At a collecting standstill

Foxbite

Foxbite

Hamster Dancer
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
266
I don't know how to say this except to just say it -
I feel like My Little Pony collecting is over for me.

I kind of despise the whole G4 line, much like the creepy G2 line. Little plastic chunklet toys never appealed to me, so Ponyville stuff is out for me too.
It feels like ages since I've seen a My Little Pony product that isn't sporting that 'Baby Big Head' style of G4 artwork. The G3 art was simplified and modernized enough, now the G4 art is Toddler-style chunky.

So what is left to do except poke around in thrift stores for G1s and G3s?
What do you do when the toys you collect take a drastic and unappealing line change?
 
From Core 7 until now I didn't like a single thing Hasbro produced for the MLP line. So what did I do? I just didn't buy for almost 2 years. I wasn't around the boards much, but that was mainly due to the fact that I had just started taking classes towards my masters, while working full time. I'm still doing that, so am not around as much, but find the G4 line likeable- especially if you watch the show in conjunction with buying the toys... which I have only bought two so far, actually.

I am nearing a point where I think I want to weed out my collection to a smaller, more manageable set of ponies, but it seems like there are so many collectors selling right now.

I have no idea what the market is going to be like, but the economy is supposed to be getting better. I think as collectors my age (those who grew up playing with G1s) get into their 30s, they are starting to realize they shouldn't spend so much of their income on "stuff" and start saving for a house, retirement, or to get out of debt.

I don't know where things will go, but I do plan to sell in the near future. I think 2 shelves for ponies is enough for me, so that will be weeding my collection down from 400 or so to about 200.... that'll be hard, but a year ago or more it would have been impossible for me to give up some of them. Now it's not such a thrill to get a new pony so much as to enjoy the ones I have and learn how to enjoy other ponies without owning them.

Good luck with your collection goals and your near future!
 
And here I am desperate to have my room of 900+ ponies again and not enough income to do it fast enough for me. I keep seeing ponies I had and loved and miss terriblely and have no patience for buying one at a time...but wanting my whole collection back. I would give anything to have them back.

Anyone want an art slave for life? *sigh*
 
I don't like most of the modern ponies - have no interest in G3.5 or G4s and I've never been a huge early G3 or G2 colector either so I've only ever really had vintage ponies. I have most of the ponies I want for my US/UK collection . . . my wishlist isn't too long and apart from that I really only want accessories to complete them and some ponies need upgrading. So I now mainly collect Italians.

I have had a few collection clear-outs along the way so I'm pretty happy with the size of my collection for now - in the future I may cut it down to a smaller size but my childhood ponies and some other special ones will always stay. I don't obviously buy or trade like I used to but I'll continue to buy the collector/fair etc ponies and vintage ones along the way :D
 
Speaking with Whippet's collection in mind...

I know there have been a fairly good amount of collectors who had hundreds of ponies, only to get sick of them, sell them, and regret it. There's also been some who have sold and completely moved on and to our knowledge are very happy with what they decided.

What's so difficult is to be able to tell whether when you're getting tired of the collection, or if the magic isn't there anymore, is it really the time to get them out of your life, or is it just a temporary feeling? How can you tell?

I know when people come back after being away for a while and post saying they're ready to sell their entire collection, others make sure to warn them that it's drastic and it will be years getting back to that point. The say to put them up in boxes and make sure that a year goes by before you sell in case you change your mind.

I just don't know what to think, but I know me, and I love ponies with all my heart, but I also love being free of stuff, so I think personally, I'll be better off with a small collection.

It's so difficult to gage things like that though.

Sorry for my rambling, I just find this topic very interesting at this time in my life.
 
It's interesting this has come up, as though I love collecting ponies, I'm getting to a stage were the ones I'm after are a lot more money that I'd really like to pay.
I do want to complete sets and finish off were I'm at, but I do feel very bad spending money in large amounts when I have other things right now I should be looking at.
I don't think I'd ever be able to decrease the size of my collection without really regretting doing it, but as some ponies I have are showing signs of deterioration and are no longer pristine like when I got them, it kinda makes me think I have a never ending up hill battle with upgrading!
I don't think I'll ever be able to spend a lot of money on a pony, I have in the past and don't regret doing it! But now I defiantly wouldnt be spending $100 on a pony ( that's kinda the unofficial limit I have had)
I'd love to have more ponies, but with 600+ they take up a lot of room, and I don't know what could happen in the future in terms of space etc, I really believe in having what I have out, or there is no point having it.
How I feel now, I'll never sell up and continue to collect, though on a lot lower budget and speed, but how I'll feel in say ten years time who knows!
 
