To me, John brings up an interesting situation. I think this issue of which series or ranges to collect or to not collect strikes deeply at the most important aspects of collecting. Being a pragmatic, I think that there are some important decisions a collector should make throughout the collection process. The human urge to collect does not just apply to any of the various human categories (sex, age, race, religion, geographic, etc.) therefore I think this decision making process that I am about to describe applies to all collectors across the board.
IMO there are critical decision making points in time when a collector should ask a series of questions in order to have some sort of comfort level in the decisions that they make in their present and perhaps in their future collecting purchases; at least until uncertainty or an uncomfortable feeling about that particular decision begins to become a priority to the collector. These questions are not in any particular priority order and perhaps are not even to be answered on a regularly scheduled basis. They should be asked as watershed events occur that change the environment of collecting. I am sure that there may or may not be more questions, but these I believe are the most important to helping my level of confidence in my decision making process be adequate enough so that I am comfortable with it (my decision making comfort level). At this point levels of comfort, is a subject for a different conversation.
The first question is why am I collecting? Is it for pleasure or for investment or for a combination of both?
The second question is am I comfortable with the reason(s) why and what I collect at the present time and do I wish to change my reason(s) for collecting?
This third question only applies to collectors who are doing it for pleasure. Is what I am collecting giving me the pleasure I desire or am I doing it just to do it?
This third question only applies to collectors who are doing it for financial gain. What is the market like now for pricing on a particular piece or series (can I afford it) and what will that same piece or series worth at some future time to an unknown buyer? What do I accept for a return on my investment? What is the risk I am will to except? It may not sell for what I want or even for what I paid for it.
Some do a combination of both collecting for pleasure and for a bit of profit. I am one of those collectors. I sold all my early K&C WWII figures and vehicles as the quality of the new releases improved. My comfort level with the old became less important than the comfort level of the new. Plus I could get a reasonable return on my investment. I reinvested back into my collecting.
I have now reached a point where I don’t believe I will sell anymore of my collection unless unforeseen circumstances arise. My comfort level with this decision is very high.
But a more important decision and question that I have not yet addressed is the question of how much am I willing to invest regardless of my reasons for collecting. With the release of so many new sets and some new series, the options have become many more in size while the pocket book remains the same size.
If I were seeking a return on my investment, of course I would start collecting WWI. But, if K&C is going to make thousands of each set, what will their value be for a future sale. Is the market being flooded or is the market seeing limited releases? Only K&C knows. Perhaps this period of growth is payback for the earlier lean times and now K&C is cashing in before the market goes bust. Or, this could be a sign of future growth. My crystal ball is clouding up and I don’t have a good history of guesswork as the basis for my decision making process.
I haven’t decided yet. I have to pay my 2006 tax bill so more collecting purchases are out for the next month or so for me.
But I still think this quote says it all:
All is lost. Monks, monks, monks! ~~ Henry VIII, King of England, d. 1547. No mater how hard we try, can we really succeed?. Henry VIII tried to eliminate all the monks (Catholics) and he failed. Are we all bound for one failure or another? Is that the real meaning of life?
Or should I watch more Monty Python?
