cynoHey everyone! I've been collecting for a little over two years, and while I've had my sudden bursts (and lack thereof) of motivation to collect every now and then, I realized that I haven't bought or had the desire to buy anything for the past two months, in fact even feeling anxious towards the thought.
Every time I really stop and think about my collection (albeit a small and rather cheap one), I wonder, "Why am I doing this? What is the end goal? This is probably a waste of money." and other such things. And, to be honest, I'm not sure if it's because of the hobby itself or because of the collection I've amassed over the last two years. I'm just not...completely satisfied with it. Even figures that I've wanted for a long time don't make me happy. I was also thinking that it could be my setup, but I'm not sure.
It's not like my collection is massive, I don’t really have an issue with overspending or addiction. It’s just...I’m not happy with my collection. There’s really only a couple figures in my collection that I enjoy in some way.
So, my question is, what now? I don't really want to stop collecting figures entirely, but I feel stuck, as if there's nowhere to go with it. I don't have grails, specific characters or sets I aim to collect, or just any end goals at all, and I feel like that might be the issue.
Or, perhaps, this feeling will pass? I don't want to go into too much detail about my personal life, but I am diagnosed with depression, and times like this occur fairly frequently for me—just it's that, for the first time, the loss of love is for figure collecting.
Thank you for reading. I hope this doesn't come off as super vent-y! Just genuinely looking for some thoughts on this experience.
Every time I really stop and think about my collection (albeit a small and rather cheap one), I wonder, "Why am I doing this? What is the end goal? This is probably a waste of money." and other such things. And, to be honest, I'm not sure if it's because of the hobby itself or because of the collection I've amassed over the last two years. I'm just not...completely satisfied with it. Even figures that I've wanted for a long time don't make me happy. I was also thinking that it could be my setup, but I'm not sure.
It's not like my collection is massive, I don’t really have an issue with overspending or addiction. It’s just...I’m not happy with my collection. There’s really only a couple figures in my collection that I enjoy in some way.
So, my question is, what now? I don't really want to stop collecting figures entirely, but I feel stuck, as if there's nowhere to go with it. I don't have grails, specific characters or sets I aim to collect, or just any end goals at all, and I feel like that might be the issue.
Or, perhaps, this feeling will pass? I don't want to go into too much detail about my personal life, but I am diagnosed with depression, and times like this occur fairly frequently for me—just it's that, for the first time, the loss of love is for figure collecting.
Thank you for reading. I hope this doesn't come off as super vent-y! Just genuinely looking for some thoughts on this experience.
Comments44
Btw i really like your collection and if you really want to part with anything i might be interested... )_)
That outlook might make it easier for you to have perspective on things: "this individual statue adds to my home decor and I smile every time I look at it" or "this statue is in my house and it's OK but doesn't wow me anymore." Then you can sell / give / discard the individual ones you have fewer feelings toward, just as you would for pictures you no longer care about.
I was about to say the same! One of the reasons I collect is to use for decoration. My family has some decoration pieces that I’m sure they just got to “fill in space” and they aren’t like, the best. But I like plants, figures, books and anime goods, so that’s what I’ll use give my personally to my space.
Another thing, don’t be afraid of changing your mind. My choices for figures have changed the past the years, I sold some pieces and cancelled pos. Nowadays I prefer to focus on biggers pieces, 1/6, 1/4 and/or figures with some type of scenery (chairs, tables, etc). I also don’t display everything at once dont even have the space for it lol cause I like to have many display/decoration options and somethimes I get bored easily so it’s good for me to not look at a figure for some time so i can miss it lol
I personally find that in doing anything (including collection), one should immerse in the moments and the feelings (joy, love, even sadness is fine) attached, but it is not exactly necessary to literally partake in it.
For example, I like gaming but I don't have times (nor the resource to buy every game) to play it, so I watch some streamers do it and I get some laughs out of it. For figure collecting, I believe I can continue to 'love' it but I don't believe in the need to continuously buy a figure now and there unless I truly desires so - I can look at sources related to figure collecting, photos that people post, browse art books that these figures are illustrated from, catch a few unboxing videos here and there, or just Zucco doing a recap on Youtube.
For your case, I felt like you don't necessarily need a goal or need to compel yourself to buy, to enjoy collecting. What I might suggest is to look beyond just the act of collecting figure and enjoy the sub-culture as a whole, explore new elements and find something that may pique your interest. It's ok not to 'love' something for the time being since you can always come back to it at a later, better time - there are always ways for you to remain connected.
That outlook might make it easier for you to have perspective on things: "this individual statue adds to my home decor and I smile every time I look at it" or "this statue is in my house and it's OK but doesn't wow me anymore." Then you can sell / give / discard the individual ones you have fewer feelings toward, just as you would for pictures you no longer care about.
I understand your feelings though. Interests will ebb and flow with time, and you'll see that happen throughout your life in all kinds of different areas.
So I did the boxing method. But also, I looked at each figure one by one and asked myself the question, "knowing what I know now, would I buy this figure again?" And that really helped me be more critical of what to box and why I felt unsatisfied. Tastes also change. I see a collection as living because of this and it's also ok to not have bought a figure in some time (it doesn't mean you don't like figures anymore). I hope this helps and I'm sure you'll find more clarity soon.
To anyone feeling the same way, or who has felt this way before: I see you, and I hope things improve for you, or are improving for you now. I hope the comments left by others on this blog provide you with the same comfort or motivation that they did for me. ♡
So, a quick update, today I've packed away a significant portion of my collection—probably half of it. Most of my prize figures, particularly my Miku figures, were the majority of the figures I packed. I'll probably make a list of all the figures I'm packing so that I know I'll still have them but won't have to see them every time I click on my profile. I think there's only a couple of them I'd actually sell though, since some of them have sentimental value.
Blogging has helped me a lot with expressing my emotions and putting my thoughts into words, which I've realized here. I'll keep doing my other hobbies as well to avoid burnout, as I do draw and play the piano (recently, I've been enjoying studying music in general). Thank you all again!
Also, if you still have the urge to collect things, I would suggest you keep collecting things that aren't figures. It doesn't have to be physical objects either although it could be. A computer folder filled with every fanart of your favorite character is a collection for example. Still indulging in my passion for "collecting" kept me engaged to some degree.
I hope my advice makes sense and I've given you something useful. Good luck.