to consider here is that the sort of behavior Rob’s describing isn’t that common among those who are are considered “collectors” – it’s more similar to hoarding, a term that has become much more popularized recently thanks to that godawful, exploitative TV show. What separates “hoarding” from “collecting” is that collectors have their collections well ordered and often cataloged;  collectors tend to treat their collections with pride, as an extension of themselves, not collecting outside of their means, keeping most – if not all – of their collections on display in an orderly fashion, and the items not on display are carefully “archived” where they can be accessed without too much difficulty.

Hoarders present an entirely different series of behaviors, and don’t get the same kind of joy from their collection as collectors do – indeed, the point in which one’s collection goes from hobby to chore can be seen as the beginnings of hoarding, which is much less ordered and tends to take up more of the hoarder’s life than a collector’s collection does. Hoarding is definitely symptomatic with attempting to retain control over one’s life – consider the more unpleasant cases on the Hoarders show that depict people surrounded by items like old newspapers that they claim they couldn’t deal with losing. It’s similar in many ways to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The hoarder’s priorities are very different to the collector’s, and when toy collecting gets out of control, it definitely seems like an addiction.

The reasons I shouldn’t be collecting toys are myriad: 1) It is so, so expensive

Collecting toys was never considered an expensive hobby when I (and probably most of you) began, even in Australia where I live, where the mark-up is completely absurd. Prices have risen over the years, but even now action figures can be seen as considerably cheaper compared to other similar merchandise, like statues and replicas. Unfortunately, this idea has changed over the years, and not just because the prices have risen, but because the market has changed dramatically. The overlap of children buying action figures and adult collectors buying action figures has gone, with the majority of the market now aimed solely at the latter. That isn’t a huge problem, and neither is inflation – trends always change, so it’s natural that children would now be more interested in, say, video games than action figures, and prices will always rise, for everything. And the change in market has made for better collecting – the sculpts on current NECA action figures are absolutely amazing and this wouldn’t have happened had the target market continued to be kids.

But unfortunately some fingers have to be pointed when it comes to discussing WHY we now consider toy collecting to be so expensive, and the finger should be pointed squarely at Mattel. Masters of the Universe Classics is an odd and unfortunate exception to the general rules of collecting; moreso than nearly any other toyline ever made in the history of ever Matty has made MOTUC much more of a chore to collect. Few toylines are more frustrating: you are actively punished to be a fan of Masters of the Universe Classics.

Mattycollector has been selling the unpleasant and manipulative lie, “If you’re really a fan, you would buy a subscription (or two) regardless of the Star Sisters/Fighting Foe Men/whatever no one wants” for years now. More so than pretty much any other toyline MOTUC is a luxury item for the rich, rather than “Hey, let’s go buy some fun toys that won’t break the bank.” Mattycollector’s initial pitch was to offer the Masters of the Universe Classics figures that people wanted for an elevated price relative to other toys on the market – $20 – and only sell them from one place, where they would only be available and only for a short time.

The idea of getting new MOTU figures made most collectors overlook the hefty and unreasonable shipping fees, as well as the issues with the awful Digital River, who were not prepared for the masses of traffic that the line would draw. Many toy collectors were unable to buy toys they wanted – an unforgivable sin to my mind when it comes to collecting – and thus jumped at the chance to subscribe to the line when subscriptions were offered. Of course later on, nearly all of the MOTUC were offered again (often at cheaper prices), but the pitch had already been bought by collectors, and Mattel made their profit.

Naturally inflation was bound to happen with toys, like everything, and now 6″-scale toys cost on average of $15 or more. Getting the latest NECA masterpiece like Gordon Freeman for $20 might seem reasonable, as would acquiring the latest MOTUC for roughly the same price, except because of the method of distribution and that original pitch fans overlook the additional shipping price, which raises the total cost considerably. And the cost goes up even higher when one considers all of those many unwanted action figures they’ve purchased just to be in on the subscription, just to “support the line.”

