New Year collecting resolutions (2 Viewers)

Currahee Chris said:
Agree 100%. Back in 2000 or whenever, I passed on the Romans because they were boring- told Mike at Stockade that the Roman fort just wasn't for me. :eek:
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And I said I would never start collecting NAPs as well as WW2 because of cost and space. But when Andy started Sons of the Empire, I had to start a British Empire collection which includes AWI, NAPs, Quebec City, Crimea, Zulu, Sudan and hopefully more Sons of the Empire from India at some point Andy;) My WW2 has slowed down in favour of the earlier more colourful periods.

Terry
 
In a past post when the issue of space was brought up Mitch said simply add shelves. Well for some of us long time collectors that won,t work! I added a whole room! Built a room with shelves lighting, carpeting, etc just to display my collection and not 3 months after it,s completion it was entirly filled.
I refuse to buy anything and just let it sit in a box somewhere.
So for me space along with the price increases has caused this down turn.
Some people will say sell of some items. I did, but only lines I stopped collecting, AWI, Civil War.
Since my main focus is WW2 I find it hard to sell any of those.
Gary
 
gk5717 said:
In a past post when the issue of space was brought up Mitch said simply add shelves. Well for some of us long time collectors that won,t work! I added a whole room! Built a room with shelves lighting, carpeting, etc just to display my collection and not 3 months after it,s completion it was entirly filled.
I refuse to buy anything and just let it sit in a box somewhere.
So for me space along with the price increases has caused this down turn.
Some people will say sell of some items. I did, but only lines I stopped collecting, AWI, Civil War.
Since my main focus is WW2 I find it hard to sell any of those.
Gary
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I feel exactly the same about stuff in boxes, its just not right!. A couple of months back my inlaws brought me some K&C Bulge stuff back from the US, and because I have yet to sort out my office they remain in the boxes and its driving me nuts, I have to sort it out next week as I just can't bare anything not on show. So a big reorganization next week, time consuming but fun!:)

Rob
 
Rob said:
I feel exactly the same about stuff in boxes, its just not right!. A couple of months back my inlaws brought me some K&C Bulge stuff back from the US, and because I have yet to sort out my office they remain in the boxes and its driving me nuts, I have to sort it out next week as I just can't bare anything not on show. So a big reorganization next week, time consuming but fun!:)

Rob
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I hear ya Rob. I have to get down in my new room and unpack my things. It's driving me crazy having my stuff in boxes.
 
Peter Reuss said:
In my experience in this hobby, I've seen a 'life-cycle' of collecting take place for many people.

1) Enter the hobby for the first time and buy everything that looks cool.
2) Over time the collector starts narrowing the range of what they want to collect. A few of the initital purchase may get sold.
3) An additional range or two may be added to the collection (depending on the willpower of the collector).
4) Eventually space becomes a major issue. The collector is no longer interested in buying 'the whole range' of figures. They start to pick and choose a bit more, only getting the figures in the range that they really like.
5) For some collectors, the focus of collecting then shifts away from 'current' items to the elusive hunt for the rare or obscure. Again, some of the ranges may be sold off to fund this.

Of course, not every collector goes directly through this cycle, but it's fairly typical. Might it be that the people commenting on this thread have reached #4 or #5 (and that other people at #1 or #2 will keep on buying what manufacturers release)?
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I think that I am at step 4.As far as this being a small minority to gauge the state of the hobby I agree with Brad that it's a pretty good cross section of collectors.We have people from different countries,We have people that are middle class,upper middle class,well to do.I don't know if there are any millionaires on here but there might be.:) But I think that is who is doing most of the collecting.
Mark
 
It may be a small sample, but it is a good cross section of the toy soldier market - USA/Canada which a year ago was 65% of the toy soldier market. England is another 20%.

I have met many of the Treefroggers and talked to many more - it is a good cross section from long time collectors to new collectors, and from wealthy collectors who can buy what they want to retired guys on a limited budget. With few exceptions, they have been saying that rising prices and falling values have caused them to reduce the number of models they buy. I have been told that the US/Canada/UK market has held steady but I think that it will weaken in 2011. I have also been told that the European and Far East markets are growing.

So who really knows. The US market seems to be so large that if it slows, so does the whole industry. The only ones that know for sure are the manufacturers who don't usually give out info on sales or growth rates.

Terry
 
Peter Reuss forgot #6
Guys like me who have been collecting since 8 years old
and will still be collecting at 88 years old.
Only ONLY one thing that can stop a guy like that is SPACE
Might slow him down but to stop him NO
Maple Leaf
 
New Year collecting resolution....BE MORE SELECTIVE in my purchases and purchase "LESS"...$$$....Sell off some items.....Focus more on First Legion... BUY LESS of the same old same old.....Too much already
 
As well as this forum being only a small fraction TS collectors around the world I also think the gloom and doom is not being born out in some of the main suppliers, I know for instance K&C Uk have been crazy busy for sometime now. I think we on here sometimes feel we are the representing voice of the hobby as a whole, but we really arn't, vast swathes of collectors never go near a pc and are ordering all the time in the old fashion ways.

Have to say I saw little sign of folk slowing down in London, whether it was Figarti's train or big show orders from K&C Uk stuff was flying out the door. Also sometimes on here we are all just shooting the breeze,I often talk about lack of dosh or space bla bla, but you just know when (for instance) the Typhoon is released I'm in. I guess in the end sales figures will reveal what's happening.

