While we patiently await more figure news from Nintendo and seeing World of Nintendo figures hit stores, I’ve been busy in my free time paring down my collection a bit and thinking about how selling off parts of your collection are just part of the cycle within this hobby.

First though, I have to confess, I like to collect things more than I should.  I’ve collected cards, books, coins, figures, and video games at various points.  As I’ve dabbled in different things and learned what I like to collect and what I don’t like.  What makes me lose interest in collecting, etc.  What I have found is that inevitably, you will pare down your collection from time to time.  Your interests change and what seemed really cool at one time may no longer later on.  Sometimes you stop collecting something altogether and need to get rid of your collection to make room for something else.  Other times you want to sell off your collection because you want the money for something else.

In my case, I’ve bought a few figures over the years that were either investments or I was disappointed with them and do not care to keep them.  I will be moving cities at some point in the next couple years so part of me is preparing for that.  I also just have so much stuff that I need to get rid of some of it so moving isn’t too much of a pain.  This means that figures I’ve bought because I thought they might be worth something need to go.  Figures that I don’t enjoy playing around with or wouldn’t display also need to go.  The main part of my figure collection that I will be selling are Star Wars figures which I no longer want to collect and I don’t see the point of keeping them if I’m not going to continue to buy new ones. The process I’m going through is something that I think anyone who collects has to do every so often.  You want to keep your collection focused and relevant to your interests as much as possible.  So if you are figure collector (or video games collector or anything else), you may find yourself like me, selling off things you no longer want or have the space for.

What I’ve learned from the process is that it is work.  Selling them means finding a buyer and shipping it to them.  I’ve been selling things on eBay and you really have to be patient to find the right buyer who will pay the price you want for your items.  It has taken months to clear out about half of my book collection which I have also been selling and I’ve just started to sell some of my Star Wars figures and none have sold as of yet.  By the time things sell, it feels good to clear out things you no longer want but you’re not always happy or impressed with the amount of money you got from it.  Part of the fun of collecting is the acquisition and you do have to be wise in your purchases because you’ll rarely get back everything you spent and it is probably best not to have that expectation going in.

With that said, there will always be cool and fun new things to buy and so while I’m selling some things I no longer want for less than I expected, that means more room and money for new figures (or video games) I do want.  Paring down is probably inevitable with collecting but if you find joy in it where you can and give it the time and energy it requires, it can still be enjoyable and help fuel your collecting hobby.