So, recently I discovered that my collecting has gone way beyond representational of a fictional world, and become a clinical addiction. I have been buying things just to buy them for years. It was beginning to affect my marriage, so I decided to let the security blanket go. I began selling items on eBay and to my surprise, raked in about $1,300 the last month, and I've barely even scratched the surface of the surface of my collection.

I had decided to keep ONLY the collections and pieces that were iconic representations, essentials, or gems.

However, I sold my entire JLU collection... for $475. It sold in less than 20 minutes. I'm sure it was worth a heck of a lot more. None of the other items I had sold, did I feel an ounce of regret for... but selling my JLU collection, that I have poured my heart and soul into, spent so many years building... once it was gone, I realized I had made a mistake.

I even told my wife about it. She said, "Yeah, I couldn't believe you just sold your entire JLU collection. I was really surprised."

I told her that if it was still bothering me this bad, I probably shouldn't have done it. To my surprise, she agreed, wholeheartedly.

I had the Shazam 4-pack, Grundy, Gotham 4-pack, 2 custom Hals, tons of rarities... about 160+ figures in all... What have I done?

I can get rid of tons of Star Trek, Vintage G.I. Joe, Prequel Star Wars, etc... But I feel as though I have upset the balance of the universe by selling off my JLU for a steal.

My wife has said she would easily support the rebuilding of my JLU collection. I want to so bad. I want to put it back together, but thinking of how much it will cost, how difficult it will be, and how much time it will take... I'm not sure what hurts more; losing my collection, or the idea of rebuilding it.

I was trying to do a good thing, but made a knee-jerk judgment. I'm a fool.

-J

Don't be too hard on yourself. It sounds like letting go of parts of your collection has been a healthy, therapeutic exercise. Now that you realize selling the JLU figures was a mistake, you can work towards fixing it.

The good thing is, this board is full of JLU collectors willing to assist. Most of the figures are not difficult to obtain, and I'm sure that you can rebuild through lots on eBay.

Don't despair. You can get them all back with a little effort.

A few years ago I had to part with some items in my collection for various financial reasons. I didn't want too and I felt that hole it left. Selling short just how much some of those items meant to me. I've just about gotten everything back and then some. The collection today is better off for what I have done and yours will be too just wait and see!

I had written a reply here earlier to try and cheer you up but I guess is got deleted because I briefly mentioned some stuff I currently am trying to sell. (Sorry Mods)

To paraphrase what I wrote earlier, There must have been a *reason* why you at one time thought selling your JLU collection was a good idea. remember this reason and focus on it. You say you only got $475, but that's still a lot of money. Maybe you could have gotten a hundred or two more if you had been more patient and tried harder to sell it but so what. (Was your collection opened or still in the packages? Just curious)

Studies have shown that happy people are the ones who spend their money doing things instead of buying things. With this money you got from selling your JLU collection (that would have otherwise sat on your shelf and done nothing to improve your actual life) you can now take your wife out to dinner every night for a month or go to an amusement park every weekend for the rest of the summer, or something similar.

I don't imagine JLU figures will increase in value very much, so if you do decide to buy them again you could probably get them fairly cheap. Especially with the continuing economic problems I think a lot of collectors will be selling their toys off soon. But really I think you have made a good decision in selling it and that you should just give it a few months. Breaking an addiction is always hard but just give it time.

Im in the process of starting to pare down the collection as well. There has just been way too much sitting in storage for too long without even a casual glance that its time to go.

I feel you.

I still regret selling off my comic collection a few years back. Some of the runs had a 25+ year unbroken streak and there were a few gems that I fought long and hard to obtain. My living space is better off with the extra room, but I still feel the "hole" inside when I look at the wall that used to house all those long boxes. I am rebuilding a few segments of the collection, but it won't be everything and only those few items that really, REALLY mattered.

Glad to see things are moving along for you. You've been absent far too long.

Welcome back.

I think maybe I'd just take a deep breath and a step back. Give it a little time. You may find that after a little while you are actually OK with having parted with the JLU collection. Maybe not. But for collectors and the collector mentality, there is always something new, something on the horizon to distract our attention from what we just got. You sold with good intentions – don't beat yourself up.

