'Old' collectors: how have things changed?

[Delaneys]

The name ... came from my website, as did the name "Bobbie"...

Had someone over last night to "tour" the pony room and we were talking about you and Bobbie when she noticed her on the shelf.  We pulled out things like the original Pony Bi-Monthly newsletter that Nola Brooks used to publish  in 1996-1998, our original pony book (which was basically a binder with print outs of Dream Valley and other internet pages and list serve lists to look everything up),  the accessory project we started long ago with binders and plastic sleeves where we tried to have an example of every pony's accessories (there is a bunch but we never did finish that), the "drawer of shoes" - there must be 500+ pony shoes in one drawer! 

The early days somewhat parallel life today - information and things happened "slower" and the collective general knowledge base just wasn't as informed.

Post Merge: June 08, 2016, 04:31:02 AM


Sugarberry (Rayna) understates her artistic capability... this is a picture she made for our family (our collective pony name was the Sweet Celebrations Loving Family as the entire family was involved with ponies).  This picture now (and forever) will adorn our walls.

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[Leave a Whisper]

Wow! So many neat stories!

[Delaneys]

Wow... apparently Pony Palooza was 1999 / 2000.  I found a link to this from 1999
http://babyprincesssparkles.tripod.com/Palooza.html

Hard to believe almost 17/18 years ago!

[nessy_86]

Following! These stories are both great to hear and eye opening at the same time.

[Mermaid]

Yes yes yes to whoever said finding things in the wild was easier! I could go thrifting any day of the week and come home with ponies! I remember finding arm fulls of ponies at thrifts, second hand stores, and flea markets. I remember LEAVING ponies behind b/c I had them already or didn't want them, condition wasn't mint enough, or they wanted $1 for a pony that I already had/didn't want, or I simply didn't "need" to buy ponies that day...I left boxes of g1 ponies in my day due to those reasons!

*head desk* if I only knew what the barren future would be!

[DazzleKitty]

I started collecting when I was nine.....that was in the year 1996 I believe. My fondest memory, personally, were how plentiful and EASY ponies were to find at flea markets. Every weekend I could go to the same flea market and find new ones that I didn't have that they'd be like....fifty cents or a dollar apiece. I miss finding G1's like that. If I had been my age now (28) during that year, I would have had access to more flea markets because I could drive. I could have possibly found some really rare ponies because I now know some really large flea markets in the area instead of the two small ones I my parents took me to. But still, I made out with a lot of ponies. Those were really fun times.

MOC ponies were cheaper online back then too. And I even found a MOC Glory at a flea market back then. It was possible back then. Now you barely have a chance, and if you do the person knows it's worth something.

I miss the magic of finding a new pony at the flea market and running home to get on the computer to go to Dream Valley to identify her. That was so much fun...

Post Merge: June 08, 2016, 02:11:29 PM

Oh yeah, there was a creepy guy who went by "Baby Lickety-Split" who hung around I thiiiink Dream Valley chat.  And by "creepy guy" I mean he tried to get young girls to send him inappropriate photos and cyber with him and so on.  I think he was eventually driven out.

OMG! I remember him! He never asked for my picture or anything sexual. He just wanted to roleplay ponies but even as a child I got weird vibes from him.

[Carrehz]

-settles in- I love threads like these

I guess the last thing my website did came in the form of a small email I have saved someplace.  It was from a Hasbro designer that had seen a graphic I drew and wanted to know how I created a light effect in Glory's eye when I drew her.  That little color stripe in the G3 eyes- that came after.

That's so cool!!

[ringwraith10]

I ALWAYS found ponies at yard sales back then. Always. Not every yard sale, of course, but my mom and I had a good eye for which sales would likely have ponies and those were the ones we stopped at. Back then we went to a lot more yard sales than we do now, though... but I think that's because there are fewer G1 ponies available these days (and a ton more competition now that everybody and their mother think they can re-sell things on Ebay!).

I was a lurker on MLP pages in the 90s and early 2000s. When I first made my account here, I only lurked, because I didn't think of myself as a "true" pony collector (though my collection was a lot larger than most), for some reason. It wasn't until the first time I spent $50 on one pony that I realized I was just as much a "true" pony collector as anyone else! And even in the early 2000s, $50 was actually a LOT for one pony.

EDIT: Oh! And I still remind my mom ALL THE TIME about that one time that we almost didn't buy a pony because it cost a whoooole dollar! That was way too expensive for a pony (said my mom)! Thank goodness I talked her into it! Not that it was a particularly rare pony, but I know that's one thing I would have regretted for the rest of my life. And if we hadn't gotten the pony, then each time I told the story she would probably have turned into a rarer and rarer pony. ;P "Mom, remember that one time we didn't get RAPUNZEL for only a DOLLAR?!"

[LittleSpiffy]

Oh yeah, the scammers . . . I think it was Lexi who posted an auction for "Mimic" on eBay, then sent the winner a PHOTO of Mimic.  She was incorrigible.  No matter how many times she was caught, you could be sure she would pop up again.

There was another frequent scammer, I think his name was Roy?

This was back when people mostly sent money orders and checks and even cash (especially on international sales), so it was much harder to get money back after being scammed!

