How to quit your toy hobby

This blog post is a modified version of an email reply to one of my blog readers.

My Toy Story

For me, I’ve been collecting toys for over 10 years.  At several points, I wanted to quit due to lack of proper storage space, and declining interest in some toylines that I used to like.  Sometimes it was due to stress at some points in my life.

I started in the mid-90s with Toy Biz X-Men action figures, which I still have (I think no one collects them anymore).  Then I went on to collect vintage 80’s My Little Pony (MLP) and all to the current MLPs.  The MLP global online collecting community is very active, so I can clear some of my unwanted pony herds quite conveniently, though sometimes at below cost, since I open most of my toys.

Toy quitting tips

If you really want to quit this hobby completely, it’s better to let it ‘die off’ gradually than do a sudden drastic ‘kill’.  After all, you probably have collected them for many years by now, which means they are a huge part of your life.

Before you quit your toy hobby, you’ve got to find another fulfilling hobby to replace it.  A new hobby that fits in with the current stage of your life, and one that would take up so much of your time that your toy hobby will not such an obsession as before.

The learning of your new hobby and the toy selling tips above should ideally run concurrently.  If you have a new hobby to occupy the newly freed up “toy void” in your life, the chances of really moving on are greater.  In other words, if you have no new hobby to replace your 20 year old toy hobby, you are likely to revert to the toy collecting cycle over and over again.

Last but not least, stay away from places that sell them, or places where you know toy collectors tend to gather (both online and physical venues).  Do not tell yourself that you are only looking and would not buy.  Chances are that you will eventually end up buying something if you keep looking at it and that will likely kick start your toy collecting hobby all over again. 

Toy selling tips

- Forums

If the toys you collect are still popular with collectors today, your best shot is to find the leading online forums for those toylines and join them.  Introduce yourself first and contribute meaningfully & regularly in their discussions.  Share your toy collecting knowledge and experiences with the others when they post queries. 

Then after a few months (you use this time to take photos and compile toy descriptions etc.), you may post your toy sale list for others to see.  You can also include a link to a webpage of toys you have for sale in your signature.  Don’t post your sale list too soon after you join.  People may get put off.

- ebay

Read and follow ebay rules, terms and conditions for selling there. 

- Consignment

Find out if your local collector’s toy shops have this service.  Some of them do, provided if they think your toys can sell and they have the shop space to spare.  Terms and conditions at their discretion would apply.

In Singapore, I do sell my toys on consignment at Toy Outpost.

Tomorrow, I shall post some tips on managing your toys population!  Be back to read them!