Have you sold your collection, then re-bought it?

[Flitter]

In 2018. I sold all but 3 of my G4 brushable pony collection.
Lately I've been thinking I kind of miss several of them and am considering rebuilding my collection. I'm afraid though because
1. Many of them are now much more expensive than I originally bought/sold them for.
2. I'm worried I'm just feeling nostalgic and won't ever love my collection like I once did. That I'll buy them but feel they are kind of "empty" if that makes sense.

Also, I've done similar things in the past. I re-bought 8 Funko ponies but only ended up keeping one.
Same with Ever After High. Sold my entire collection, re-bought 7 of them, now I'm considering selling all but 1 or 2 again. I'm also considering re-buying a couple Zelfs.
My reasons for selling were always that I felt I had lost interest, collecting didn't align with my goals, and/or that I felt I didn't have enough space. Clutter makes me anxious.
Only secondarily was it about financial pressure but I do often have the feeling that if I'm not actively enjoying something that the money from selling could better go towards things I'm currently more into.

Did anyone else give up collecting, then start over again?
Did your love of your collection return as you rebuilt it?
What kinds of things did you factor when deciding to re-buy?

[Shaiyeh]

Yep! I sold most of my collection around 20...12? Not too sure when, but I sold a *lot*. I regretted it, and have been working on rebuying what I ahd. I'm not so into the *collecting new stuff* part of MLP collecting now, as it's a very rare treat to have money to set aside for buying ponies, but I thoroughly enjoy my collection, and am really glad I re-collected them (and more).

I've "quit" and sold off many hobbies in my days, and always end up regretting it. I get your thinking with money from x collection could go into y new thing. I've reasoned like that before, too, but sadly, that does not work for me. I am a magpie, or perhaps a goblin. I like my shinies. I don't get to give up a shiny for another shiny and still be happy :')
(I also get you with clutter. As long as a collection has a designated area, and is organized neatly, it's ok.)

[Beth3346]

i never sold my entire collection but i've sold off large parts of it. there are a few ponies i've bought multiple times. every time i've sold ponies my husband jokes that the packages are going to show up again in 6 months or so. he's always right about that too 

a few times i thought i was done with collecting for good and sold off any pony i didn't absolutely love. then i ended up collecting again. mostly at times when i had other priorities (in between jobs and paying down debt). i don't really regret it. i like the search. now that selling on ebay is more of a pain i doubt i'll sell my collection again though. i relate to the magpie thing. i like to have a lot of pretty things around. it kind of drives my husband crazy.

i love my collection. especially now that i have more space for it. i loved it less when it was boxed up.

[Ponybookworm]

Not sold exactly, but in my early 20s bad things happened & as a result I lost a LOT of stuff, including my at the time entire MLP collection!!!
So priority one when I found them on eBay was getting back the old collection, plus ones I wanted back then but never had. I have all the Ponies, but I'm still missing some accessories, in particular Bunny for Billie & Splish's float. I'm also missing some comics & a few colouring books I used to have, as well as a bag with Lickety Split on it & a tail

[lovesbabysquirmy]

yes...  a few times... 

[Taffeta]

I did sell off a bunch of my G3 at one point. Also some G2s in package that I'd had for a long time in storage.

I think I acquired back a lot of the G3s over time. The G2s...those ones I still don't have and I'm fine with it. I was smart enough to keep Silver Glow, Golden Glow and Copper Glow, although I didn't realise I had until I found them in the cupboard/attic some years back.

I did also sell off a bunch of G1 MOC a couple of times. Mostly because I decided I didn't want/need ponies on US card because they didn't have any nostalgia for me. I'd gone after childhood ponies like Masquerade and Strawberry Fair, but the cards were different, and so was Strawberry Fair's name. So they went, and I don't regret it. I've since replaced both with UK carded versions. The only one I regret selling was Y3 AJ, because I didn't have her card/accessories loose, nor did I have her loose (I discovered later). But now I do, so it's fine.

I am more reluctant to downsize my MOCs now because of a: decarders and b: cost/hassle. I haven't done much proper selling since before the pandemic, and ebay is not such a useful site anymore.

