Sometimes the collecting bug has got us good. You look around and wonder: did I collect too much? Maybe I was a little hasty in purchasing that scale figure... Or maybe you don't love a specific part of your collection anymore? Heck, maybe you just need to pay the bills with your investment. How in the world do you decide what to let go? I've got a few tips that should help cull the herd! The first tip I want to cover when collecting is if you collect a complete series, try collecting one character instead. For example, maybe you bought every Suikoden game or collect every magical girl in Madoka Magica. Maybe just keep your favorite game or character and part with the rest. This can apply to things like card games or books, too! Focus on a specific aspect you love about that series. Maybe just collect a specific base set of cards (or just enough to build your favorite playable deck) or weed out books that you know you won't read again. I recently did this with my Digimon collection! It's seen quite a boom since the series' revival and I decided to just collect specifically Yamato / Matt over him and his entire Digimon line. That adds up quickly! I also decided to pass on collecting for Digimon Adventure: (sometimes referred to as Digimon Psi) as after riding the entire four year Tri wave, I couldn't justify the cost anymore. (It doesn't hurt that I don't really like the palette swap on his new design, either.) My second tip is to avoid collecting doubles. This is similar to the first bit of advice, except that it may also help you from developing that hoard in the first place. Also, if you're collecting more than 3 of any item, you're going to come off as a detriment to the collecting community, especially if the item is rare. You at most should have one for display, one for actual playability, and maybe an extra tops. If you're getting 6 of an item, it's too many. (I want to clarify this doesn't technically include variants of the same item like a generic Funko and it's Chase variant, for example.) If you're accidentally obtaining doubles, definitely try to make a website or spreadsheet to keep track of your collection. I know I've done this a few times on accident! On the other hand, if you're someone who wants to collect only one complete in box copy of a game or figure and nothing else, then you should look into my next tip: Think before you buy. Weigh the good and bad about your preorders or sudden purchases. I've been one to purchase a large scale figure or game just because it may go up in price later (which is a good investment if you know the market AND have money to burn, but this likely isn't the case.) Consider how much you will enjoy that specific item. If you're not absolutely going bonkers over everything when it's announced, I would pass. Yeah, it might hurt if you want that item down the line and it's 5x MSRP, but did you really want it that badly in the first place or do you only want the item now that it's "rare and collectible"? My final tip to give is eliminate an entire collection. This is probably the most drastic of them all, but it may be necessary. I know I've had a lot of fun over the years collecting certain things. Heck, one of my collections is complete outside of a 1/5 existing figure I will likely never own. I have another collection that is a doll line that was discontinued and I'm still debating when/how to sell of the pieces.
It can be hard to part with something you put so much time, money, and effort into. However, in the majority of cases a collection will get you more than you put into it. This isn't always the case, though, especially if you collected for a fad (ie: Beanie Babies; yes, I'm old), or a particular character didn't remain or was never popular. Niche collections will be hard to make a profit back from, but maybe in this case the collecting was more about the journey and the thrill rather than profit or pride. Sometimes we have to part with entire collections just to make something back at all in the case of emergency bills and what-not. You often see "Emergency Sales! Vet bills!" and the like in the collecting community. Sometimes priorities change. In this case, I'd recommend weeding out the most easily replaceable pieces first! Not only will this make the loss a little easier, but you won't spend a fortune should your situation change. I really hope all these tips helped! I am also sorry for the slight delay in this post. A few holidays and birthdays coming up and it's been a busy time! I've got a lot more tips and a recent grail I'd love to share with you all soon! If you have any weeding tips you would like to share, let us know in the comments! Do you have a question about collecting anime or video games that you want answered? Feel free to drop us an email! I'd love to hear from you! Thank you for reading! Happy collecting!
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Author: ShindoW
I am a anime and video game enthusiast living in Texas. I have been collecting since 2005. During that time I've collected a variety of merchandise and knowledge to help other collectors. Archives
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