What Is Best To Prioritise?

I would love to know everyone's opinion on which of the following should be collected first, second, third, fourth etc., taking into account availability in the future, maybe prices going up or down or anything like that!
Retired Papo dogs, retired Bullyland dogs, retired Schleich dogs, dogs from Japanese brands (Eikoh, Kaiyodo), Breyer dogs, retired Safari dogs, New Ray dogs or Maia and Borges dogs? Those brands are my priorities but if anyone could add Keenway/ Chap Mei/ AAA/ Toy Major to the list that would also be really helpful! And I hope that this list is also useful for those who collect retired animals from these brands too!

My opinion is:

If the figure is retired and one on your wishlist and is a good price, get it 100%! You will regret it if you don't

Also get figures you don't often see, in other collections or in general.

Buy popular breeds and species of figures last, as they will probably be released for a long enough time to get them before retiring.

All very good points, thank you so much!
The problem is when I find lots of retired figures for good prices, it's hard to know which brand to prioritise

I think Adam has it right. Leave most popular breeds and manufacturers for last, they will probably be around longest and be easiest to find on the aftermarket.

As for brands, I'd buy the brands that are hardest to find first. New Ray and other second tier makers can be harder to find later than the well known and better collected brands. (They may also be cheaper as 'off' brands, or more expensive due to rarity) What's available in your area makes a difference too- Safari and Breyer are relatively easy for me, Papo and CollectA unknown around here, let alone the Maia & Borges.

Thank you so much Kelly, this is so useful too! And really helpful to know about New Ray too, some of their dogs are very nice so I'll think about them first! And of course, getting those not around your area is a good idea, for me it's hard to find Safari and Breyer for good prices and Schleich/ Papo is easier.
Thank you both so much, there is so much knowledge/ tips around the collecting world and always is so useful to know!

New-Ray, Toy Major and Chap Mei are retired. You can find them randomly and they’re not usually expensive. You can’t make a plan to these so the best is to get them as long as they pop up and you can.
Schleich retired models always show up, unless we are talking of special rarities. Though, they are often overpriced. I think if you are talking of Schleich dogs that were part of the regular series, the best is to be patient and wait for a good chance. It is common to find people selling their old Schleich because they stopped collecting or because their kids are not kids anymore.
Papo retired are not easy to find but they also do not suffer from very speculative prices as it happens with Schleich. My recomendation is that if you find a retired Papo being sold for its regular price or lower, it is a good chance.
Safari retired dogs are even more difficult to find than Papo for European collectors, of course. The best way is to check the trades section on forum or to work with with our North American friends.
Their prices are also not speculative.
Bullyland dogs you can find through EBAY or other similar webistes. They’re often found in lots and sometimes they’re sold really cheap.
CollectA models are almost all still available and they will remain for some years. Though, they also have rarities, namely two pupies exclusively sold in an earlier dogs set.
Mojo Fun are also all available.
Maia & Borges are all retired but I think there’s a shop selling some, I am not sure. They won’t manufacture it anymore and they were available just in a few places and may turn difficult to find.
Eikoh are recent and still available but I am sure that if you don’t get them
when they are still easy to find, you may have a big trouble to get them if they get retired.
Kaiyodo retired models also turn overpriced with time but these you can find with the help of our friends dedicated to Japanese brands.
You surely won’t afford them all at once and you will figure out that collecting all we want takes a long time and every year new figures are released and we get anxious to get the new models too. Try to start with what you are sure you like best.

Oh Roger thank you so much! So long and detailed and helpful! So much good advice for each brand which I will surely follow, and you are so right as well, it all comes down to the figures you like best. I think I'll concentrate on Japanese/ retired figures from hard to find brands, it will be a marathon but that is the fun of collecting!
Thank you again for you help, it's always so nice to have the views of kind STS friends!

As always Roger gives super advice

He has this unique talent for analysis and the patience of the crocodile, to think matters through

SUSANNE wrote:

As always Roger gives super advice

He has this unique talent for analysis and the patience of the crocodile, to think matters through

Yes most definitely! All of those!
We are lucky to have such a clever croc!

You are very kind, I only don’t know why my collection and collecting interests are such a mess. At this moment I have a sailed dino, shaking violently its long tail against the inner walls of my head and I’m having serious troubles to get ride of it. It doesn’t matter if I insist that I’m not a dino collector or that it is out of my reach. The silly dino keeps whipping me with the most sarcastic croc smile I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if you get what I mean but I feel completely hollow.

Now some advice from a dog:
It sounds as though dinos really want you to collect them! And it sounds as though you too, really want to collect dinos! And so, my conclusion is, if you love an animal and their figures, why not treat yourself with a few for your collection, and then slowly but surely, you will realise whether you really do love these figures, and then you can collect more and more! But then there are soooo many dinos available, so maybe tell the one inside your head, that you will only get your ABSOLUTE favourites! It's a way of getting what you want, without getting carried away!

I hope I understood you!

Yes you did and thanks for your advice. I actually have a few prehistoric animals although they’re not technically dinosaurs. What I mean is that it is much easier to give advices to other collectors than taking our own decisions.
Check how easily you could advise me when I am sure you are in troubles to decide what to get next.
That’s why my collection is a mess. I collect wildlife and sporadically a favorite dog, a favorite horse, a favorite dino and here we go. When you decided to collect only dogs, it is already a very sensate decision.

Oh I see now! And I completely understand, it's so much easier to advise than to try and figure out your own confusions with your own collections!
But I thought collecting dogs would make things easier... but there are many many more dogs than you would think! But I love dogs so much that I am so happy with my decision!
Maybe you should collect only foxes... but then I'm sure that dino inside your head, and your favourite dog, and favourite horse would all be barking and neighing and tempting you
I'm now confusing myself