Collection status

[pony_magick]

Is anyone else at the stage when looking through photos of pony lots for sale that 90% of them you already have?   

The ponies I'm sort of looking for aren't rare, hard to find or anything else, most of them are quite common but it seems that lots only have the extremely common ponies in them now days or I have too many ponies to start with. Sometimes I think it's easier to focus on getting accessories for the ponies I do have rather than go looking for new ponies.

How do you guys feel about the status of your collection? Is every pony you see one you don't have or are you at the 'fun' middle or end stage that you're looking for  ponies that are better found as individuals rather than in big lots?

[poniesthatsparkle]

As I get more and more ponies, I am finding it harder to find lots that don't include anything I already have. Most of my ponies are very common and easy to find, they end up in nearly every lot. I have about 300 ponies, and finding duplicates at thrift stores, flea markets, and eBay is just second nature for me.

I've learned that if you see a pony you want in a lot full of ponies you already have,  buy the lot and resell the unwanted ponies or trade them with someone to get more ponies you want. You could even get upgrades of ponies you already have! Duplicates aren't always a bad thing.

[DazzleKitty]

Most of the ones I need now are at least $100 or more. I have all of the commons from the US and lots of European ones. I really need mainly mail order ponies or nirvanas. It is cool to reach this level in my collection but sometimes it leaves you sort of "bored", because there is nothing new to get unless you want to shell out lots of money.  I am really wishing the G4 line would make more ponies that I want.

[Safflower]

I'm still at the stage where every pony I see is one I don't have. I'm 99% sure I've answered "don't have" to every POTD! I mainly collect G1. I actually have quite a few of them, about thirty plus a couple playsets and other big G1 items, but there are so many ponies! I look at other people's collections and go "your collection is about ten to twenty times the size of mine." I still feel mine is at the status of newbie because it looks like I just bought a couple of lots, but I've been collecting for a year and a half, lol. I don't buy on eBay, only thrift stores, so it's understandable how slow my collection grows

[pony_magick]

I have to either buy on eBay or from members on here. I don't find ANY ponies in the wild at all, not even G4s (and I only collect G1s) and it's really hard for me to sell the ones I have duplicates of as some of them as in really bad condition or people don't like buying common ponies Internationally that they can find in their own cities. At the moment these really bad ones are used for my nieces to play with (ages 4 and 3), though the youngest really likes FIM and doesn't have a clue about the G1s I have.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Not quite at that point with G1-3 yet, but any old G4 lots it's a lot of the same stuff for me.
I have come across a few doubles of G1s that I already have once, which was strange to experience for the first time.

[achab1984]

I am very slowly getting to that point where most the lots that I see on ebay have almost all of the ones that I have. I don't have very many special ones yet. There has also been many lots of ponies that I have been trying to get and always get out bided. I cant get over what some people are paying for these little ponies!

I do end up buying lots and just fix up the others and re list them to try to recoup some of the money I spent on the ponies. 

[applejackbunny]

My G1 collection is at the point where I only have the expensive/rare ponies left to get and that's taking a lot of time because, well, they either don't come up very often (e.g. Crumpet) and when they do, they go for silly money (e.g. Lemon Treats). I'd also like to get the Peachy version of My Pretty Pony and one or two of the winged Dream Beauties, but again, they're expensive! So...I'm enjoying being patient.

My G2 collection is probably only about half complete because I started collecting them much later and I don't prioritise it. G1 is my main focus.

G3s...well, there are just so many! It also isn't a priority. I have all the Winter Series ponies MIB and a few dozen others loose that I really like but, realistically, I'm going to have to be really picky and only buy G3s that are super special in one way or another, or they'll take over all the space I have left (which isn't much!).

I'm pleased to say that I got stuck into collecting G4s fairly early on so I only need a couple (Sweetsong, Buttonbelle...) and the standard size brushables are only little so they can all fit in one small box and live on top of my wardrobe without taking up much space! 

I don't much like the reboot ponies and won't be buying any, unless a really special one comes along...