When one subscribes, they spend hundreds of dollars – not $15-$20 on a single toy. When one buys a single NECA action figure from a store, they’re buying just that one. If this idea is applied to MOTUC, however, fans decry you. This is a terrible perspective – to look down upon those who just want to buy the toys they want is completely ludicrous.

Despite its popularity over the past few years, we really have to look at MOTUC as an outlier, not representative of the hobby as a whole. And this isn’t even getting into the problems with customer service, with quality assurance, with returns, with assembly mistakes, so on, so on. With all of this in mind, it’s tempting to write off much of Rob’s article even though that’s been one of the seminal lines of the past few years.

I would still argue against the idea that toy collecting is “so, so expensive.” No doubt Poe would disagree with me [I would –PG], as would any collectors of the expensive imported Japanese toys. But even then, one must put it into perspective, and I don’t mean comparing it to expensive life-threatening stupidity like smoking or drugs, nor genuinely expensive hobbies, like cars. Even with the poor economy, people still have a lot of disposable income, and one can reasonably look at toys as being no more or less expensive than, say, DVDs/Blu-ray or videogames. I’d argue it’s actually significantly cheaper to get a couple of toys each week than it is to actively buy video games.

But this comes back to behavior: the collector will budget for their hobby, the hoarder will go buy, buy, buy. Their behavior is repetitive and thoughtless, and ultimately dangerous. Having boxes upon boxes of items that will probably never be utilized again is no way to live.

Here’s a somewhat similar example: Valve’s Steam platform, available for free on PC, has changed the way many gamers buy and play games on their computers. Most people on Steam have a games library of several hundred games because of the crazy sales, and I think the majority have played 25% of them or less. But who can pass up the entire id catalog for $10? Or Mass Effect 2 for $5? You can sort of apply this to toys; when we were kids we only had a few toys and we treasured and played with what we had; now that we’re adults with disposable income we have more than we can enjoy.

2) It actually makes me unhappy. The craziest thing about these toys is that I don’t even like them. Oh, I kind of like them, obviously, but not nearly enough. […] As for Masters of the Universe Classics, I actually kind of hate them. I hate that they’re mostly just bigger versions of the ‘80s figures instead of the awesome 2002 redesigns; I hate that they reuse parts like the classic line (even though they cost me $30 each); and most of all I hate that Mattel constantly assembles the toys incorrectly, meaning figures have mixed-up arms, legs, shoulders and more. And I’m paying $500 a year for these things. I’ve bought every single figure since 2008. And I’ve already subscribed for 2013.

This says a lot to me, even beyond the obvious (and valid) complaints towards MOTUC and Matty. It’s a compulsive behavior and an addiction, and one I sympathize with. At this point, Rob – along with most of us – have been collecting for so long that the notion of stopping is terrifying, even if it isn’t bringing us any joy. At some point, though, the cost of both money and space is very problematic, and if one’s at that point they need to really think about how to deal with it, taking into consideration what they get out of the hobby versus what they put in. I know a lot of people who, like myself, have lots of unopened toys that they want to eventually open and enjoy, but can’t due to space and commitments and other issues – but that’s separate to having boxes and boxes of things one doesn’t enjoy and ultimately doesn’t really want. And I feel this ties into the next section.

3) It makes me a terrible person.

Actually sitting down and thinking about one’s collection, about the priorities and value will get an idea of why this isn’t bringing one joy any more, and what one wants out of it.

First, Rob feels that the thrill of shopping at brick-and-mortar stores (and conventions) has been lost with the inundation of online shopping. I think most of us would disagree with this, and not just because we still do a lot of B&M shopping for toys, but because of how great the convenience of being able to get the toys we want – something I think any toy collector within their means should be able to do. The fact that I can skip insanely-overpriced Australian comic stores and order stuff online, shipped directly to my door, is wonderful. I like shopping online as much as I can. So why doesn’t Rob? He covers this pretty well himself:

It’s not the having, it’s the getting. Owning toys kind of blows, which is why I don’t really care if my toys are out or not. But finding a figure you want in a toy store? Getting that package from UPS, ripping it open to get the figure inside, checking out the accessories, and getting a whiff of that new toy smell? That’s pretty sublime.

