Dolls and Furby

that being said seeing these guys on my dash everyday always makes me smile, so if all else fails i can just live vicariously through this blog HSJJDJS thanks for ur work o7

Disclaimer: This is the opinion of one horse collector, it's not the objective truth of horse collecting. That said, it's an opinion I very strongly believe in.

The thing is, you don't really "start a collection." You just buy the horses you like and within a few weeks or months or years you'll have a small collection. And some day, if you keep surrounding yourself with horses you like, you'll have a big collection.

Gonna get a bit preachy here, but it's something I keep seeing, so I feel like I have to talk about it: I think entering this hobby with the mindset of "wanting a collection" can make you very impatient and vulnerable to fomo and completionism. You get so into the idea of Collecting Everything that you end up wasting $1000s on overpriced listings because you didn't even stop to think if it's gonna get relisted, if the seller is a scammer, or if you even really want that particular horse/doll/pokemon/model car/trading card/memorabilia/etc., or if you only "want" it because it's part of a set.

Collecting hobbies aren't really about having a collection. They're more about the act of collecting continuously. Maybe you take a break from it (I'm a Bella Sara collector who hasn't actively collected for 3 years), but you never really have a "complete" collection. And you need to accept that you'll never have a complete collection, otherwise you're gonna burn out and the hobby won't be fun anymore.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, I really don't mean it to. I'm trying to warn you because I'd hate to see yet another potential fellow collector burn out and leave the hobby after a few years. Collecting can be a wonderful lifelong hobby that creates lasting friendships. But only if your center your hobby around the act of collecting, rather than the idea of your collection itself. (I also find that people who focus more on their collection than the act of collecting are often a bit jealous or self-important, but I might just have run into some bad apples).

If you wanna get into a collecting hobby, the best place to start is to go out (to the thrift story, toy store, ebay, craigslist, you name it) and scour the market for things you like. And then buy a handful of cheap ones. Display them, photograph them, tell your friends about them, look up what other figures/cards/etc. are in that series, and in general just... sit with them. Get a feel for them. Are they satisfying you? Do they spark joy? Did you enjoy hunting them down and do you enjoy taking care of them and looking at them?

I've collected MLP for over ten years and I'm at the point where I'm buying very few things because most of what I don't have are expensive, hard to find, or even common enough that it doesn't feel worth it to me to seek out buying individually. I collect MLP because I love the hunt. I was buying the toys as they came out in stores (with my parents money because I was 10), but then when my parents started antiquing, I started buying older ponies because I wanted something to look for and MLP has been basically my biggest interest since the FiM cartoon came out. I think having a goal and going to rummage through stuff is super fun.

This is kind of in opposition to how some people I've seen collect, where they know exactly what they want and are willing to pay top dollar to get it in the highest condition possible. I bought a Mimic for $200, which was a deal, yes, but I've found way more enjoyment in finding a cheap G1 pony in the thrift. Now, I'll buy collection completers that are expensive or otherwise impossible to find for me locally, but I'm at the point where I've found so much stuff locally I'm more than willing to wait for a ratty pony to pop up at the thrift, or I'll check cheap listings to get a really good price on a rare pony that was overlooked in a lot. Neither my method nor the "buy what you want" method are right, but I think I'm trying to say it's important to discern what about collecting draws you in. If you like cleaning up/restoration or getting a good deal, you'll want to start out differently from someone who wants a very specific item and ONLY that item.

Something else I do (in particular with TADC, because it's a show with new merchandise coming out now), is to get into the archival of a line. I am collecting these items with the intent to document them, make information about it public, and then decide if I want to sell off or let go of an item. This is definitely more expensive than my MLP collection right now because I'm importing stuff from Japan constantly as it comes out, but it's more active right now because I'm giving every item a bit of a purpose for me. This is also fun for me, even though there's virtually no hunt aspect.