View Full Version : Why do we spend money on our toys?
enclinedesigns
09-11-2009, 08:41 AM
So have you ever stopped and wondered, "what makes grown men buy action figures? Yet alone spend hundreds or THOUSANDS of dollars!!!!" I mean really, why?
I think we could stop and ask ourselves why do people spend money on anything? Why would someone pay $100,000.00 or $1,000,000.00 on a car? $80,000.00 on a motorcycle? Thousands of dollars on a baseball card, or a clock, or a........well, you get the idea. Sometimes people may think that we are a little bit weird being collectors. I know I have had my share of looks and comments directed at me.
It all boils down to taste. We spend money on what we like. I have a special place in my heart for cars, trucks, and robots that turn into cars and trucks...and DINOSAURS!!!! I am pretty sure that my fellow collectors will agree, not only do these figures look amazing, but they take us back to a time when large transforming robots could exist, or when a dude with claws could fight a big green hulk. With those memories comes a sense of peace I think. A little bit of us can fade away into our imagination and step away from the bills, our sicknesses, jobs(or lack of one). That is why I do what I do. I have been able to reach a crowd that allows me to sink deep into my imagination and create what I used to envision when I was five and there was an all out battle with the Autobots trying to stop the Decepticons from taking the energon from under my bed!!! Not only do I get to create these works of art but I get to put food on my table and clothes on our backs.
payton34
09-11-2009, 09:00 AM
I agree about "taste". Remember when the most recent "Incredible Hulk" movie came out (the one with Edward Norton)? Some theaters had a life-size Hulk statue in the lobby to advertise it, and that thing was huge & detailed like crazy!
They were selling those things afterwards for...I think $1k-$1200 or so. I tried to convince my wife to let me get one, but she shot me down. "That's way too much money, besides where would we put it??"
So that's why I spend money on toys. Easier to make room for. :D
BigHank
09-11-2009, 01:45 PM
Great points made here! I grew up in the '70s, with StarWars, Alien, Micronauts, Marvel Comics, Galaxy Express and Macross, ShogunWarriors too. Every Saturday was morning cartoons and then Creature Feature, where they would show classic horror films as well as Godzilla!
These are fundamental memories that helped me become who I am. I built car and plane models (and subsequently blew them up with firecrackers!), learned to draw by copying Kirby and Ditko (later on, Art Adams and John Byrne). My Mother introduced me to the joy of reading through SciFi writers like Assimov, Ben Bova, Phillip K. Dick (fave), etc.
So I think I/we spend money on comfort. The comfort of those memories when all things were wondrous and possible. When Transformers hit, I was already 13, so I reveled in the masterpiece of the Transformers on a conceptual level.
Characters with unique personalities, in the classic struggle between good and evil, represented by figures that were at the same time a toy car or plane (or cassette!) and a robot! My God, it was like an epiphany! Then as you see the thought and engineering that they utilize, you realize you are holding what can only be summed up as the physical manifestation of our childhood sci-fi fantasies!
:cool:
Even today when I buy a toy it transports to a more fantastical time, when I can get lost in the possibilities of childhood imagination!
Why do we spend money on our toys?
Cause the ones I buy rock my socks off! I have so many fond memories of my childhood and how happy I was when my dad said yes I could get a G.I. Joe today or I could pick a small Transformer or Ninja Turtle. I remember that feeling I had when I opened a toy for the first time, most packages looked like the figure exploded right out of the package and it was straight to the rest of the figures I had and time to "battle" or whatever else I came up with.
To this day I still get that excited feeling when opening up something cause I get to relive that experience. Not so much the battling anymore. lol Really cant wait till I have kids, I will get to see that feeling again for an outside view and then get to play with the toys like I used to!
As far as things go though I do tend to be attracted towards small toys that remind me of MUSCLE or Monsters in My Pocket figures as those were what I had the most of cause of their price was considerably cheaper than most toys. TF's were always the Holy Grail of my toys. Never were they in the toy box, always on my dresser lined up. Robots that hide out as cars, what the hell is not to love?
payton34
09-15-2009, 10:50 AM
"They're not toys...they're action figures!!"
formula93
09-15-2009, 02:22 PM
I grew up with my Dad collecting BB Guns and coyboy toy memorabilia, so I never thought twice about buying toys as an adult. Like you all have said before, I grew up on Transformers, Star Wars, GI Joe, TMNT, and He-Man. Luckily for my wallet, I only buy Transformers now, but there are so many other lines that I want. Like that new metallic Voltron plastic giftset...
Solrac333
09-15-2009, 03:15 PM
I spend it to make up all the times I wanted them when I was little and my mom and dad said NO! Now they see my collection and actually buy me stuff. :)
(My first post. YAY!)