Agreed. That's very good advice.

I've been paring down my collection of comics and toys this year, trying to get down to the most important stuff.

I used to have a SERIOUS problem with completistism. like, i didnt get into g.i. joe when i was a kid cause there were just too many. at one point in my life i had every single thing produced for Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, The Real Ghostbusters, Dick Tracy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Police Academy, Transformers, and a few other lines. Then I stopped being into toys and started spending all my money on cds. And i bought every single album from every single group i was into. Japanese bootlegs, import singles, individual members' side projects, everything. Then i got an ipod, converted everything to digital, sold it all, got into selling stuff on ebay and sold all my toys, and in the mean time i had gotten into the palisades muppet figures, kinda by accident, and yep, had every single thing they put out.

then i started feeling like i had this really obsessive personality and that i didnt have to have every single thing of every single thing i liked. so i sold off most of my muppets and only kept a few of the cannon versions of the main cast, and since then i have refused to allow myself to "complete" a line of something. i've got most of the ghostbuster guys now, but only the ones i want, and even though a few of them have some accessories and stuff i'd like to have, but i dont let myself spend $30 on a proton stream or a ghost from ghostbusters 2. i LOVE the dcuc figures, but i only own the doom patrol and metal men guys they've put out so far. and i've got ALMOST all of the DCD Justice figures by Alex Ross, but not the variants.

my point here is, sometimes it is more rewarding to buy just the stuff you really like and not have to try to own everything. the less muppets i have, the more muppets i can see. it gives you a sense of self control, more money for vacations and stuff AND you still get to have toys. you just have less things to worry about moving.

What Cantina Dan said. Heed his wisdom.

I sold off a huge 80's G.I. Joe collection in 2002 composed of what I'd bought over the years with my friend's own stuff, which he gave me gratis. I needed the money for college and it paid off towards that particular goal, but I've never been able to catch up to the level of completeness I was enjoying and probably never will again.

Life's like that. Priorities over pleasure most of the time.

Wow, really? That's pretty impressive. What's your favorite piece from each line?

For Star Wars, I guess because i was a kid, i really liked the Ewok Village, but that Hoth Set was pretty badass, too.

MOTU I think was maybe Snake Mountain, again, kid, fx microphone. Now I would probably say Modulok, though.

Real Ghostbusters is easy. Bad to the Bone. Then and now. although the original wave of fright features figures were pretty cool, too.

Dick Tracy and Police Academy i dont remember that well. that was toward the time of me losing interest in toys, so i didnt play with them that much, i just bought them and set them up. I remember really liking Hoagy Blaster House from PA and the Blank from DT, though.

TMNT was the Turtle Wagon.

Transformers was Cyclotron? No, that's super powers (also had all of those, and of course Plastic Man was my favorite and is, by the way, the ONLY thing out of all i used to own that i really do miss having) He was an Orange-ish or yellow motorcycle. came out after the movie, i think.

I had way too much stuff, and i let it rule my life for a long time. i was constantly afraid somebody was going to break in the house and steal my toys (stupid) or the house would burn down and i wouldnt be there to round up all my proton packs and decepticon cassettes. silly to imagine myself now at age 11 running through a burning house past all the paintings and family photos and trophys and jewelry boxes, trying to make sure i got every last ninja turtle and jawa. i would've tried, though. i was a dumbass.

Also, HalJordanist, sorry if i derailed your thread there, i was just trying to share with you the good feeling of someone who's learned to let go of the obsession without letting go of all the possesions. you dont have to do one to do the other. good luck with whatever you choose to do, but i say let the jlu go. you built it, you took it apart, and now you have new things to build. no point in climbing the same mountain twice.

Wow, House and The Blank are two of the rarest figures in their respective lines. It's great to know that you had them as a kid.

The orange Transformer cycle should be Wreck-Gar, one of the Movie characters.

wreck-gar! right. thanks, clutch!

We all make mistakes. I've sold some stuff when I really needed the money that I desperately wish I hadn't, even if I was pretty desperate at the time. My entire G.I. Joe Night Force Vehicle collection and my massive Exo-Squad Collection would top the list here.

If you've got the means to rebuild, do so. I wish I did.