Are you an active or retired collector?

[elvenwine26]

I'm retired from collecting but I like to stay active in terms of looking at what's new.  I guess I'm an older member which seems odd to say, since it doesn't feel like I've been here for 7 years. haha. I may occasionally buy a blind bag every 3 months, just because I enjoy the element of surprise, but I usually give those away. 
I used to have 300-500 but now I only have my small collection of 40.  Large collections can be overwhelming, and I had to move mine 3 times in like 2 years...and yeah.  Moving any significant collection multiple times is good incentive to cull the herd as it were.
I think after you've enjoyed collecting ponies for many years, your focus will start to shift to other ways to appreciate your hobby, like through art, and very selected collecting.  The burn of "gotta catch em all" is no longer flowing through your veins!
I also get a kick out of checking out the brag sections and seeing how excited other people are with their awesome finds. :3

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Heh, reading through this thread, it seems I'm the only one insane and crazy enough to want every official piece of MLP merchandise.

[achab1984]

Heh, reading through this thread, it seems I'm the only one insane and crazy enough to want every official piece of MLP merchandise.

There is nothing wrong with that

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Heh, reading through this thread, it seems I'm the only one insane and crazy enough to want every official piece of MLP merchandise.

There is nothing wrong with that

It'd be less stressful is Hasbro didn't decide to have European exclusives. =P

[mlpkatie]

I am active, for only ponies I like. I am mostly active during the winter and spring, and only active in summer for pony fair! I do tend to pick up one or two here and there but that's about it

[babystargazer]

I started collecting back in 2002 or so, so I've long since gotten all the ponies I really wanted.  Haven't actively collected for at least 8 years, though occasionally I'll pick up a lot of ponies to customize or resell.  It kinda goes in waves for me, I'll spend a year or two not thinking about ponies at all, and then a year doing lots of customs and selling.  Rarely, I may keep one from a lot, or buy one in the stores just because I like it.  My collection has pretty much stayed around 100 for the past several years.

[MiRaja]

I'm an off and on collector.  I'll buy ponies for a few months and then I'll drop off for a year or more before getting back into it.  Admittedly, pony collecting is the thriftiest of my collections.  So, when I collect, it's generally because I don't have as much money as I normally do.  I'm not rich or anything, but I'm frugal, and I save well.  I know how to find good deals on things like homegoods, and even groceries, since I cook from scratch ( I have celiac's disease, so no wheat, and I'm too cheap to buy box kits of this and that.  I can literally make pasta from scratch without any flour, just because it's so much cheaper.  ), most of my furniture is antique or vintage, which, surprisingly, is much cheaper than new, and also holds up better AND holds its value. 

So, I collect kimono and antique dolls ( Japanese, American, and German, nothing that is any newer than the 50's, and most being from 1890-1940 ) and they're. . .very expensive.  The kimono aren't so much, but shipping prices out of Japan have gone up so much, and I've collected enough daily wear and dance stuff to manage that I only collect antique and special ( special being Geisha's kimono ) and those ARE expensive, unless I'm sneaky on ebay and spot something no one else has!   But, most of my dolls and antique kimono are worth several hundred dollars a piece, but I can't afford that every month.  Now, with additional bills ( I live somewhere nicer now, since April ) I can't afford that.  Well, I could, but I wouldn't be saving any money.  That's where the ponies have come back in play.  I can buy a nice something one a month that doesn't break the bank.  Heck, most of my spending hasn't even made it to the bank since I've been selling and trading ponies for a lot of these nice somethings.  << >>  Plus, they're small, and shipping isn't so bad. 

So, I'm back for the time! 

[goddessofpeep]

I have been collecting for the majority of my life.  I played with the G1s as a kid, and only really stopped collecting ponies during junior high and high school which was right around the time that they stopped making them.  I started right up again once I found ebay when I got to college:p

I have been collecting pretty consistently since about 1997, and I've been in the pony community since then as well.  I collect all generations, and was able to keep up with the G2s for the most part while they were in stores.  I *really* got serious about collecting the G3s while they were out in stores.  I did slow down considerably when the Core 7/G3.5 thing really was in full force.  I still picked at it, but I didn't go for everything.  When the G4s came out, I got back into the swing of things more.  Now that they've started up with the "we're only releasing the Mane 6" thing again, I've backed off a bit.  I have space issues, and I just can't store it all.  I'm currently going through my collection, and boy is it going to be interesting trying to get everything to fit! 

I also used to like to pick up a lot of non-pony merchandise, but space issues and cost issues have curtailed that quite a bit as well.  I also have several secondary collections, the biggest being Doctor Who.  That draws quite a bit from my pony collecting at times.  So, from the time I got my first pony in about 1983/84 until now, the only time that ponies were not coming into the house was when I was in junior high/high school.  Other than that, I've always collected, though some times the pony flow has gone down to a trickle:p  I also sometimes focus on a particular subset of ponies.  I had a good year of buying LOTS of petites.  Almost all my pony purchases were petites.  I eventually finished my set(minus any stray variants I  find), but it took a while.  I'll sometimes find a new set of something I want, and I'll just go for it until it's complete.  I'm also going through my collection looking for things that need upgrading or holes I didn't know I had.  Once I know what I need, THAT hunt should keep me busy for a while!  And since I collect all sorts of things from all generations, I don't think I'll ever run out of stuff to get:p

[fingerpaints]

Retired here too, I had a huge collection a few years ago, but some life changing events made me want to purge the majority of it. I do still occasionally pick the odd pony / pony plush up, but it's very rare. I have a very modest collection of around probably 20 all up, and they are all I want unless something takes my fancy.

I still hang around because I do still enjoy pony things, and also like to help some of my pony pals get their hands on some of the G4 stuff they may not be able to grab themselves, or stuff from evil bay in my area to send off to them.

Also the new line although I approve, has gone a little too "trendy" for my likings.

[achab1984]

Heh, reading through this thread, it seems I'm the only one insane and crazy enough to want every official piece of MLP merchandise.

There is nothing wrong with

It'd be less stressful is Hasbro didn't decide to have European exclusives. =P

Totally agree with you on that!

[RavenWolf]

Heh, reading through this thread, it seems I'm the only one insane and crazy enough to want every official piece of MLP merchandise.

Your not the only one, I'm the same way, I collect anything and ever thing MLP from all generations.
At the moment I'm in between, well I'm not actively collecting or doing anything with my pony displays, I do pick up every pony I find second hand with the very, very rare new purchase from a store. Every pony I do get gets dumped into the not sorted MLP stuff bins. I've been collecting like that for a few years now. I'm starting to get more into them again here recently and have been thinking about tackling the to sort bins, weeding out duplicates and updating the checklists. Just need to find a free week as its amazing how many MLPs you can amass when your not paying attention. (4 huge bins of ponies O.o )

So long story longer lol I'm an active retired collector that's thinking about coming out of retirement, if I can find the time LOL

I think taking breaks from collecting is a good way to keep from getting burnt out.

[ashlite]

I collected as a kid and spent the past few years buying the assorted limited edition art ponies and the sdcc ponies. This year I went to the Pony Fair for my first time and I have to say it's re-ignited my pony collecting full force! I don't plan to collect them all or get into the merch though. I've been working on collecting the various baby ponies, the big brothers and family sets, as well as whatever G1s catch my eye. And of course I'm still trying to complete my limited edition ponies from before. It's getting closer!