oh help me please, pony crisis

[Jemstar666]

Ypour collection is wonderful, I love your blindbag display unit! I must admit I am annoyed that I have missed out on some waves of brushables,(i had the entire wave including lulu luck and lily blossom in my hands and decided to not buy them that day in store) never saw them again, and also very limited on what comes in stock in local stores and if we miss out out to pay tenfold on ebay, including tru and international exclusives, to me it makes my set incompletable, even if they are my daughters and they dont care they missing a few it botherrs me lol

[hathorcat]

First

Second - do not stress about it, almost every single collector on here will admit to having had a moment or moments about wondering whether to keep collecting. No matter what brings it on, it happens. So you are not alone.

I completely understand the G4 burn out; if Hasbro had continued to release ponies the same way they did in the first playful ponies waves - different characters - then I would still be 100% all guns blazing and buying every single wave. But unfortunately the core 6 continued release has slowed me down and I am only picking up unique sets, such as Mrs Cakes bakery, etc. G4s are super common and as time goes on, kids grow up and some bronies/collectors move on the second hand market is going to be flooded. You think G3s have a low value...wait until all those Pinkies hit ebay So if you do take a back seat for a while and skip several months of releases, you will no doubt be able to pick them up again in the future if you decide to come back to the gen.

My advice on whether to sell or keep would be the same as with any other generation; pack them out of sight or cover them up out of the way. If you miss them...then you are not ready to sell. If you are not that fussed by their absence and find that the space allows you to display other collections you enjoy more then perhaps you could sell on those you are least attached to.

There is no wrong and no right answer, my strongest advice would be just take your time over it and dont rush into a decision. In this case prevaricating is a needed skill

[ravengusty]

 

I think everyone at some time gets a little disenchanted with collecting, I myself occasionally feel that niggle (usually when cash is low or ebay prices are high). And some of us get close to selling off our collections, some even go through that process. Sometimes needs must, like an unexpected bill, college fees, a new baby, moving house. So many things can cause that reaction.

I chose the wait and see option I think. Sit back and think about what those bits of plastic mean to you, they mean different things to all of us. I am myself fond of the nostalgia and reminder of early childhood when life was sunshine and rainbows for the most part. And black clouds were forgotten when I put myself in Ponyland writing silly stories about ponies.

I experience similar woes now and again with collecting Monster High dolls as I myself find some of them way pricier over here than in America. And availability is more often than not total rubbish.

Maybe take a breather from the actual collecting and just appreciate what you have already got for a month or two and then decide what you want to do. You have a lovely set up with those ponies. I like to rearrange things now and again which often renews my inspiration. I hope you keep your collection as often folks regret giving them up but whatever you do we're all here for you 

[UrocyonFox]

*gasp* your collection is so beautiful!!!

I think everyone is frustrated with the lack of new g4s. You could always do what I do when I get bummed theres not more, make customs of them!

[Sabrina]

Oh don't sell your collection. It's just too beautiful! It'd be so sad to see such cute ponies who are displayed so beautifully get sold.

I know what you mean about collecting G4s. There never seems to be new stock in the stores here in Australia either. I still haven't found any EG dolls here. And it's so sad that the set with Princess Luna is a US exclusive.
Pony collecting can be very frustrating at times.

This is what my husband saids to me whenever I get disheartened about my collection, "Just stop and enjoy the ponies you have for a little while". After awhile of spending time with my ponies I always remember why I love them and wanted to collect them in the first place.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Starly]

give them all to me


i will never be able to get every G4 pony I want, and even limiting myself on blind bags and every funko release aside from the main vinyl line doesn't help much as I want all the EQG dolls and variatons of brushables, and the plushies.

sucks having to pass by AJ and Octavia plushies at walmart, hoping they'll be there next time. :[

inb4 they are never there again

[Pony_Mama]

I think the exclusive releases are a problem for everyone, not just those of you overseas. I need Star Swirl and Rainbow Flash but I can not justify dropping $100 to buy and ship them to me (Star Swirl @ $30, Rainbow Flash @ $45 plus overseas shipping- it's pushing $100  ). That's just crazy! And here in the US, the Canterlot Castle set exclusive at Costco- I'm not a Costco member, I don't have a Costco close by- so what am I supposed to do? It frustrating for sure.

I agree with many of the other posters too. More characters, Hasbro!!! How many mane 6 does one person need? I only collect one of every character so I'm bored with re-releases. Give me background characters by the dozens  I'll buy them! And BOY ponies! Please! Give me a brushable Big Mac- Yup!

