Collecting 101: How I Afford my Toy Collection
If you watch my YouTube channel, the thought has probably crossed your mind as to how I can afford my collecting hobby and toy collection. The truth is: I can’t. I’m a struggling artist like most out there.
Here’s what I do:
1) Never pay retail if/when possible. The majority of my collection comes from dollar stores like Dollar Tree and Dollarama. Example: action figures that retail at the toy store or comic shop for $20+ (before taxes), I can get for $5 or less. Same with the hotwheels. All from the dollar store. And the Funkos? Well…
2) Find a vendor with good deals where things are always discounted, not because something’s wrong with it, but simply because it’s a more affordable vendor. Again, never pay retail if it can be helped.
3) Plan your shipping. Not all vendors offer free shipping upon purchase so what you do is save up and get a bunch of collectibles at once. Yes, a larger bill but you would have spent the same amount on the collectibles anyway so that renders that argument moot. What you’re doing by buying in bulk is amortizing the shipping cost across several units so your per-unit shipping cost goes way down.
4) Gifts. People know I love action figures and toys so I get a bunch of those as gifts, and it’s those gifts I share with you, like my Superman Christmas video. Not talking value here but strictly retail, out of my entire collection out of all the things I collect, I’ve paid about half retail all told. Half.
Yes, us Winnipeggers are cheap and know how to find a deal. We only pay retail if absolutely required.
That’s my secret. (Oh, and you guys checking out my books and comics helps too.)
Peace.
