New poll: are you a picky collector?

[NoPonySpecial]

Not picky at all! The only flaw that I really have trouble with is head/body mismatch, but I'm even getting over that; once I give the pony a nice bandanna or necklace, I don't notice it anymore.

[daffodil101]

I think I've become picker over time.  When I was younger, going to flea markets back in the heyday condition was no object, just the magic of finding a real MLP.  Now even though I have the majority of ponies in my collection, I can't seem to resist upgrading to mintier ponies.  Though there is something very fulfilling about restoration... sunfading, magic-eraser-ing, hair styling.  I'm about to start learning to re-hair (just got my parcel from Dollyhair!) so we'll see if I'm any good at it. 

When I have sold a poorer condition pony and replaced it, I've definitely felt that twinge of sadness as flaws somehow give a pony personality.  I had a manky baby Ruby and got a new minty one, but the manky pony seemed to have such a history, if that makes any sense.   A couple of childhood ponies I opened came with marks on them from the factory, and somehow knowing that it had come to me that way made it different than if I had damaged it myself, it was sort of special..

So.... sometimes

[Tropical_Sunset]

Depends on how new the pony is.  Flaws are more forgivable on G1-G2 ponies.  Much less so on G3-G4.

[reanna-mator]

Nope! All ponies need love, even if in baity condition. I'll try to get ponies in decent condition, but if a pony not being perfect helps me get a bargain, then I'm okay with it. I've only bought two upgrades so far: Lemon Drop and Posey, hardly pricey girls.

[Radiance]

Nah, I'm not too picky. I'll take any G1 unicorn pony regardless of condition, and I'll take earth & pegasus ponies with just about any flaw except major chews.

[Ledbyrd]

I don't think I'm that picky. I kind of decide pony to pony. For example, if a pony has super nice hair and symbols but an initial under the foot, I don't care. I usually don't like hair cuts and I really don't like eye rubs. But it does depend on the pony for sure. If it's a rare one that I really, really want I might buy it anyway.

[Skeen]

On "common" ponies I'm less picky but for the money I spend on variants the pony better be as close to mint (or highly fixable!) as possible! 

I don't mind initials under the hooves or a factory flaw, but I will not accept haircuts. 

[DalaPony]

I'm a bit picky. I don't like age spots very much, or major damage to the eyes and symbols, but I don't mind smaller flaws and marks that can be cleaned up a bit with a magic eraser. I'm also learning to rehair, so I don't mind ponies that need a bit of work in that department either. It's nice when you get a pony that's been played with and is obviously someone's childhood toy, you can tell the pony has a history and that someone has loved it 

[Rhubarbpie]

I am not too bad I think!!  I have some ponies in my collection with bad cancer spots (poor Chief  ) others with hair cuts (Gypsy has a rather becoming cropped bob), in my eyes, the rarer the pony, the more flaws I will accept.

I do have qualms about hair cuts though. If I can get around it by some clever re-styling and shaping (like I did with Gypsy who had a big chunk hacked out, so I got to work with my own scissors and got a nice cropped bob going) or if the trim is only slight (like a centimeter off the tail) then I can accept it. However, a totally buzz cut pony or something like that, then sorry, I cannot re-hair a pony so its not something I can fix.

[Katika]

I am a pretty picky collector when it comes to G3s or later generations.  G1s and G2s, I'm pretty lenient with flaws.  The only things that bother me on the older generations are chew marks/punctures, missing body parts, significant discoloration and hardened bodies.  I'm pretty tolerant of even relatively significant symbol/eye/blush flaws and cut hair doesn't bother me in the slightest (if it's bad enough that I think it's better to just rehair, that's fine, because I find reharing as strangely therapeutic ).

[SunPony]

I'm not too picky, especially about hair because I don't mind rehairing/having rehaired ponies that much.  But I avoid the dreaded age spots/pony cancer if possible, and prefer undamaged symbols (for both, esp on display side).

[partypony566]

I love reading all the responses! it seems that most people can be picky but depends on the flaw.

[ringlets_]

I'm more picky than I was.  I'm primarily a thrift store hunter right now.  I do collect all generations, but I have a lot of ponies in good condition and don't always have a lot of time to nurse everyone I find back to health.  Most of the US G1 ones I need are mail order and most of the ones I need to upgrade are not in bad shape themselves.   Also I think there are some newer collectors in my hunting range, so sometimes I'll pass a borderline one by the first time round and pick it up if it is still there the next week.

Smokey ponies have always been a turn off.  Excessive marks and buzz-cuts usually stay behind too because I'm not really a customizer.

[Wrenniepooh]

If I'm buying a pony for my collection, I'm going to look for the mintiest one I can find or afford. If I find one I don't have in my collection "in the wild" at a flea market or thrift store, I am okay with the flaws, but consider it a placeholder, and it will eventually be upgraded and replaced at some point.

I'm a sucker for original, super pink fading pink hair.

[Honeycomb]

The longer I collect, the pickier I am becoming. Especially when I am about to spend let's say more than 20 EUR on a pony, I am very picky.