It turns out that Rob has something in common with drug users (as his article title suggests). His habit isn’t about ultimately owning the product, but getting a high off of acquiring it – that acquisition is like taking another shot of heroin. The end result will be a come down, but at the moment of finding something that he doesn’t have and “wants,” supplies him with the high he is searching for.

And while I don’t disagree that buying something is definitely thrilling, I don’t have to be hitting up a B&M store to get that high – I’m just as excited shopping online, perhaps more so  because I get the thrill of finding a package when I get home, and then I’m just as happy when I actually have the toy I’ve purchased. Rob isn’t getting that last bit, and that makes me think his collecting is really detrimental.

His other main point is: that he doesn’t enjoy owning toys because he has nothing to do with them.

This is all fucking insane, but the most insane part to me is the boxes thing. The whole point of owning these things is to play with them, but I’m a grown man, and that would obviously be absurd. So the next thing to do is display them, which I don’t do either. […] Hell, even during the last two and a half years, when I had no ability to display them and no idea when or if I might, I never stopped collecting.

Few of us will admit playing with our toys, and I know a lot of collectors don’t. I’ll openly admit that I play with my toys, and love having some of them out to pose and play with as I desire. I’ve often looked at my collection as a dynamic universe of my own, where I can have every character I want interacting with every other character.

And so what? I don’t know why that’s absurd. I do all kinds of bizarre stuff. I have a human skeleton in my living room right now. It’s a film prop, not the remains of a recent victim. (As far as you know.) My toys also play into my filmmaking; I find it very useful to block out a scene using toys as substitutes for actors and film these as animatics, using a small stop motion camera. I have a laptop in my Toy Room for this very purpose. Again, this is definitely not the norm, but so what? I not only enjoy displaying my toys, but I have an active use for them as well.

From what Rob says, it sounds like even if he had the space to display his toys, he wouldn’t enjoy it, and that is troubling. As before, the joy he gets out of collecting isn’t owning them, which makes me think he should sit down and really think it over, maybe changing his actions to find the thrill again, or cut his losses.

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30 Comments

  1. Kenneth

    I am… extremely entertained by how thoroughly Doc Thomas tears apart MOTUC in this one.

    I have no hate for MOTUC in general, but I really, really dislike Mattel. Yes, they guilt-trip customers a hell of a lot. And they seem to do this without actually putting any sense of improvement into their lines.

    I know this is a classic sticking point, but take the example of Batman. He's an acrobatic character, and a martial artist. He crouches a lot. He flips around, he spin kicks, he cocks his fist back as he's about to smash someone in the face. So, why have NONE of Mattel's batman figures ever had double joints? Why is Batman's cape always this rigid, clumsy sheet of black plastic?

    Mattel's been making version after version after version of Bats for what I think is over a decade, at this point. And almost every version looks EXACTLY THE SAME as the last one. And this is a character who's lucky enough to have a lot of incarnations, over the course of the line.

    How about everyone else? You get, at most, one shot at getting a Matty Wally West. And he just ended up looking weeeeird.

    The only thing they've got going for them is completion. They're just selling you on the fact that they have the license. This applies to both MOTUC and DCUC.

    Hasbro does none of these things. They have gigantic licenses, in the form of Marvel and Transformers. And they've consistently kept prices fairly low, while pushing quality up, producing interesting characters, and improving their basic figure designs.

    Which is all a really long way of saying… Yeah, maybe Bricken feels bad about collecting because he had the bad luck of loving a toy line being helmed and produced by Scott Neitlich, who is in my head basically the Mitt Romney of the action figure world.

    • Doc Thomas

      Very well put!

    • ridureyu

      Well, Hasbro's quality has gone severely down since they saw their business report from last year (they lost a lot of money and haf to lay off 10% of their people). Now they have less articulation, poorer sculpting, and higher prices across the board.