I doubt I'll bother collecting G5 if and when it comes out, especially if they will insist on relying on the mane 6 characters over and over as they did with G4, so I do feel as if my collecting days are beginning to wind down. I am actually looking forward to a time when I can just focus on Nirvanas and get one or two really special ponies every so often, and just sit back and admire my collection without stressing about the gaps in it, lol! 'Cos, you know, OCD... 

[NightGliderSA]

I don't have that many ponies, but there are some that seem to come up lot after lot right now and I can't justify the shipping for a lot where half of those ponies are already in my herd. I did manage to buy 4 the other day where I was the only person who bid on them and then the nice seller combined them in one shipment. So it was a sort of 'self-made' lot with no duplicates. Cost a bit more than just buying a ready-made (as it were) lot though. I am trying to be more picky though as the only way that ponies leave my home once they arrive is as gifts to very good friends. Hence I have 4 - yes FOUR - Cotton Candy's.

[lockette]

I have a pretty good-sized collection (300ish) and more often than not, lots are 75%+ ponies I either already have or know that I don't want. a lot of times there's one or two in there that I'd like, but it's not worth dealing with the rest of the lot and everything usually needs cleaned, anyway.  I just don't have the time or attention span to clean and flip a bunch of ponies.

there's still quite a few common/basic ponies that I want in my collection, but I am getting to where most of my wishlist is ponies that go for $40+ and those just aren't in lots very often.  lots were awesome when I was first getting started collecting, though!

[SkyCakes]

I have reached that point as well. I am very selective to what I go after when it comes to G1s unless its the euro collection I have lots left on that list. I do look for lots sometimes I can find one pony in it that I may need and sometimes I need some spares to trade.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I've been there for a very long time.  Don't spend much effort looking at eBay these days, especially lots.

[Leave a Whisper]

Huh. I guess I'm roughly halfway there. Sure doesn't feel like it. 80 ponies is my current count.

[Taffeta]

Is anyone else at the stage when looking through photos of pony lots for sale that 90% of them you already have?   

I have been in this position since about the year 2000, thanks to carboot sales and a lot of trading done between 1998 and 2000.

I don't really collect Nirvana, and my G1 wantlist is horrendous, short and too expensive for me to even afford :/

But I do still have the love for MIP ponies and the hunt for them on rarer UK cards like my childhood collection. And I am obsessed with backcards, especially again the rarer UK ones, so that keeps me going.

I have had breaks from the community. Now I tend to keep ponies that are variations on those I already have if I get them by coincidence. I have a serious problem with space though. I literally have 2 MOC ponies and a ponywear MOC sitting on top of the pony shelves waiting for me to reorganise my MIP stuff to fit them in safely :'( Oh for a pony room.

So yeah, I am very familiar with the sensation you're feeling. I don't actually think more common ponies are coming up in lots, but the thing is that you have to weigh up the expense of the lot vs the ponies you need in it, and it becomes less economical the fewer ponies you need in that lot. So it just feels like the internet is more flooded with more common ponies than it was previously The reality is you're just getting a bigger collection and your target ponies are probably not going to all come up in the same lot together and that's where it's tricky

I have to admit my G4 collection has been slowly growing without my really paying attention to it. I counted them up the other day and I make it around 55, which was way more than I thought I had O.O. I won't pay a lot for G4 and I mostly avoid the mane 6 which helps, but yeah, they're breeding  :/ THat said, I don';t have any G4 I am especially looking for. If one comes up or I find it at a second hand sale, fine, but I don't go looking at lots of G4 for specific ponies either :/

When I do buy a lot of G1 I usually end up selling on the ones I don't need so the amount I pay has to mean I can break even on the lot when I'm done reselling. That's my general criteria.

We have to expect that G1 will slowly diminish though. There are already a lot fewer on the wild second hand market than there were back in the nineties. Eventually I guess ebay and such sites will be the same...sad thought :/

[Shy Violet]

I don't look at lots very often and have only bought a few in the last couple years but when I do look, I find that I own too many of the ponies to make it worth it. I think my G1 count was around the 250 mark last time I did inventory so there's still plenty I don't have but I feel like the same commons are in every lot lately. I'm in a state now that I tend to look for ponies individually and watch for good prices. I've stopped buying commons online because I inevitably find them in thrift stores and I'm not very good at getting rid of my doubles.