The best thing about collecting...

[hathorcat]

Having been away from pony collecting for so long, I cant believe how much fun I am having being back - I forgot how much fun "pony-ing" (as we refer to it in my house when I am in the pony room or on the computer) is

The childhood memories attached to MLP and the friendships I have made in the years of collecting are what make it special for me.

What keeps you collecting? What makes it so much fun for you?

[Ponybookworm]

Building my own world of light, colour & acceptance. Part collecting, part Customising, all adding a new Pony to the world & integrating her or him. I just love that!!!

[LadyAmalthea]

The best thing for me about collecting is trying to pretend it's 1986 again when all was right in the world. My biggest problem was worrying about whether my best friend's mom was going to let her come over on Friday night or not, so we could paint our nails hot blue and get our combined pony collections together. We would watch the pony movie and laugh hysterically at the witch sisters riding their raft through a singing sea of purple smooze and drink our bubble-gum flavored soda (remember that short-lived pre-teen nectar of the gods?)

I can troll through Ebay searching for my childhood favorites and look for a few grails I never did own as a kid, and it takes me back to a world where there were no pandemics, no listening to fights about politics, and where worrying was something left up to the adults. A world where birthdays were anticipated with wonder and excitement, rather than dread of looking in the mirror and seeing another line between my eyes where there didn't used to be one, or a gray hair that apparently didn't get the memo that 40 is the new 30.

My son is going to be 5 and loves ponies, both the FiM cartoon/G4 ponies and the vintage movie and show. He's fascinated with my childhood collection and has the collector mentality in his genes that I possess. It's something we can bond over, and we are creating our own world within our isolation where we try our best to hold on to that innocence as long as we can before the reality of peer pressure decends upon him to tell him what boys are 'supposed' to like, and for me, to get some of that innocence back.

[Loa]

The colours! The people! The smell!

[Barnacle_lady]

The best thing is to get the ponies I never had as a child and now make the collection larger And with making it larger I got to know a lot of nice people through the internet and meeting them in real life. With closing the circle my colourful pony room which make me feel like I am in a Skittles commercial.

[SkyCakes]

Actually to me it is the community. I like buying ponies and its fun but I havent bought any in while. Im going through a dry spell. I do like finding the next new pony. I love the colors in my pony room.

[Sunset]

I love the thrill of the hunt!  I don’t buy online a great deal.  I love prowling flea markets and Craigslist  and even though finds are rare, it makes it all the more sweet when finding a pony in person.  And when a new g4 or basic fun pony is out, I’m prowling all the stores.

I also find satisfaction in cleaning up the ponies I find though sometimes it takes me a little bit to get started.

[Stargaze]

I've hardly spent time in my ponyroom for the past 10 years, being busy with other things, but since a few days I'm back and I love it. All these cheerful colours, and these cuties looking at me makes me feel peaceful and excited to go through my childhood things and sort things out.

[mlp4me]

I'm still around for the social networking. I love the arena!
Customs, I really like making them too. :o)
There is always the thrill of the hunt, plus I still do have a few HTF ponies left on my wish list...

[Mewtwofan1]

I like being surprised by what I find in the wild, and the community is pretty cool too. I can find something, and then share it with others! And new surprises are always being found by others, so I get to marvel at their discoveries too.
I think the best part for me is being able to hunt for things though. A friend of mine asked the other day why I bought an incomplete playset. I told her that finding all the missing parts was exciting! Because when it’s all competed, there’s a little story to go with each part.

[Miniature Sheep]

It's very much the community aspect for me, I've loved ponies ever since I was a kid but it always seemed like it was just me who enjoyed them. Finally finding a warm and friendly bunch of people who share that same interest has been a great joy!

[pinkkittywinks]

PONYING! That is what it gets called here

As well as the ponies, I think the people I have got to know over the years "make" collecting for me.

Love pkw xxx

[brightberry]

I haven't had the urge to buy new ponies in years.  But, I love looking at all the pony pictures posted here and other places.  I even spend time on ebay just looking at all the vintage ponies.  They bring back such warm feelings.

[Einhornbaby]

The memories and the friends that share similar ones, the colors, the magic, the peacefulness, the happiness, the hunt, the joy of completing a set, the excitement to add a new herd member, the community ... I could go on and on.
The very best thing though is : it makes me happy!

[Broken Irishwoman]

Ponies bring me that feeling of familiarity, safety and love. They take me back to a time when, like LadyAmalthea said, everything was right in the world. Childhood memories, but also 12, 13 years ago when I first found out about the online pony community, and my world was generally a much better place.

It's also for this reason that my ponies are in the bedroom, and that the bedroom is completely "ponified" in colour and such. I like to go to sleep in a safe surrounding, on my pony cloud.