Quitting/putting collecting on pause

[JRoug]

While I like getting stuff brought to my door without the anxiety of maybe not finding it in the wild, I do miss the thrill of the hunt. It was fun to hit the road and hit all the stores back then.

But sadly TRU, Kay-Bee, Suncoast, lots of regional department stoeres, many great comic shops - the best of those stores - are gone. Some of the mall video shops used to be deeply stocked, now I don't even go to a GameStop if it's right in front of me. That adds up to longer drives between fewer, weaker stores, which are more frequently visited and picked over by everyone else looking for this stuff. The time and cost to hit the few (mostly mediocre) places that remain is not worth the expenditures.

At some point the law of dimishing returns vs fun / opportunity kicked in. I realized it was more cost-effective and productive for me to pay the occaisonal after-market price on something that evades me on release than do the crawl that can't guarantee a result.

But man, I miss it.

 

[canprime]

While I like getting stuff brought to my door without the anxiety of maybe not finding it in the wild, I do miss the thrill of the hunt. It was fun to hit the road and hit all the stores back then.

But sadly TRU, Kay-Bee, Suncoast, lots of regional department stoeres, many great comic shops - the best of those stores - are gone. Some of the mall video shops used to be deeply stocked, now I don't even go to a GameStop if it's right in front of me. That adds up to longer drives between fewer, weaker stores, which are more frequently visited and picked over by everyone else looking for this stuff. The time and cost to hit the few (mostly mediocre) places that remain is not worth the expenditures.

At some point the law of dimishing returns vs fun / opportunity kicked in. I realized it was more cost-effective and productive for me to pay the occaisonal after-market price on something that evades me on release than do the crawl that can't guarantee a result.

But man, I miss it.

Yeah finding stuff in the wild is always good for a nice dopamine hit. However I have gotten to the point now that I am more interested in getting the things I want rather than hunting. Also I don't really care anymore for driving around to multiple places wasting time and gas.

 

[Alt]

If it helps, I skipped Comic Con in Toronto this weekend for the first time ever because considered:

There are no new artists or big artists I want an original piece from.

I was caught up on toys.

I can get my toys online anyway. I can even co-ordinate commissions through agents now. It is less magical, but it's cheaper and I get to not put on pants.

To go would be to spend on transit, tickets, food, and all in the name of finding something else to talk myself into buying. Earlier in the mythic Legion thread I even said I was going to go to this con and check out some figures. Maybe I missed a chance. But the truth is I also didn't really care about those figures until I was opening my dwarves. And sure enough, yeah, I don't care anymore. I'm happy with what I have.

You really have to call out your brain sometimes, and keep charging down that railroad track. Willpower will win every time.

Unless Deathstroke grabs you, then he will overpower your willpower. Somehow.

 

[JakeEkiss]

Yeah finding stuff in the wild is always good for a nice dopamine hit. However I have gotten to the point now that I am more interested in getting the things I want rather than hunting. Also I don't really care anymore for driving around to multiple places wasting time and gas.

Absolutely where I'm at. The moment it became more reliable for me to pre-order online, all my toy purchasing moved there. If I'm in a store I'll cruse by the toy aisle just to see if there's something on discount or something I don't know about from an obscure line I'd like, but otherwise? Nah. Done with hunting.

If it helps, I skipped Comic Con in Toronto this weekend for the first time ever

I've tabled at shows for so long that the only show I can imagine going to at this point is one with a substantial artist alley (if comics or anime), or a show like Mosnterpalooza, where it's really boutique shops and makers doing weird stuff you'd never see otherwise. That's the only stuff I'm interested in at shows now, the artists I won't see otherwise. As far as I'm concerned shows could delete the mass market vendors and signing booths entirely and I'd have way more reason to attend.

 

[canprime]

Absolutely where I'm at. The moment it became more reliable for me to pre-order online, all my toy purchasing moved there. If I'm in a store I'll cruse by the toy aisle just to see if there's something on discount or something I don't know about from an obscure line I'd like, but otherwise? Nah. Done with hunting.


I've tabled at shows for so long that the only show I can imagine going to at this point is one with a substantial artist alley (if comics or anime), or a show like Mosnterpalooza, where it's really boutique shops and makers doing weird stuff you'd never see otherwise. That's the only stuff I'm interested in at shows now, the artists I won't see otherwise. As far as I'm concerned shows could delete the mass market vendors and signing booths entirely and I'd have way more reason to attend.

Yep most of my hunting now is relegated to two versions. First hitting up the toy aisle at stores that I am already going to for something else. Second making a specific run once in a blue moon for something reported on deep discount/clearance at local stores (which is even less common than previous years).

I finally caved and I have a table at an upcoming show in Ajax, Ontario (April 26th). It is literally a 3 hour drive for me because Ottawa is freaking ridiculous for toy shows right now. There is a big 2 day show in the spring and fall every year. However they have a wait list and they state clearly in the paperwork that the wait list is based on your social media presence and if you are willing to promote the show on social media. So since I don't have social media I can be on the wait list and still not get a spot if it opens up. Also two days is a bit much for me to commit to for selling.

There is a guy who does a monthly comic book/card show that I sold at one time a couple years ago. However he also had a wait list (seeing a trend here?) that I only got in on at the last minute with a cancellation. Since then I have asked a couple times and never get a spot again. It seems like that is the situation in Ottawa. Not enough true toy shows, and limited availability to sell.

The Ajax show was easy peasy. Sent a request, got a link for registration and got a spot without a hassle. Not to mention GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is a much larger population than Ottawa (5+ million vs. 1 million). Ajax is just east of Toronto. So it is worth the hassle for the long day if I can actually sell to make some space and money. Also I'm going to bring my oldest so he gets the joy of a super early wake up (haha) and long day to hang out with dad at his toy show.

I have been doing the piece meal selling locally through online sites and I am just going to do the long day and hope to sell most of what I bring.

 

[Alt]

I've tabled at shows for so long that the only show I can imagine going to at this point is one with a substantial artist alley (if comics or anime), or a show like Mosnterpalooza, where it's really boutique shops and makers doing weird stuff you'd never see otherwise. That's the only stuff I'm interested in at shows now, the artists I won't see otherwise. As far as I'm concerned shows could delete the mass market vendors and signing booths entirely and I'd have way more reason to attend.

Toronto artist alley is usually pretty solid, but Fan Expo in August usually gets the rarer talent, probably because Winter and Spring are so jammed with West Coast and European shows. And at least the people I want to collect tend to go to Europe.

Two factors that have seen some changes to that, sadly, are the new Chinese conglomerate that bought the con scene, and now Ameri Co. and all the border and tariff white nonsense.