    • Kenneth

      It's really sad to hear that they lost out, but even with any scaling-back they've had to do, their product is still comparatively stellar. If what we're getting now (or what's been announced for the next year or so) is indicative of a weakened Hasbro, I'd say they can still own most of the toy shelves with an arm tied behind their back.

      I mean, certainly they can beat out Mattel really, really easy. Hasbro is the company that makes me, a bigtime DC fan, wish I were a Marvel boy instead.

    • ridureyu

      Hasbro's 3 3/4" stuff has taken a huge hit this year and part of last – the quality has gone ALMOST down as far as Mattel's Dark Knight Rises and Green lantern figures. That's a pretty bar harbinger of things to come, but it's not unexpected in today's economy. Even Star Wars is reducing itself to the basic 5 points of articulation for all figures outside of the collector-only "Black" Line.

    • Kenneth

      Point taken, ridureyu. Now that you mention, the movie line stuff has so far been… Mostly depressing. Especially the stuff for The Wolverine.

      I was actually under the impression that Marvel Universe would at least maintain quality within the 3.75 inch scale, but I’m not sure of that anymore.

      Still, transformers, gi joe, and marvel legends have had a pretty good showing in toyfair, so I’m still keeping my hopes up.

      I was never a Star Wars fan, so I didn’t really notice, but if they’re dropping articulation back down, that’s a pretty bad sign. I’ve held off on many interesting-looking Star Wars characters (grievous, maul and starkiller) because articulation was subpar. Now it looks like they’re taking a dive off of that particular cliff, which makes me sad.

  2. J.Lee

    I can see where he’s coming from. I still had alot of my old toys from when I was a kid. Dunno why I held on to them but recently started selling them off. Also selling off figs I just got tired of and thanks to DC and the nu52 saving money up for MOTUCs. I buy them at Cons and Toy Shows so know what getting in to and have plans on some pic stories.

    I think just realized I can’t take it with me so, when time comes they gotta guy and saves on the fam trying to get rid of it.

    I will bring this up, may be off topic but maybe not. During one yard sale I had a mix.of TF RiD ( Car Robots in Japan) and Armada in boxes and one man bought them all and I heard him say he was gonna give them to his.kid as Christmas gifts. That made me feel great to know they’ll get played with.

  3. Since I like to make little homemade comics with my toys, every new figure is almost like getting another "actor." Unfortunately, that also means I'll sometimes decide I need a DC Direct Superman Robot, a Marvel Legends Danger, an Astro Boy figure…and 14 others…for the same strip; so my collection usually looks like a complete pile. Rest assured, they're just well-loved. And possibly overworked.

  4. Cythagen

    I collect toys because I like the aesthetics, the engineering, the property. I like them more than the vacations I don't take, and more than the gadgets, clothing, cars, misc. luxuries on which other folks spend their pocket money.
    But collecting also means that I have to do groceries at the dollar store and live among stacks of boxes so I can afford both my monthly Matty fix and the rent on my one-bedroom apartment. It means I occasionally envy the people who can pack up their whole lives into a car at a moment's notice, and that optional repairs on my own vehicle will have to wait until after the San Diego Comic-Con. Sometimes it means putting my quest for love on hold because a massive flood of new Transformers means I can't afford any fancy dinner dates for a while.
    But…it is a choice. Maybe not always the right one, but it's the one I make for the sake of a hobby that's been with me longer than anything else I've known. I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it, but we all know love comes with a few ugly bits–which are immediately overshadowed by the Gothitropolis display on my coffee table.

  5. Valo487

    Am I the only person on earth who doesn’t have such a big problem with Masters of the universe classics? Yes a lot of the issues that people have with Matty and digital river are valid, but still I really love the line overall and still get excited and look forward to every one that I get every month. I feel like now people complain about them just the sake of complaining about them. I completely agree that some of the stuff they do in terms of making them harder to acquire than they need to be and things of that nature are valid, but if you don’t like it, then stop collecting them. Yo Go Re of OAFE still complains that they took the Classics route instead of reviving the 200X line, when it was never in the cards in the first place. At this point it’s just childish, if the line doesn’t make you happy and it’s not worth it to you, then you should absolutely find something that does make you feel fulfilled, but I’m tired of never being able to read anything about a line I really love without seeing a bunch of petulant whining about how Matty didn’t give them a reach around again this month. We’re all dealing with Matty’s nonsense, you’re not special.

