What Makes You Lose Interest In Ponies? . . .

[doxiechic16]

I think I go through phases with ponies.  I’ll get really excited about the hunt for a particular pony or ponies, go on a spending spree, and then I’ll cool off for a while and just casually lurk on the Arena and ebay.  I’ve taken long breaks after FINALLY getting a major grail – I guess I think, “Now that I have her, what else could I possibly want?”  (Also, major grail purchases tend to involve lots of $$$$ and may warrant a break from actively collecting.)  Things going on in real life (busy with work, family things, additional personal expenses, a new video game, a new book series, etc.) will take my attention away from collecting, too.

This Godfather meme is pretty accurate for how my collecting habits go:

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[Karma]

I have PTSD, and one of my triggers is styling size Rainbow Dash G3, Styling Pinkie G3.5 and one other pony I have a hard time remembering at the moment. When I see them, I panic and have a hard time thinking of ponies in a positive light.
Luckily that fades pretty quickly.

[ponycake]

Bad deals.  High Shipping costs.  Not finding anything in the second hand stores.  No Time to check the second hand stores.


Bad Deals - Bought a few MOC or MIB's off ebay.  MOC Magic Hat's bubble cracked in shipping.  MOC Baby Katie and Friend were packaged so badly they came off the card and the seller claimed "not my fault".  MIB Oakley was taken from the package, played with and put back in (this was from a very reputable seller).

All in all, that worked out to about $400 lost.  Yea, I still got the ponies, but I paid for XX and got xx and had to fight with sellers, with no resolution.  I don't like fighting with people, which makes collecting less enjoyable.

High shipping costs - I lived in Canada and ebay switched it's shipping to priority only for international buyers if the seller want to be insured.  Lovely!  that means the $15 pony I bought is now $32+ b/c of shipping.  And then there are those that won't even ship international.....sigh.  I wonder how that's worked out for the sellers?

Not finding anything the in Second Hand Market/ Not having time to go the second hand stores - I used to go to toy shows three times a year.  Someone else pays $50 to get in early and buys all the ponies.  And then my job turned into 10 hours days, which met I had no time to go second hand shopping.  It also meant that I had no time to go through ebay (where shipping costs are now too much) or scour the boards for things I'd like.

I guess that means collecting is all about the collecting for me. 

I know how you feel. I got a MIB Pony Bride, I forget which one. Her veil came loose in shipping and it's slumped in there and her hair's kind of covering her face. Feels like a waste. I should open the box up to fix it really, I don't like looking at it otherwise. I also had a MOC Baby Katie come and get more damaged in shipping, funny (in the odd way) that you did too. Then someone sent a flutter just wrapped in paper and that got a little crushed (not badly), and I got these awesome 80s MLP kids shoes NIB and that seller did the same thing, wrapped it in paper and sent it so the shoe box was all nice and new but got all crushed down. URGH. And less expensive a mib g3 I bought looked perfect on the auction and had a bit of a crushed bubble when I got it but they had instantly left me good feedback and idk why but I'd feel like an ass to raise an issue with them. *shrug*

Anyway, for me it just happens. I get busy with some other hobby or life and forget about MLP for a while. I did all of high school which is why I didn't buy anything g3, which I regret now.

[01mlplover]

When the ponies change different gens and body styles. It's hard for me to start liking the new styles.

[InkyMilk]

For me it's a mixture of finances and display options. I realize when I had my ponies all displayed I felt compelled to buy more. They were separated into groups and I really wanted to complete those groups so they could all be whole and it was awesome when I managed to track a new one down to join the herd. But it left me conflicted since I also realized that I didn't feel entirely comfortable having all my toys out in display that way (plus I was literally running out of room), so I boxed a majority of them up. Since then, that urge to acquire has lessened since I know she'll just eventually go in a box. Added that I started to worry I was spending too much money on ponies (I wasn't, I'm just a Scrooge), just made it worse.

Now I'm slowly easing myself back into it and really trying to focus on one pony at a time. It helps that Sunset Shimmer was released as a fashion style pony now and she's instantly captured my heart!

[wystearya]

Boredom.   When the same pose and colors and such are used over and over and over...

At times I also tend to feel like if you have seen (or own) one pony, you have seen them all. 

I get bored easy, so if it's not new or somehow 'fun' for me, I am done.   I think this is why I like the Pony POP sets so much.  You can change them around, and for me, that is fun. 

I have also found I enjoy my 'junk' much more when I have less of it.  I can see what I have.  I have chosen my most favorites to keep, and I honestly don't miss the things I have sold.   I also like selling old things, to make room for new things.  It's like a trade.   

[ladyleaf3]

Depression :/

[DazzleKitty]

Depression :/

I can relate to that one... It makes me lose interest in everything.

[Wildshadow]

A bunch of stuff for me, right now it's lack of motivation. I feel the need then it fades away when I start on it. Then I don't have shelves to put them on at the moment... then computer and phone and movies and DVR get in the way as well... And I have probably have hundreds of ponies/other collections to wash when I can get shelves.... Never ending cycle I hope that ends soon D=

I still keep buying a few here and there, but they end up staying in the shipping boxes they came in, or G4's stay in the box when I buy them...

[reanna-mator]

Mmm... for me it's usually overexposure that does it. I spend too much time shopping, browsing, grooming, etc and it I get to this "what in the world am I doing with myself" phase. A little time away from the hobby lets me come back fresh.

[Strandperle]

I have to admit that I vanish from the boards from time to time (although I make sure that all trades and sales are concluded before a hiatus, of course), and during summer I'm much less active... I have a fulltime job and two horses, and a house that has to be fixed, and way too little money to handle all these things without too much stress. I also have some issues with depressions, and that makes the whole thing worse (I know how you feel, ladyleaf and DazzleKitty).
I never really lost interest, I just have no time most of the year :/ I'm still hunting on flea markets and so on, but I don't write at the boards during these phases or update my website.

[Honeycomb]

So far I have only once completely lost interest in MLP, the forums and everything surrounding something as "useless" (at that point I thought it was), and that was in the late summer of 2009 while I was going through a rough break-up and only existed in my own little bubble, not caring whether I lived or died, let alone ponies.
I do not hope to be in such a mood ever again, and I don't wish it on anyone else either.

[scarletjul]

Lots of things make me lose interest.  Lack of money.  Lack of new, interesting ponies.  Interest in another hobby.  Real life problems.  Stress.

But eventually I come back to them. 

[Beth3346]

For me its usually lack of funds and overexposure.  When I first started collecting I spent most of my free time and extra money collecting. I pretty much always had a pony or two on the way.  This went on for a year or so.  I always expected that I would eventually get bored with collecting and sell them all.  This didn't happen but I did get overwhelmed by my collection.  I felt like it was taking over.  I sold of about a third of my collection and i never got back into collecting on such a high level.

I want to focus my resources on other areas, taking care of my house, work, clothes, etc.  Now I try to limit my collecting to buying ponies every few months when I have extra money or for swaps.  Its difficult to stay interested in a hobby when life starts to take over.

[BerryMouse]

Lots of things.
There are only a few ponies left I would really like to own.
Then sometimes the vibes of the pony boards (not only the arena but also other boards) are annoying me from time to time - it's prolly me and not the ppl but these are the times I want to quit everything... and that sadly happens much often lately.
Also shipping from overseas raised so much over the past few years that I don't wanna buy there so there's not much options left to get new ponies. =)
I think these are my main reasons for losing interest in ponies.