How patient of a collector are you?

[achab1984]

I am both! I can wait for some things and cant wait for other things. I had to get Mrs Cake and the new by on ebay. I could not wait for them to come out even if they do come out. As for most G4 ponies I wait till they show up in the store. I do not do pre-orders anymore, I cant wait and it kills me to sit and look at the order. I did buy Sunset shimmer on Hasbro when it was listed. I could not wait for that one. Well ok maybe I am not that good at waiting.......

But it is killing me waiting for the new Plush Funrise Rarity, Applejack and Octavia!!!! Not sure how you spell that?

[DazzleKitty]

I just wait until they arrive in stores. It's more exciting that way.

[StarlightGaze]

I usually wait until they are in stores or available online.

[Iris Patch]

Just thought of another reason to wait til they hit the stores... so you can pick out the one with the best paint job! I went through like twelve mini fig sets to find my nearly-perfect Photo Finish. She just has a glob of cocaine white paint on her nose, it was the lesser of twelve evils and should be easy to remove if I ever feel like it.

[kiwimlp]

I am generally happy to wait for G4s to be released in stores.  Saying that, many of my favourites have never been released in my country

[Sarah-Bee]

I'm a taobaoer 

[Aitsuki]

Mmm, either in store or preorder. Because I have such awful luck with stores here.... I was searching for the fan favorites collection for WEEKS last year before finally ordering it.

[little.fox]

I'm not hugely into G4, I will pick up the ones I love either straight from the shop or maybe "comission" someone abroad to pick it up from me since it takes a while for stuff to reach us.

I am also rather picky about paint jobs and factory errors, so I prefer to buy at sight.

[mlp4me]

I had to choose other... I've yet to buy any new release ponies over the last decade...

[LadySatine]

In the store for these ones because I'm collecting them MIB. But if I do find them in the thrift shop I buy them for customs.

[Flitter]

I do try to be patient and just wait for everyone to hit stores, but it's sure hard to trust Hasbro sometimes... They really seem to like to make gorgeous ponies and then never release them. But generally, if I see the pony in official packaging, I just wait for it to come out. (I hope I don't regret getting Molasses and Mrs. Cake early!)

This is how I'm starting to feel. In my case though I'm hoping I don't regret NOT getting 'baby Molasses' and Mrs. Cake early. 

Just thought of another reason to wait til they hit the stores... so you can pick out the one with the best paint job!

This is a good point and actually part of my reasoning too. Twice I've bought off hasbrotoyshop.com and both times I've received a pony with a defect in my order. I like to scrutinize them for flaws in person if I can. I'm always afraid the taobao/ebay ones are factory rejects too and am so afraid of getting a messed up one.

[popyduggan]

I wait for retail, but it's been stale for about 3 months.

In fact I've had hundreds of dollars in-wallet to buy something for so long and it's still there(minus gas $)because stores won't replenish or be caught up until May. It's like Grim's Toy Show with his, "empty shelf shuffle".

[lupachiotta]

Well I'm fairly new to collecting again. I just picked things up in walmart and if it had already been released and was no longer in stores....I went to ebay. But now with new things coming out...like with the new small BB size three packs...I can't imagine myself being very patient with the ones I really want. Rainbow Dash as Wonderbolt anyone?  Especially since there are tumbleweeds blowing through the MLP aisles around here...

[cloud_weaver]

It really depends on what it is, how much I want it, and what condition I want it in.  =)  If it's an exclusive (SDCC, Fair, etc) I will try to nab them right away before the market soars.

If it's something I love and want MOC/MIB, I'll buy it when it hits the stores - most of the time using a coupon or discount. =P

But for the most part, if I want it loose, I'll wait for the garage sales/thrift stores.  ^_^  I'm pretty patient!!!

[banditpony]

If I find a pony I know I have to have, but I'm unsure if it'll really be released-- I'll go the taobao route. My luck is that the ones I want want won't be released (like translucent AJ, sigh).

I really do love my white FS Celestia (and really am forever grateful to the sweet girl who made that happen for me <3). So u__u; I'm semi happy people (including myself) have been able to snag up things off of taobao. :/

With that said, there has been no urge for anything lately... So I pick them up second hand for cheap if I see them...

Haha, so this means I'm on both ends!