    • I stopped getting indignant about the price, the customer service, and so forth a while ago (though my experience with the Wind Raider still annoys me, mostly because it was my wife who had to deal with most of it, not me). I still like the figures, even love the figures; they're just not my favorite thing of the moment anymore, and hence my selling-off of some of the stuff I didn't want.

    • Big R

      Why not just stop going to the forums that piss you off then? Why let others thoughts color your own experience?

    • Valo487

      I do typically, it has begun to creep in on sites that typically don’t get into stuff like that recently. I understand, Matty and Digital River suck, and it would be great if Mattel could run their lines like a business that wants to succeed, but we all learned a long time ago that isn’t going to happen. I just feel like now people are so happy to bash Mattel they can’t even judge the line on its own merits anymore. My happiness when I get a great new MOTUC figure in my hands far outweighs Mattel’s nonsense for me, and I don’t understand why that’s not the case for others.

    • stack32

      Speaking for myself, Mattel's nonsense has balanced out nostalgia to the point where I simply don't find the figures very impressive anymore. I'd go as far as saying MOTUC might be the most overrated line that's still going.

    • Mario

      You & I both, brother! AMEN!

  6. Darren

    It feels like I'm at an AA meeting. "Hi, my name is Darren and I like to buy toys." Reading the linked story made me pretty sad. I really enjoy collecting stuff that is based on my favorite movies and items that celebrate my childhood. I don't see any shame in it. I have a full time job, a loving wife and two great kids. I do not feel that my collection has prevented me from living a "normal life" I hope that Rob Bricken gets help. Obsessive collecting is just a symptom of a much greater problem in his life.

  7. ridureyu

    This is a big issue I've had to put thought in my whole life – WHY do I collect things? WHAT will I do with them? And what about the money? I mean, sure, if I didn't have the hobby, I would probably be a lot richer…__It doesn't make me unhappy – I certainly enjoy the toys, and I refuse to pick up anything I really dislike. if I decide to be a completionist on something, I put thought into it and do it because I actually like the less-liked stuff. For something like those Dungeons & Dragons miniatures, I've found that I like a lot of pieces I didn't think I would have (even then, I don't have them all, flickr photostream aside). But I also sympathize a lot. SPACE is a problem. I keep most of my stuff boxed, as I have limited shelf room, and my own room looks awful. I rotate stuff that's displayed, and keep the others away, but still? The boxes everywhere is awful. I do feel the need to hide my stuff sometimes, because maybe 0.01% of the folks you meet in your day-to-day life even approve of toy collecting, much less like it. .

    • ridureyu

      And social stigma is a pretty big deterrent for the hobby. But then, I also keep a lot of stuff out (right now there's a Kenner Mantis Alien on the coffee table, holding a coupon for Men's Wearhouse in his claws). Have you ever been accused of being a hoarder? It sucks, even when you can prove that you're not one.

      And the toy photography helps give my collection purpose – I can DO something with it! I can enjoy it in a way that's constructive!

      I wouldn't collect if it made me unhappy, buy sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I never started

  8. I play with my toys. While that is 90% futzing, posing and taking awful desk photos for twitter, 10% of that does involve imagination and "pew pew" noises. No regrets.

    • This. :). Although, honestly its closer to 30% for me.

      As for other commenters irritated by artilces that aren't the toy-positive: anyone actually effected by an article like ths probably should be. Every toy collector I've known (online and in person) from borderline to the extreme cases, fits into the architype Doc Thomas discusses.

      It's understandable that most people who would feel upset/irritated by an article like this are of the mindset 'don't remind me I'm overwight/skinny/unemployeed/have a bad job/have a badrelationship/have a ____ problem/ -mindset. It hurts our ego to acknowledge unfortunate things in our lives.