RodimusdawG
09-15-2009, 08:59 PM
Easily reliving my childhood. Back then there was my brother and I, so most of the time we got the no answer if we wanted something and it wasn't around the time of holidays and birthdays.
I am reliving the childhood I never had essentially now. Not that my parents weren't loving or cared, they just looked as it was not needed. I had a few Transformers and a lot of Joes. So now I am going back and getting some of the things I never had. And if it isn't to my liking then I can just make it. :D
Anovasinn
09-16-2009, 04:15 AM
Reliving my childhood no mine sucked lol i had ghetto transformers and busted up hand me downs. For me it is building what i missed.
Also i like my g1 collection used complete but with sticker wear and scratches it means they loved it enough to take care of it. something warm about it. My G1 starscream means allot to me and it is far from mint but beautiful to me somehow.
FREED
09-16-2009, 07:53 AM
The better question is why do we do ANYTHING?! People will always do what they like. The toppings are different, but the slice is the same, a little bit of happiness.
TCracker
09-18-2009, 02:44 AM
For me it was sideswipe or rather Lambor back in the early 80s. I was at a local supermart and stumbled upon Diaclone figures of Prowl and Sideswipe. I was so mesmerized by it that I beg my mom to get one for me. But she did not and promised she will one day when she could afford it. The day never came and I completely understood as my dad was not earning much and my mom was only a housewife.
To cut the long story short. That chance encounter with Sideswipe (I was drawn to the red color) sealed my passion for TF toys. Now I buy whenever I please and I am glad I have a wife who supports my hobby.
thyvipera
09-18-2009, 02:53 AM
that's awesome man. a lot of people's families dont suppoet the hobby,
for me, it was,
when i came of the age, to make money for myself, and i first discovered ebay, when i was around 15, and discovered that i could buy a G1 hotrod, i was blown away, G1 hotrod was one of the toys i couldnt get when i was a child, b/c he was rare to find in my area i guess.
I never had many TFs when growing up. I was 8 or 10 ten years old, playing with my older brothers G1 optimus prime, there was no chrome left.
so to me, having a steady source of income, I love being able to obtain the figures I couldnt have when I was a kid.
it's awesome! and now-a-days, I chop them up and make customs out of them, lol
rhoel22
09-22-2009, 01:23 AM
"They're not toys...they're action figures!!"
lol :D
pinch
09-28-2009, 04:38 AM
Better to splurge it on something that we can hold and appreciate (and in some cases transform) than splurge it on things that we ingest, digest and uhm...crap out :) .
At least that what it is for my case .
JasonZ
09-28-2009, 11:24 PM
because we love it! although some people might feel weirdy for spending money on toys ~.~
MoeSizzlac
09-29-2009, 06:48 AM
It's cheaper than drugs and has the same effect:wink:.
I have 2 little girls and I don't know if you guys no what Polly Pockets are (think Barbie in 3/34")
well I got a little tired of playing the boy polly, one day I spot the GI Joe 5 pack, figured there we go, instead of having pool parties and weddings, I'm going to tactically nuke 'em. then the war was on and I kept building my army until I was addicted to buying and making the 4" bastards.
My wifes cool with it, but I don't think she beleives I'm just trying to connect with my daughters anymore!
I have 2 little girls and I don't know if you guys no what Polly Pockets are (think Barbie in 3/34")
well I got a little tired of playing the boy polly, one day I spot the GI Joe 5 pack, figured there we go, instead of having pool parties and weddings, I'm going to tactically nuke 'em. then the war was on and I kept building my army until I was addicted to buying and making the 4" bastards.
My wifes cool with it, but I don't think she beleives I'm just trying to connect with my daughters anymore!
That's awesome, I will be doing the same when I have kids. Even if they are not old enough I will use the excuse I am practicing for when they are old enough to play. lol
Primoscustoms
09-30-2009, 09:03 AM
Seeing most of these toys now is like a time warp for me.
Stuff like G1 Superion, Combaticons, Dinobots. I think I can remember everyone, when I got them and how.
Over the years I lost lots of my collections. My Mother Moved away and I packed most of my toys with her. I was a little older, like 16. My cosins destroyed most of my stuff when they found the boxes of my old toys.
GIJOES, G1's Star Wars Heman. When my Mom moved back years later she gave me what was left. It started back into collecting.
These are my childhood memories. Worth evey penny!
karekature
10-04-2009, 03:50 AM
i grew up with nothing...i used to look at my neighbors during christmas with new toys and used to come up to them and ask "who gave you that? where did you buy that? can i borrow that?" then they'll just run away...a week later i'll just see that same toys all mess up just lying around...used to get those and managely fix them...afterwards after it's all been fixed those kids will see it and take it back away from me...:(
thankfully of that experience! now i can make money, i learn how to love those things and buy those toys i haven't got when i was a kid! i also learned how to fix and customize them because of my selfish kid neighbor! :D