I sold for the money...which is the saddest reason of all to sell. But my cheating ex left me with a pile of bills and a morgage to pay.
*sad face*
I have a better idea...if you are sick of them, adopt them out to people who will love them *hint hint* and will send you pictures of how they are. It's like an open adoption right? *wink*
 
I left for a while and came back last fall. Now I'm having that same feeling again. I had that magic return for a few months, but now it's just gone. And sadly I don't see it returning for a good long while. After I sell off all these extras, I'm thinking of downsizing my collection and will pack away all the ones I plan on keeping. I know if I got rid of certain ones, I'd regret it. I just feel like others would enjoy them more.

Also...I TRIED with the G4s. I got the six singles at the store and all the McD ones and the Valentine Pinkie Pie, but then the collecting bug disappeared shortly after. My mother asked me if I wanted to go thrifting with her over spring break and I told her I had chores to do. :nodno: Sad. Sad. I do think the economy has a lot to do with it too. I just don't want to drive if I don't have to.

Selling off little by little. Sales are in my siggy.
 
Yea I'm not much for the new G4's but whatever you decied make sure you think it through completely...I know I have wanted to give in and just get some money....but I knew that someday I would greatly regret that action! Toys are my obsession even when I'm not collecting and life has taken over me, I look at my beautiful collection of a rainbow of colors, styles and memeories...Its one of the few things that truly makes me smile when there's not a **** of a lot to smile about. I hope u don't give in the towel, hate to lose a fellow Pony! Good Luck whatever you decied!!!
 
Well, I've had sort of the reverse situation of yours Foxbite in that when the G3s came out I didn't like them. So I fell out of pony collecting for 7 years. I came back here to sell most of my G1 collection since they were just in boxes.

But of course I still love MLP. I always will, and now I fill in a few gaps and what not with my re-sized collection. I have a couple of G4s but really I don't plan on buying more than my favorites Fluttershy & Sweetie Belle since the style is better on TV I think.

One thing I definitely know though is that Hasbro loves to change their mind. In the nearly 30 years MLP has been around they've changed the pony design 5 major times. Which averages out to about a new line every 6 years. I know that's not the way its gone in reality since there have been some definite dry spells out there. But I think it does show that these ponies have a staying power that will continue to gain the old and new fans. Though I'm not sure wait it out and hope will cheer you up.

But if you see things changing for you then I wouldn't say that its necessarily a sad or bad thing either. Its just the way life goes. It doesn't mean you're losing something important. Your always a pony collector until the last pony goes. And it doesn't sound like right now you want to get rid of them.
 
SoSoftClaire said:
I just don't know what to think, but I know me, and I love ponies with all my heart, but I also love being free of stuff, so I think personally, I'll be better off with a small collection.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I feel. I move way too much, am working starting a new career and my husband and I are at a point to be seriously considering starting a family in the future. Having the collection I had was more oppressive than fulfilling.

Scary being a grown up.

And I'm one of the happy sellers. Only one pony I've missed, out of the 200 that found new homes.
 
01mlplover said:
I know how you feel. Im just trying to collect older ponies that are missing from my collection and other items that i collect like breyer and fashion star fillies. Sometimes i get overwhelmed with ponies and just need a change up so i focus on other things i collect.
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we're in the same boat, but Robyn & I are working on her MOTU classics line.
 
I was kind of in the same boat as you, years and years ago. I'd finally gotten a Baby Sugarberry of my own, and then the magic of collecting just sort of lost its appeal. But my head could not fathom the idea of EVER EVER selling any of my G1s, even though most got packed up and sent to the dreaded basement (I know, I'm cringing). I did sell some early G3s much to my regret now. I moved onto Pullip dolls for a few years, until I ran out of room almost entirely from collecting too much stuff. :p

G4 toy wise hasn't appealed to me with their big ears, except for the molded hair ones and the McD's, but even then I haven't gone rushing out to every store just to try and find them. But I love the show. For a 32 year old to be laughing out loud (even if she IS a pony fan) at a cartoon I think is saying a lot for the show.