With other stuff. In the 90s I collected a lot from carboot sales - SheRa, Keypers, Fashion Star Fillies...stuff I couldn't get as a kid but was nostalgic for. I know I sold almost all of the keypers off some years back. I only kept my childhood ones and a couple of others. Likewise with SheRa - I have Netossa, Flutterina (who I call Papillon) and maybe Perfuma still? I don't think I still have the rest. And with the FSF, I sort of regret selling Arielle because she was the one I wanted as a kid, but they are so hard to store. I have a couple that were gifted to me - Dara and Chloe I think - and one of the patterny ones.

I've also acquired and then sold/downsized other collections.

And then there's Jem. At one point I was trying to have a complete Jem collection, and I got pretty close, just missing a handful of the rarer Flipside fashion pieces. But I also realised - mostly from interacting with some greedy Jem fans - that it wasn't making me happy that way. So I took the decision to go through and remove everything I had just for completion sake and sell it. That meant some of the fashions went, and every single Jem/Jerrica and Rio doll except Mexican Jem, who gets to stay because she's a variant and in box. My collection now is all Misfits and Holograms. I kept all the Misfit fashions, and I also have several in custom fashions I made/a couple made by other people. I've maybe two Jetta customs as well, one a reroot and the other a repaint. I have a handful of IT dolls but again, no J-J or Rio. No Holograms either, really, except Aja, because I mostly went after dolls Hasbro didn't make and Misfits.

My collection makes me happier now it's more incomplete.

I think all this basically says that it depends a lot on your collection and how that collection makes you happy

[Flitter]

Thanks for sharing, everyone. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one. I try not to think of any of my past decisions as mistakes, because I had reasoning at the time but I still occasionally question myself. I just recently picked up a new collection too, Rainbow High, and it's caused me to do a lot of reflecting on how I've handled things in the past and how I want my toy collecting to look overall.

[SpacePinto]

I still have all the ponies that I have bought.

[achab1984]

Oh my gosh! Yes, I have sold off almost my whole collection way too many times. I can't even remember how many times now! I have also left this site on and off. But I always seem to come back! LOL

I do now prefer a smaller collection to a big one! I limit how many and can be picky about what I buy.

I have other things in life that I like to save or spend my money on. I am almost 39 and want to think about my future. I find more joy in saving money than spending it! Funny how it changes as we age.

[Flitter]

I do now prefer a smaller collection to a big one! I limit how many and can be picky about what I buy.

I have other things in life that I like to save or spend my money on. I am almost 39 and want to think about my future. I find more joy in saving money than spending it! Funny how it changes as we age.

Right! I am very much there with you, preferring small collections, being super picky, and getting more happiness out of saving money.
I probably overthink when I do want to buy, and especially re-buy, something now though 

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I'm debating going through this now. I have to downsize anyway as I'll have to share my room with another person soon...it would certainly be easier to move a *small* collection than my large one...

I went through my G4 reboot poses. They've all been in a tote bag for a while. I picked out a select few that make me happy to hold and look at them, some that I would feel guilty about giving up, and the rest...well. I'm afraid I'll regret letting them go but I think that's the sunk cost in my head.

[Flitter]

I re-bought my first pony today, g4 Pretzel, and I’m working on my wtb list.
There are a few I had before that I was never terribly fond of that I won’t re-buy but there’s still over 40 I do want to try to find again. It’s a little daunting, but I think I’ll just try to start with a few that seem a bit easier to get still and go from there, and watch out for decent prices on some of the rarer ones over time.
My goal is to get fairly close back to how my collection was here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/3377345/26791343069/in/album-72157676052845327/

[BlackCurtains]

I'm thinking of selling my collection but it's because I need money, not for any other reason. I feel like, I'd greatly regret it.

[pinkkittywinks]

YES! I sold a vast majority of my G3 ponies, only to be buying them back (in loose condition for the most part). I also sold some of my G1 ponies, but have bought a few back including Italy Heartthrob and Night Glider.

Love pkw xxx