[Flitter]

What a beautiful collection.
You've gotten some great advice so far but I want to say something as well because I've too been picking things up off the shelf, looking at them and deciding I don't really need to buy it a lot lately. (The glittery Fashion Style Rainbow Dash & Princess Twilight Sparkle set, Princess Twilight Sparkle nightlight, glittery Pinkie Pie's Boutique Pinkie Pie...I'm really undecided on them and keep picking them up and putting them back.) I've kinda come to the conclusion that if I don't absolutely love/want it or am not really excited to find it, that it doesn't need to be in my collection and I don't need to spend the $. I'm getting tighter on space as well. If you still enjoy the G4 you do have, there's no reason to stop collecting completely because you're not in love with all the new stuff that in stores at the moment though. Possibly you could sell just the things you have that maybe you are not so in love with to make more room in your display if you are feeling overwhelmed. That's kinda what I've started doing, selling off my doubles and variations that aren't my favorites and limiting what I am buying to only new characters and the ponies I really like. 

[Tap Dancer]

When in doubt, do nothing! Don't sell anything unless you're 100% sure you don't want it, and you know you won't have any regrets later on.

[gypsyunicorn]

you could express yourself artisticly and even take creative pictures of some of them in the meantime

[ringwraith10]

You have such a gorgeous collection! I would say be happy with what you have now, and focus on other things while Hasbro gets their act together in giving us more brushable G4s. But if you really, truly feel that you will never love G4s again -- and if you're sure about that decision -- then you can sell them. Or box them and make room for other ponies. But I think you have an amazing collection and would hate to see that passion go to waste!

[UrocyonFox]

you could express yourself artisticly and even take creative pictures of some of them in the meantime

I love this idea!

[Marlin]

Ok... first up, I'll admit I'm not a G4 lover, but your collection display is SO pretty! Nicely done 

Chin up, hun. I agree with the others in that we all get disillusioned at times. I had my first bout of it since I started collecting just recently. I had a realllllly sour pony deal go down which gave my confidence a knock, one of my daughters had a nasty accident right around then and this was all just as my other daughter started school... so I think a combination of things IRL and pony related stuff just got me wondering... WHY?

But now... (admittedly after doing a bit of a reality check and selling off some ponies I had for the sake of having and not really loving) I've picked up. I really do love my collection, and after staring at them endlessly in inner debate and wondering if I should just sell up the lot, I realised that I just couldn't part with them!

So I say wait. Sit on it a bit, and then when you've had a bit of a break and time to clear your head, reassess where your pony priorities lie. As Hathorcat prudently said, many of the ones you can't get right now might be more accessible later.

 

[shabbychicdee]

aww again i just love everyone's comments   thank you all so so much. your input is all so valuable to me and i have enjoyed reading and taking everyone's advice

yes i would hate to regret selling half my g4 herd. i just recently got all my g1 stuff...well most of it. out on display finally after having it in box's for years and every now then then getting it out then it goes back away but this set up is for a long time and i have really appreciated them. 
i have now packed away all brushables and FS only thing left out is the blind bags untill i decide what to do with them.
i must say it has been really disheartening not getting the exciting brushable waves like we used to, that is what i first started collecting from the g4 line, i really miss those, blossom forth and flitterheart days 
another thing is the wait from china for things to arrive now has been a right turn up and trying to bid on things like the new minty, cupcake/bubbles pony and queen chrysalis have been really hard, they are still going up so high.
i really like the ideas of packing it away, not seeing it for a while, see if i miss it and in the mean time trying my hand at some customs with all those double ups

thank you everyone for your lovely compliments too 

hey too in this waiting period i might actually be able to save 

[Epona]

I have a few different things that i collect as well as a lot of family heirlooms. I dont have enough room to display all of my collections at the same time. So there are always more things packed away than what is out. I rotate which collections are out and in which rooms. When i get bored with a certain collection i pack it up and pull something else out and display it. When I pull something out that has been packed away for awhile its a great feeling, its like getting it for the first time again, and seeing an old friend you havent seen in a while all at once.
My advice is to display something else you enjoy until you get tired of looking at it. Its like re-decorating without the expense.
Even if you never buy another pony it doesnt mean that you cant enjoy the ones you have and have to get rid of them. And if a year, or five years from now you feel like displaying the ponies again just to look at them, you will be able to pull out that beautiful display and enjoy them.