Funko Pops are sort of a phenomenon. Whether you like them or not, they made a mark in toy history, taking brand liscensing to an all new level. All of a sudden you could get TV show characters, cereal mascots, sports stars, musicians, movie monsters and MLPs all in the same style, from the same company, perfect for starting a collection without even wanting to.
I have friends who say they don't collect and yet have ten Pops or more. The concept worked just that well: you see a character, person or figure you like and have emotional attachment to = you buy the Pop. And then you do it a couple more times because it's less about the toy and more about having this presentation of someone/something you like.
Even my old dad who never collected toys got the Bob Ross Pop range because he is a diehard fan of Bob Ross and had never seen Bob Ross merch before.
Of course Funko has more lines than just the Pops. You can now get retro styled action figures of Bob Ross, I am sure.
I fell into the Funko trap, too. It started with the alien diva from Fifth Element. I thought "wow, I have never seen a figure of this obscure character that I loved as a teen. I'll pay this steep price. It's just once" (15€!!!)
Now Ive got over ten of these. Two of which were Hot Topic exclusives so I had to pay even more to import them.
And now I'm done with them. I haven't bought one for myself in over a year. I think/hope I am cured :lol:
Things I hated about being a Funko collector:
-Way too expensive and hardly never goes on sale
-Quality control was abysmal on certain figures, returning them was never an option because sometimes all figures in one batch had the same paint flaw
-Funko's way of determining fan favorites and leaving out certain characters, resulting in incomplete teams (X-Men still missing Nightcrawler, Power Rangers classic team were incomplete for years, refusing to produce Applejack and Rarity, ignoring the third protagonist in the Dark Crystal show completely).
-Female character redesign to having smaller, skinnier bodies with tiny hands and feet while the guys stayed big and square. Which means you pay even more if you want a female figure (less material used for the same cost).
-Finally, and this is just my personal opinion: the soulless eye look got on my nerves. I had to put them all in storage except for one because I couldn't stand the eyes staring back at me anymore :lol:
Black eyes... like a doll's eyes...