      I believe the goal of articles like this aren't to make people 'feel bad' – they're an honest, and necessary look at the other side of toy collecting. The endless march of new product is consumerism at its worst, and somone pointing that out is a positive thing: it can prompt honest self reflection, and a change that will eventually make your life better.

  9. The guy sounds like me at my lowest points. There is a lot of self loathing and hate there. This is regret someone feels for not having will power. Luckily, just growing older and transitioning into a full-fledged adult life, I find the need to gain a sense of will power and order over collecting. I am shrinking the size of my collection, I am budgeting, I am focusing on what I buy. It's not a quick process, but I am working towards it.

    Collecting is a choice, even if it feels compulsory. Some people collect clothes or buy too many shoes or eat too much. There's always a choice, but it comes down the psychological and emotional ability to make the healthy choice. Not everyone has that.

  10. rookjones

    Agree. I was left scratching my head after reading Bricken's column, because it resonated with me not at all. I only have one toy in my collection that's unopened. When stuff doesn't get displayed for a long time, and I realize it's because I'm not that interested in it anymore, I sell it off. The collection as a whole brings me great fulfillment and I share it with people to spark nostalgia.

    But it's true that collecting for some folks can become an unhealthy obsession. I'd like to buy a lot more toys than I do, but I also would know at what point it was becoming destructive.

  11. Black Arbor

    Again, we're talking about this? I thought everyone had put in their two shekels by now. I know that people saying "just don't collect then" and leaving it at that is kind of like telling a junkie to stop shooting up and then handing him a needle, but at some point you guys just start to bring me down, and that's not what I come to a toy site for. I come for toy reviews and petty verbal abuse.

  12. Misterbigbo

    Great read, and insightful, but I need to find a CA (collectors anonymous) meeting real soon. Between the thrill of the hunt, procurement, display, and eBay flipping of no-longer-desired items (and all that goes with THAT) I am in trouble.

    As soon as Ram Man shows up, the next Dunny series drops on 2/28, and my NECA Predator and Aliens figures arrive, I’ll catch the next meeting. I swear.

    Seriously, we are all into something, perhaps unhealthily. So you may not collect toys, but god forbid you miss a book club meeting, or a karate class, or an afternoon in your garden, or a Saturday night at the bar. To the extent that these habits harm our relationships, our livelihood, or our self-worth is what we should worry about.

  13. Monkey boy

    I futz with my toys all the time. That’s sounds weird but I wouldn’t say I “play” with them, but I do mess with them, pose them, and change them around.

    I’ve also discovered something that has opened up new doors in collecting: every so often I purge. Just get rid of stuff. There’s a comic store near me that has an annual Larkin lot swap meet, and it has helped me unload a ton of stuff that I just don’t need any more. eBay also works. It helps with the money issues and also the space issues. And even moreso the psychological issues. Selling off a piece of my collection that I haven’t displayed in forever and probably won’t want to again helps with letting go. Your collection evolves, and though some more comes in, other pieces go out.

    As for the keepin everything in boxes and not having anything displayed that’s straight up hoarding like you said. I also agree with the critique if matty’s business model of guilting people into buying figures they don’t want. I subscribed to watchmen, but only because I knew I would display every figure. No way would I consider dropping $600 when all I want is ram man.

    • The occasional sale def helps, as well as fund new purchases. If something that i packed away for space, sat in a box for months and I realize I didn't miss looking/playing with, hey why not sell it? Unless its a OMFGSUPERRARE thing, if I regret my decision a year from now i can probably buy it again easily.

      Overall I still buy toys b/c I enjoy them. Occasionally I fall into buying something I don't "need" or want just to complete a set, a BAF, out of curiosity, or because I just hadn't bought anything in a while. But its not so common.

    • ridureyu

      Just say it. It's playing with toys. I do it, too. Alllllll the time.

    • Chill Billy

      Agreed. A good culling of the collection every once in a while keeps things fresh and under control.

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