After dropping my daughter off at preschool this morning, I swung by Wal-Mart to see what might be out. There wasn’t anything new (well…not new new) but I did pick up the 3-3/4" Captain Pike figure from Playmates new Star Trek movie line.
Driving home I got to thinking about collecting habits and buying preferences and thought I’d pose this question to my teeming throngs of readers out there in AFI-land: When a new line or wave is released, do you prefer to pick them all up in on shot or little by little?
Taking out the economic factor (I rarely can pick up an entire wave at one time), I think I generally prefer a figure here and there over getting the whole cluster at once.
Take the new Star Trek for example. I’ve been looking forward to this line since it was announced last year. But when I first came across the figures at TRU a week or so back, even though I was completely excited to see them out, I only picked up Kirk, Spock and Original Spock. A week later I picked up Uhura. Then today I picked up Pike. I certainly plan on picking up the entire line, but I find that I am content to pace myself. The next wave isn’t due until later in the summer, and with the movie arriving soon (already got my tickets, too!!) the toys aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I can afford to wait.
Conversely, it seems sometimes (on those rare occasions) when I do pick up a wave in one fell swoop it makes the wait for the next releases seem all that much longer.
So, how about you? All things being equal do you prefer getting a new wave (or line) all at once or little by little over time?
I agree that getting them all at once makes the wait that much harder, but unfortunately sometimes the line itself forces you to do this. For example, DCUC. Even if you discount the desire to build the C&C, they frankly aren’t that easy to find in a lot of places, even with Mattel’s better distribution in place. In wave 6 I found them all at a Wally World except for Mr. Miracle and Dr. Impossible, and bought them all at that moment. I have since never seen Superman on shelves again because wave 7 came along fairly quickly. I’ve seen individuals from that wave since but not Superman, so if I hadn’t bought him then, I would have had to do the ebay thing or keep looking, so sometimes even if you’d rather wait you have to weigh the odds of finding it again. Although some lines aren’t this difficult, any line based on a movie usually is pretty easy to find as stores want to make sure they can get the sales from those who have just seen it or are anticipating it.
Depends on the line. With DCUC I CAN pace myself and get a figure here or there but I still buy them in clusters of 2 or 3. With JLU I buy everything I see on the pegs because I don’t pass any characters in that line and who knows if I’ll ever see them again.
I pick up so few things now, that I prefer getting it all at once, mainly to save hunting and/or multiple store trips. I find it saves me money to not go to stores and feel I have to buy something to make the trip worthwhile, even if I didn’t find the toys I was looking for.
Usually all at once- because its easier– although recently with the Marvel line I have begun buying and not opening- waiting to see what other multiple packs those characters will appear in (like the secret wars stuff), of course when you find stuff during resets the numbers can be a little staggering
I prefer to pick up a figure here and a figure there. But JLU over the past few years before Target took over has made me afraid I might never see “toy X” ever again.
I prefer to pick up entire waves at a time. There is that thinking that I may never see the figures again. There’s also that desire to have as many as I can afford at a time. Over the years though, I’ve realized that if I don’t pick up a figure the first time I see it, it probably isn’t that interesting to me and I may not even get it the next time I see it.
With JLU, it’s all or nothing. I’ve seen too many times where I’ve gone back 10 minutes later and the figure I wanted was gone. Same with DCUC – if I know a friend needs that figure, I don’t wait. If for some reason they don’t need or want it, I can always return it.
With other lines like GI Joe, I much prefer to get them one at a time. Some characters I see and get the impulse to buy. But then I think, do I really want this? More often than not, the answer is no. If it winds up being yes, then I go back and pick it up or get it the next time I see it.
Being in Los Angeles, means that unless something is obscenely plentiful, you gotta buy it when you see it.
DCUC, I buy as many as I can find when I find them, but often have to go online to get sets or complete a set. It’s gotten better as of wave 7 so we’ll see if I can actually go the retail route…
At this point the only 2 lines I am even close to being a completist on are DCUC and Pixar Cars…
Since everything else is pick and choose, it means that I’ll rarely if ever get a whole wave at once… Maybe certain waves of Star Wars if the Build a Droid is good…
Spy
If I see something I want and know I’ll pick up eventually, anyway, I buy it. If I hold off on anything, it’s because I’m not sure if I want it at all.
It all depends on economics, accessibility & how much of a completist one is. I’m usually not a completist myself, but I did get DCUC’s Wave 3 as a complete set, initially out of total fear of not getting the hot Nightwing figure that everyone wants! But now, I have no regrets getting that whole set because its Collect & Connect SOLOMON GRUNDY figure just rocks in my book as well…..But normally, I think we all love the thrill of the hunt, so to speak – it’s always satisfying to shop & find a nice product randomly, and be able to get it in your hands as soon as you see it…….
I grab whatever I can whenever I can. If the whole set is there, I’ll grab it. Just saves me gas for the hunt until the next wave appears. I will only hesitate on figures I’m not sure I want (like the new Marvel Universe). I waited a few weeks before picking up a few here and there.
I still can’t decide if I want those or not. Some of them look good, some of them don’t and the price point NEVER looks good.
I can’t believe anybody is buying those 3 3/4″ Star Trek figures. They look awful.
I bought them all at once.
If HTS or BBTS has ‘em on pre-order, I buy as many figures as I need. I don’t get them all. Besides that, once they start to sell out re-stocking is a killer. I’m still waiting to complete my G.I. Joe DVD Battles but the fifth set with Alpine was only listed once in the last five months on HTS and I’m avoiding the Bay when buying new stuff.
If it is something I really want and have been waiting for, like Marvel Legends, DCUC, or Infinite Heroes, I get the whole shebang! I hardly ever open things right away, or at once, so there is still a thrill factor that lasts. If it is something I want, but not to the same degree, I will piecemeal it. That’s how I am picking up the Star Trek Galaxy Series and Marvel Universe. That does help to turn what would be wasted trips into good ones!
It is fun to slowly put them together over time, but if your line is popular, it just won’t work. I am a JLUer so if I see a JLU I get it, instantly. It may be another month and a half before I see that shelf get stocked again.
This past week I have picked up 11 DCUC figures from 3 different stores because they are so hard to locate in the stores in my area. If you don’t pick them up when you seen them, you can forget going back later because they are gone.