Speaking of checks:  if you sent a check to an eBay seller, they would wait two weeks to make sure your check didn't bounce.  eBay shipping in general was much slower than it is today;  you just dealt with it.

eBay sellers were not responsible for items lost in the mail, so you just hoped they wouldn't get lost (or that you had an extraordinarily nice seller).

LOL, remember when someone went to Roy's house?

[princessluna11706]

Oh yeah, the scammers . . . I think it was Lexi who posted an auction for "Mimic" on eBay, then sent the winner a PHOTO of Mimic.  She was incorrigible.  No matter how many times she was caught, you could be sure she would pop up again.

There was another frequent scammer, I think his name was Roy?

This was back when people mostly sent money orders and checks and even cash (especially on international sales), so it was much harder to get money back after being scammed!

Speaking of checks:  if you sent a check to an eBay seller, they would wait two weeks to make sure your check didn't bounce.  eBay shipping in general was much slower than it is today;  you just dealt with it.

eBay sellers were not responsible for items lost in the mail, so you just hoped they wouldn't get lost (or that you had an extraordinarily nice seller).

LOL, remember when someone went to Roy's house?

I remember that happening! I can't remember the details though

[goddessofpeep]

That was JLM who went to Roy's house.  She was talking about doing it at the Michigan pony meet I attended back in 2002 I think.  I *think* she went directly there after the meet since Roy lived in Michigan at the time.  She went to his house, and together the two of them took silly pictures of Roy wearing a boa and posing next to some of the ponies he stole from other members.  JLM was there to take pictures and hang out with Roy(they were friends), not to recover any of the ponies.  Not that you could tell whose ponies they were anymore anyway.  Roy was into stealing stuff, not taking care of it.  He destroyed most of the ponies he stole from what I could see when the pictures were posted.  I don't remember if he thought it was art or something, but most of the ponies in the pictures had their hair hacked to bits, and a lot of them were colored with permanent markers and other things.

[Leave a Whisper]

That was JLM who went to Roy's house.  She was talking about doing it at the Michigan pony meet I attended back in 2002 I think.  I *think* she went directly there after the meet since Roy lived in Michigan at the time.  She went to his house, and together the two of them took silly pictures of Roy wearing a boa and posing next to some of the ponies he stole from other members.  JLM was there to take pictures and hang out with Roy(they were friends), not to recover any of the ponies.  Not that you could tell whose ponies they were anymore anyway.  Roy was into stealing stuff, not taking care of it.  He destroyed most of the ponies he stole from what I could see when the pictures were posted.  I don't remember if he thought it was art or something, but most of the ponies in the pictures had their hair hacked to bits, and a lot of them were colored with permanent markers and other things.

ugh. he sounds like the inspiration of syd from toy story.

[princessluna11706]

Ahh JLM.  I remember/have met her.  She sure was something..

[SummerSkye]

Ok I didn't read all 4 pages but...

You could find ponies at garage sales. I don't think I've found anything in 10 yrs except maybe mcds or little molded g3s (forgetting the name of those...)

We have more info and access on Nirvanas.

G4 was really divisive. It brought in new fans and new merch but created a g1 vs g4 divide. Toy-wise I felt the line was really repetitive and lacking and while I did buy most of the unique brushables I didn't get the same joy out of collecting as I did with g1 and even g3.

I'm so disappointed with the "brushables" (it's sad we have to call them that BC hasbro is making so.much other crap) that I buy very little Mlp now. I still love my G1s very much and get ecstatic when one of those mini g1s comes out.

[millenium0chi]

Back when I first joined this board and MLPTP, I was collecting G3s, after being a part of the G1 generation, but having lost my childhood ponies to my mother's cleaning/Goodwill/tag sale process during my teen years in the 90s.

In my 20s, I started buying up the G3s because I thought they were adorable and reminded me of my old ponies, which was good because I disliked the look of G2s.  I loved finding them in stores and seeing ponies I didn't have.  It was like being a kid all over again.

But, then my career took off, I got married, we moved...you know, life.  So I sold all my G3s (with the exception of one or two) and left collecting.  I'm glad I did that, actually, because they haven't held their value well and seem to be deteriorating faster than some 30+ year old toys!

So when I came back around this year, I decided to refocus on G1s and get my childhood ponies back...along with some others that I always wanted, but never acquired.  I've been having a lot of fun doing it, but I hardly find ponies locally (thrifting, for example).  I used to see them much more often, but I think people are wising up to the value that some have and the community that exists (thanks, internet) and more people are throwing them up on Ebay and Etsy instead of donating them or selling them locally.

This is good and bad.  It's bad because this tends to drive up the price and you don't have as much opportunity to find a good deal offline.  But it's good because someone like me can be picky due to the broader selection.  I don't want beat up or baity ponies.  I took very good care of mine as a child.  There was no cut hair or highlighter "lipstick".  So I want my current collection to be as close to mint as it can be.  I don't think I'd be able to be that uncompromising if I was limited to Goodwill and the tag sale down the street.

I love the online pony community, but it definitely was more close-knit when I collected the first time.  With the advent of G4s, Friendship is Magic and this "Bronie" thing, the community has exploded.  Again, something that's both good and bad.  Good because, well, pony fans.  But I absolutely HATE the G4s.  They are terrible, in both appearance and in toy quality.  I have literally never watched the new series, so I have no comment on that, except to say that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it in comparison to the MLP cartoons of my childhood.  That's probably me being old.