If you feel like you can't part with your ponies, then DON'T. Many is the night I have laid awake in bed regretting that I sold this toy or that toy. (Granted, part of this is my fault for getting sentimentally attached to stuff far too easily.) But the anguish is not worth it.

However, if you feel you're not emotionally connected to your ponies and you can move on with your life without them, then I would go ahead and sell. Think of this like your ponies waving goodbye and wishing you well as you keep moving forward (I haven't reached that point yet; dunno if I ever will). They were your launch point, and you're soaring to new places now. :D
 
Raemarie said:
And I'm one of the happy sellers. Only one pony I've missed, out of the 200 that found new homes.
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Just curious to know which pony you have missed. It's interesting!


Thinking about this topic has kind of brought about two other questions for collectors (especially long-term collectors) which I think I'll post soon.
 
I'm with you on not liking the G4's very much. Now that I have most of the G1's and G3's that I want, I'm going to work on displaying them. They are currently all over both desks in the office, all over the shelves, and stored in plastic storage bins. I'd love to get some more shelving for them, and hopefully go back up in my parents' attic and find my Show Stable, Pretty Parlor, and all the accessories to make them a nice little "pony home."
 
Foxbite said:
So what is left to do except poke around in thrift stores for G1s and G3s?
What do you do when the toys you collect take a drastic and unappealing line change?
Click to expand...

For me, as a collector of other things (I've just started with ponies so the magic probably won't be gone for a while) I'm actually quite happy when I consider my collection complete and I don't have to buy any more. When a company decides they're suddenly going to release more of a toy line I'm like "Ugh! I have to spend more money?" Maybe I'm strange that way.

But when I have all I want, I'm quite content just to keep them and enjoy them and be able to spend my money on something else. I do agree with you on the G4s. They just aren't as nice. They look kind of cheap. But you never know. Ponies are certainly no where near to the point where they're slowing down yet. Enjoy what you have and have fun with any thrift store finds you stumble upon. In time, something new, pony or otherwise, will no doubt come your way and you can blow wads of cash with reckless abandon again. ;)
 
Locket said:
But when I have all I want, I'm quite content just to keep them and enjoy them and be able to spend my money on something else.
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Locket, I think this is a very good way to look at it. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the search for the new or the next thing on our wishlists that we don't take time to truly enjoy our collections as they are. For this reason, I don't even try to collect complete sets, and just buy the random ponies I absolutely love. The exception for me is Ponyvilles for two reasons: they are the only ponies that are small enough for me to display the complete line properly in my small house, and the number of them that exists is a manageable one for me to try to get the whole set without stressing over it. I am very close to "having all I want" (just the ponies themselves, not the accessories), and I just love them to pieces.
 
Locket said:
For me, as a collector of other things (I've just started with ponies so the magic probably won't be gone for a while) I'm actually quite happy when I consider my collection complete and I don't have to buy any more.
Click to expand...

I think that this is what can be frustrating about being a pony collector. There is really no such thing as being done. You can set an artificial goal of all the us released g1s but then you want to dip into the internationals, then start pondering prototypes, then fall in love with accessories. I've never not been a pony collector. I went straight from playing with them to buying them off ebay and it's true that sometimes I think about selling. But I think I'm too emotionally attached to really do that. I think I'd be comforted if I saw an end in mind but I love the hub ponies and will probably collect them like mad. I think the g1s and g3s will be a able to keep your interests afloat. I still wonder how we all made it through the g3.5s...
 
Wow, thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my laments. I've cycled in and out several times from collecting, starting with my goal of collecting every G1 pony in the 90s, a collection which I sold for the most part for money to go to college on. Then I came back for the G3s and started a MIB collection along with my personal herd. I sold those after I came back from being overseas and starved for ponies for years.
Now? I just don't see the line as appealing.
But I did find a spark of hope on eBay.

DOLLY MIX! They're pretty cute and there's a reasonable amount of them out there that I don't feel overwhelmed.
Anyone looking to get rid of dollymix? :icon_smile_lachuh:
 
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