Rob
 
Rob mate,
I have to agree with you on the non slow down of buying. I didn't see any indication of it at the two shows (West Coaster and Chicgao) I attended this year. There seemed to be a buying frenzee. Most dealers I spoke to at Chicago said they had their best show ever.
Speaking personally for myself I will not be slowing down. On the contrary if K&C keep releasing more Lighthorse and Western Desert (AK & EA) then many multiples will be flowing Downunder along with all their other releases.
I, like most other collectors set their budgets on what can be afford and what they choose to buy. IMHO I think we are in a golden era of TS collecting with so much to choose from that the mightly dollar does not stretch far enough. But when you are addicted to the one hobby, then so be it.
Enjoy your collecting in 2011 as I think with all the competition only the best is yet to come.
Cheers Howard
 
Northgate Woods said:
Rob mate,
I have to agree with you on the non slow down of buying. I didn't see any indication of it at the two shows (West Coaster and Chicgao) I attended this year. There seemed to be a buying frenzee. Most dealers I spoke to at Chicago said they had their best show ever.
Speaking personally for myself I will not be slowing down. On the contrary if K&C keep releasing more Lighthorse and Western Desert (AK & EA) then many multiples will be flowing Downunder along with all their other releases.
I, like most other collectors set their budgets on what can be afford and what they choose to buy. IMHO I think we are in a golden era of TS collecting with so much to choose from that the mightly dollar does not stretch far enough. But when you are addicted to the one hobby, then so be it.
Enjoy your collecting in 2011 as I think with all the competition only the best is yet to come.
Cheers Howard
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Hey Howard,

Yep I agree with you, maybe even in a financial downturn people still want to cheer themselves up with their own particular hobby. And I also agree this hobby is very addictive, I have been collecting for many years now and can't see me stopping to be honest. Space is an issue in my office, but my darling wife has agreed in principle to converting the garage into a display room at some point in the future, so I will have room to expand.

All the best Howard, have a great Christmas mate

Rob
 
Rob said:
Have to say I saw little sign of folk slowing down in London, whether it was Figarti's train or big show orders from K&C Uk stuff was flying out the door. Also sometimes on here we are all just shooting the breeze,I often talk about lack of dosh or space bla bla, but you just know when (for instance) the Typhoon is released I'm in. I guess in the end sales figures will reveal what's happening.

Rob
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You make some good points Rob & that why I've got the K&C Me 262 coming in the post just can't help myself than add the great ground crew & what a great display you got :cool:
 
As I said earlier I don't know why people make resolutions if you want to give up something or do something why wait until the start of a year?? you act decisively and do it straight away. IMO when the dispatches start rolling in the buckling of the wallet will definately happen.

Any self imposed restrictions on something I see as a release from the daily rubbish we all face is self defeating
Mitch
 
My resolsution is to get more NAPs and get them all, before more are released.

Just got the Scots Greys and Curiassiuers at the 2010 price :)

John
 
Mitch said:
As I said earlier I don't know why people make resolutions if you want to give up something or do something why wait until the start of a year?? you act decisively and do it straight away. IMO when the dispatches start rolling in the buckling of the wallet will definately happen.

Any self imposed restrictions on something I see as a release from the daily rubbish we all face is self defeating
Mitch
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This statement is the best explanation for my TS collecting philosophy. I am going to steal the quote, if OK with you...Michael
 
Some have said that this is a so-called golden age of toy soldiers. All that means is that various entrepeneurs have seen a chance to make some money at this business and offered us more choice, so this is a bit of a catch up for this business compared to others where there are plenty of choices. The auto industry has plenty of choices but a few of the big ones have had to file for bankruptcy.

Thus, a surfeit of choices does not mean everybody will do as well as the next person, particularly as we are in the midst of a recession/depression. Just today, I was reading just this morning about the desperate economic straits the Republic of Ireland and Spain are in. This will undoubtedly affect the rest of Europe and have a drag down effect. The USA is also in difficult times although the amount of people filing unemployment claims was slightly down in November. The real world has to intrude in our hobby. Those are just the facts.

I also wouldn't take the level of spending at shows as necessarily indicative of the health of the hobby as there is a bit of a mob psychology and a "kid being in a candy store" behavior at shows. I don't think we can all forget about the story Rob told a couple of years ago of a collector who got caught up in the frenzy of buying at one of the London shows and maxed out his credit cards and such.
 
After reading and thinking more about this, I am wondering if I might save money and space by expanding my collection. I have often played with the idea of buying single or small groups of figures from many eras. I love idea of injecting more color into my collection.
 
European leaders have now made a pact to ensure bailing out countries within the euro who have difficulty so, it should steady the jitters from the money markets and the big lenders. The problems have been a bit two sided yes many will have had to tighten their belts but many due to low interest rates have had more expendible income as a result and therefore, as is always the case, certain sections of a society feel the pinch a lot more. I don't know as nobody does, how the times have affected the manufacturers but, even those who have said it has have continued to release a substantial amount of products widely varying in price and, they have not reported the large drop in sales that some on here have suggested could and may happen.

The hobby itself will not change too much as its been through many recessions wars etc and is resiliant. Some collectors may change habits but, as always other collectors will not and new collectors will enter the hobby who, I said the other day, only know these higher prices and will not care if they can afford the products.

I think the real world has not really affected the hobby so far and with the rising markets in the east it will probably balance out a dip if there is a one from the west.

I don't think we will see anytime soon Brian, Rick, Andy, Tom, Matt or any other manufacturers busking due to financial difficulty with sales etc

I am looking forward to 2011
Mitch
 
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