Had to get something off my chest in what has seemingly become a collecting community of self-entitled moaners that think the world revolves around them.
Lately, there seems to be a lot of collectors that do nothing but complain about the rising prices of toys (yes, all those figures and statues are bloody toys!), where they blast companies for being greedy, or not making things that they like, or taking too long to release something.
Fuck me, has this collecting community really become that self-entitled?!? The fact that we are collecting toys at all is a bloody luxury, not a life necessity!! For sure, complain about governments and big companies that might be able to control oil prices, grocery prices, taxes etc that all impact life's needs. But fucking toys?!?
By all means, complain if there are QC issues and faults where you don't get the quality expected for whatever price point you paid. But if toy prices rise beyond your means, then be adult enough to STOP COLLECTING! Or buy cheaper toys that you can afford! Or shit, maybe even try another hobby!
I'll walk away from collecting whenever it all gets too expensive for me. But just like I don't go shit-canning the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari etc for making cars that I can't afford, I buy what I bloody can (yes, that old Mazda is doing me just bloody fine!) When I buy something that's a luxury such as a car, a coffee machine, a TV etc, I look for a bargain and vote with my wallet. I don't sit there complaining about how companies are trying to rip me off to maximise their profits.
Guess what! Every fucking company exists to maximise profits! I have seen collectors complaining that companies are no longer doing things for collectors, but only focused on profits. Are you fucking blind?! When has any toy company ever existed in the history of toy making that has been purely about collectors?!? NEVER!!! It's the toy BUSINESS for crying out loud. All of them (like all businesses) exist to maximise profits!
So what can collectors do if they don't like the price?! How about voting with your goddamn wallet! If enough people agree that an item is too expensive and sales are down, the toy company obviously isn't stupid enough to keep raising prices because they will lose money! For businesses, it's ALWAYS a balancing act of finding that compromise between customer affordability and profitability. If an item is expensive, but there are enough customers willing to pay the price, then that will become the market rate! Companies will always test that and go with what works for their margin.
Complaining that companies are ripping you off is just bullshit. They're not forcing you to buy the item! You need to buy petrol for your car to go to work. You need to buy groceries to feed your family. You need to work and pay taxes etc. You do NOT need to buy fucking toys!
The stupidest thing I read today from a whining collector was "They're raising prices to make more money that they don't necessarily need" WHAT.THE.FUCK?!?! How the hell does that person know how much the toy company "necessarily needs" to maintain it's profitability?!?
The toy company will charge whatever they see fit to cover their costs in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and shipping that item (in addition to funding future projects)! If you don't like the price, just DON'T BUY IT!! The best way to send a message to the company is to not buy and make them reconsider their pricing. But if enough people buy, then why wouldn't any company set that price?! That's how businesses and market competition work!!
Then there are those self-absorbed people complaining that companies are not making figures they want. Companies will ALWAYS make toys that sell! That esoteric character from that cult movie you love will NOT fucking get made! The faster you deal with that reality the better! Companies do not exist to make specific figures that you want! There are heaps of characters that I would love to have in my collection, but I know sales of those would be far less than mainstream characters. That's not the toy companies fault!!
And there are those complaining that toys take too long to release!? Geezus, do you not have anything else worthy in your life to pass that time away?! Are you literally sitting at your doorstep waiting for that damn toy to arrive?! You need to get some fucking life perspective if that's what you're complaining about all the time! If preorders are 12 months in advance now, noone's forcing you to preorder so early! Preorder later, or wait until it releases! It's not that hard!
To finish, yes this is my rant complaining about other people complaining. But fuck me, I try to have a positive outlook with this hobby, and seeing all this self-entitled bullshit from collectors really makes me wonder why people are in the hobby if they're so unhappy with it!
I read some good advice once about "don't sweat the small stuff". Surely in the big scheme of things, collecting toys counts as "small stuff"!
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