passing fan or maniac obsessed!!

[Silver Glade]

so on the site i feel like the lower end of the spectrum or fandom, but at work everyone thinks i'm pony obessed and it's all i think about. it's too weird.

That's exactly me.  My family and friends think I'm MLP obsessed, and if I bring it up in conversation with a new acquaintance, they usually think "collector" means I must have hundreds of pony toys taking up half the rooms in my house! 

The reality is that I only have about 70ish ponies in a single tote box, along with miscellaneous merchandise like coloring books, stickers etc.  I cycle some of them in a display atop my computer desk a few times annually - like seasonal/holiday ponies at the appropriate time of year, etc.  I consider myself a "collector" due to my childhood nostalgia, my interest in the cartoons, and the friendliness of the collector community.   

[Ringlets]

I think I can safely say I'm the "obsessed" scale of things when it comes to ponies ...I have well over 1000, all gens and um.. actually I lost count years ago so I reckon it might be double that...     
 but
ponies are not my only obsession. I love Disney Frozen and Tangled and also  EAH.
I have plenty other hobbies and interests too but those are my top toy obsessions.
I don't care if people think I'm obsessed or not - I'm totally open about it now

[Dreamer]

I'm... a weird fan. I'm not a fan of shows, I prefer G1 ponies, and I only want to collect three.

[Sarah-Bee]

I get called "crazy pony lady" (as well as crazy cat lady lol) so I think that sums up what others think of my collecting. I sort of agree. It's my personality that adds the "crazy" part to that because I'm pretty extroverted but if I look at the way I collect it's very organised and there is method to the madness. I definitely fit into what I've heard some refer to as "hardcore collector" so I think that's a good description of me and my pony collecting

[LightingElectricDream]

For me it's just a little wisk back into chiledhood, like thinking of the box artwork and watching the shows, playing the G2 game ect..

It's my happy place, I have a small amount of mlp yet good sized. Others call me obsessed and think I'd fill a room. But that's not how I feel.

And I've gotten the get a life look, but again it's not a obsession it's like taking a little vacation from the world. Everyone dose this it's alwase with something difrent, gardening, TV, Books, fixing cars, basball, football, thair animals..ect.

I personally choose to collect G1 ponies.

Difrences is none really, people alway have something.

[Chi]

Quietly obsessed.
There's a reason my family will never know how much I spend on nirvana Poseys and never will unless they check my paypal statements. I did recently admit to my SO how much a trade I did was worth, but they didn't judge as much as I thought. However, that's just one trade.
I'm a bit ashamed, I admit it. I just remind myself that they're also investments, even though they'll never be sold again. 
My collection has been significantly downsized, that might add to the acceptance of my family.

[Snix]

Bit obsessed i think (yesterday i counted mi 100 g4 in my collection, alongside with my more or less 30 g1 and 23 g3) But i like to disconnect sometimes despite all my deep love for the franchise, focusing in my other collections and hobbies (collecting old videconsoles and retro games)

I remember a very useful advice who i heard time ago: The best way for love a thing with true passion along the years...is have a lot of friends who hate it for disconnect healthy from time to time xd

[wondermintUK]

A quietly obsessed dedicated collector   I collect all of the generations and though I enjoy the cartoons, it is really all about the toys for me.  I would have a pony room if my house was big enough.  MLP is (almost) the only thing that I collect because it takes up every spare inch of space and I couldn't bear to get rid of any ponies in favour of something else (actually other collections got sold off in order to make way for more ponies)  

[banditpony]

I don't know where I would be.

I'm very selective and I keep my collection under 40 ponies (G1s and G4s)-- and that number is getting smaller. I just don't want a ton of ponies. I'm also not scared to spend $$$ on a HTF Nirvana.

[ringwraith10]

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "I just own a few ponies and mostly watch the show" and 10 is "I need another Rapunzel for my Rapunzel army" I'd probably scale in at a 7 or 8. I have hundreds of ponies of all generations, but I honestly don't put as much money into the hobby as the most dedicated collectors. I've just been scouring yard sales and things for 20+ years and the ponies add up that way. I do buy ponies on Ebay and other places like that, but I don't really see myself realistically ever owning a Rapunzel. Unless I somehow fall into a lot of money or someone I know gets rich and gives me extravagant gifts.

[Elisto]

I suppose it depends just how we're defining obsessed. I've been collecting almost since the beginning, have a fairly large (and growing) collection of ponies, accessories, and other items, and finding ponies, etc. second-hand makes me really excited and happy, so pony-hunting is something I do weekly, and I'd love to one day have a pony room of some kind. I like the G1 and G4 shows as well and draw fanart, plus I hang out here ^_^ . So I'm certainly not a casual fan.

But despite all that, I don't know that I'd really call myself obsessed. MLP is not my primary fandom and I don't actually spend a whole lot of time thinking about it outside of when I'm here or spending that 20 min a week (at most) at the thrift store. I also almost never look for ponies or pony art online and don't like spending much money on them anyway. It's a fun hobby that I do spend time on each week, but I try to make it pay for itself through online sales of my duplicates as much as I can. I don't really have grails or particular ponies I'm looking for at any given time, and more valuable ones don't appeal to me any more than less valuable ones. I'd like to have rarer ones just because it's cool, but I don't care that much either. And, as much as I like the cartoons and care about the portrayal of the franchise and characters, I'm not too strongly emotionally invested in them either, compared to other series I like.

Like ringwraith, I'd probably also rate myself a 7 or 8, so I'm a serious, involved fan, but not really obsessed. I'd have to point to my Sonic fan-ish-ness for that kind of obsession

[Saber-Toothed Crow]

I would call myself a 'comfortable collector'. Ocasionally I have bursts of pony must-haveness, but for the most time I approach the hobby very casually and just grab what I happen to be interested in at the time. I'm not huge on merch outside of the actual ponies, so I don't feel the need to get everything pony-related. I also have other collections I work on as well, and I approach them in the same manner. Sometimes one collection is a little more in my mind than the others, but for the most part I approach them all in an equal manner. I'm just comfortable plugging along at my own pace, hence the 'comfortable' collector title.

[Tenar]

I would say in between, I love rescuing old ponies and cleaning them up.  But I don't want to hang on to them for too long as there isn't a lot of room in my house.  I like the idea of passing them along to collectors who can appreciate them and take care of them.

I do like buying some of the G4 items like the build-a-bears they are awesome.  But not every item.

[GustyFox]

I don't know what I'm, my heart keep changing about it. I think I achieved my collector goal a while ago, I had a pony room for a couple years, had all the Brazilian ponies and about 500 others. There is still a collector in me, there are sets that I would like to compleat (like Funkos) just because I don't like uncomplete sets but I'm downsizing and avoiding the super expensive ponies I used to love before.

But it all may change. The better fun is collecting, hunting ponies, talking to people. Having them all is not as important to me anymore, so once most of the herd is gone I may feel the urge to start collecting them all over again.

[rosierjay]

I have to agree. i think the part of ponies that appeals to me more now is the community.
especially the arena. its just nice to be able to share things and tell how you feel without fear of judgement.