How do you collect?

Maybe this question looks like stupid but I'd like to learn how people collect. What does it mean? Simply: are you methodic collector; I mean, do you write in a paper all the models you are looking for and buy them looking for rarity, prize, possibility to be retired...? are you a ''free'' collector; which means you only buy whatever you want?

I'm a methodic collector. I have written all the models I'd like with its number, photo and year. I try to buy them from elder to younger in order to do not ''loose'' a model to be retired before I buy it. I also look on internet for different prizes and I try to buy retired models first.

How do you collect? Which type of collector are you?

Some tips will also be veeeery interesting!

This is good one! I've been thinking something like this, but good you made it! Thank you

I'm pretty much like you, but same time you're far ahead of me! I've still too much retired horses to buy  

I'm a methodic one too! I write list and new lists, always forget them for a moment but then when I find them it's awesome to see "oh, I've got this and this and this.." I love it! = D

I also buy just those I want. With Schleich I can make an exception cause their value is gonna grow so it's good to get them all XP But usually I just buy those who can watch me with the most sweet faces in the store. Those who just doesn't mind getting my to collection I leave there  

I'm a little of both. I use "picture lists", which is I get pics of all the models I want and organize them by brand or species etc. (I'm a visual person) and slowly got down the list. For instance right now I'm finished with my Papo and Safari ltd. lists (excluding new releases), but I normally find a few figures that I just run upon somewhere and can't resist.   

I use a little bit of both as well! I first start out getting the figures I absolutely want and slowly build up my other collections. For example, one of my biggest sub collections I have is of just African animals, so when I collect I will choose any figure I want first and then collect the African animals to build up my collection.

I only collect vintage models, so everything I might collect is 'retired', indeed many of them were 'retired' over 60 years ago, especially those made by the Georg Heyde company at Dresden, Germany, which was 'closed down' by RAF bombers in 1945 in a very permanent way!

Despite them being vintage figures, I'm generally aware of which I'm likely to see for sale again, some of them surprisingly regularly for such old items, and which might turn out to be literally once in a lifetime (& I've been collecting since I was a kid, some 55 years ago) opportunity to buy. Obviously these take priority, unless they are too expensive. There have been many times when I've been 'watching' a lot of items on eBay, and then suddenly found one of these 'must have' items - often old wooden buildings - so delete almost everything else on my watch list until that item has ended, I hope with me buying it.

Apart from that, as I collect quite a broad range of brands and subjects (including soldiers & subjects not normally on this forum), but do have priorities, it is a case, whenever I go to a toy or general antiques fair, of a quick walk round to find & buy any 'must haves', and then, If I have any money left for that day out (which is usually - once in a lifetime items, by definition, don't appear very often), have a slow second walk round to see what else fits in my collection, and seems a good price.

I don't write lists of what I want, in many cases because I don't even know what items exist in many of the vintage ranges until I see them. Many of the old companies were small outfits, and didn't produce illustrated catalogues, so even the acknowledged experts don't know. In the case of the old wooden farm buildings, judging by some of the people who've asked me, apparently I am 'the expert'!

I do have photos of everything in my collection though, to keep track, and for posting on forums like this one of course.

I guess that I am a methodic collector too    I have lists of all the wildlife, pets, horses and such for schleich from 2010 to 2014. This is because I started collecting in 2010. But I don't just buy the ones that I want, I go for all from that particular category untill I have all from the 2010-2014 booklets. This is just the way that I collect  I hope one day to catch up  Meaning that I have all animals from 2010 onwards for each category. So far I have "caught up" with the african animals and will now be focusing on the other wildlife.
Compared with other collectors I don't have a whole lot of experiance, I mean, I can't make educated guesses about the possiblitiy of a figurine retiring or how rare it will become and such. Hopefully it will come in time     

Schleighgirl wrote:

Compared with other collectors I don't have a whole lot of experiance, I mean, I can't make educated guesses about the possiblitiy of a figurine retiring or how rare it will become and such. Hopefully it will come in time     

As a general rule, the ones that didn't sell when they were new become the rarities of the future.
Try asking at wherever you usually buy your figures which ones they're NOT selling - and buy those!

One example from Britains plastic zoo range is the duck billed platypus = a not at all impressive little blob of brown plastic, which they didn't sell many of during its short production run - and most they did sell probably got lost, or even sucked up vacuum cleaners!
When it appears on eBay it often goes up to UK£20
At the same time on eBay lots of multiple Britains zoo animals, all of which are bigger and generally more impressive than the DBP, sell for £5 or less.

I imagine other members who are familiar with modern brands will know of examples of rather poor animals which are now very difficult to find, and expensive when you do find them.

DaveScriv wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Compared with other collectors I don't have a whole lot of experiance, I mean, I can't make educated guesses about the possiblitiy of a figurine retiring or how rare it will become and such. Hopefully it will come in time     

As a general rule, the ones that didn't sell when they were new become the rarities of the future.
Try asking at wherever you usually buy your figures which ones they're NOT selling - and buy those!

One example from Britains plastic zoo range is the duck billed platypus = a not at all impressive little blob of brown plastic, which they didn't sell many of during its short production run - and most they did sell probably got lost, or even sucked up vacuum cleaners!
When it appears on eBay it often goes up to UK£20
At the same time on eBay lots of multiple Britains zoo animals, all of which are bigger and generally more impressive than the DBP, sell for £5 or less.

I imagine other members who are familiar with modern brands will know of examples of rather poor animals which are now very difficult to find, and expensive when you do find them.  

Thats interesting to know 
Thank you DaveScriv

DaveScriv wrote:

I only collect vintage models, so everything I might collect is 'retired', indeed many of them were 'retired' over 60 years ago, especially those made by the Georg Heyde company at Dresden, Germany, which was 'closed down' by RAF bombers in 1945 in a very permanent way!

That is very interesting, have you pics. This company was really in the near where i live now (around 1000 meters away). I was looking there, now is there a sports ground for a school   

I am of both too, i only collect species.If i have a figurine of a specie than mostly it is enough. I had a list in my childhood but i lost this list. After, as i was in my twentys i only bought figurines but i was not a collector and so i dont listed them. Now it is a mission impossible because i think that are a few thousand figurines now   

Well most of us try to be methodic but when we see THIS model... love is love!

Hmm, interesting topic. I'm not sure which one I am. I have wish lists. Older and newer. But when I see an animals that I like, I will buy it. I try to be as variated as I can. I have several groups I like most (big cats/cats, sea mammals, etc) and I try to collect most species from those groups.

I also LOVE to visit fleemarkets, second hand shops and such.
I I find a model animal for cheap, I will buy it XD

widukind wrote:

DaveScriv wrote:

I only collect vintage models, so everything I might collect is 'retired', indeed many of them were 'retired' over 60 years ago, especially those made by the Georg Heyde company at Dresden, Germany, which was 'closed down' by RAF bombers in 1945 in a very permanent way!

That is very interesting, have you pics. This company was really in the near where i live now (around 1000 meters away). I was looking there, now is there a sports ground for a school   

I can't find a picture of the factory at the moment, but do have a photo of the grand house he bought for himself and family, when the business was doing really well, in 1894. It is/was Radebergerstrasse 23. Is the house, or indeed the street, still there?

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DaveScriv wrote:

widukind wrote:

DaveScriv wrote:

I only collect vintage models, so everything I might collect is 'retired', indeed many of them were 'retired' over 60 years ago, especially those made by the Georg Heyde company at Dresden, Germany, which was 'closed down' by RAF bombers in 1945 in a very permanent way!

That is very interesting, have you pics. This company was really in the near where i live now (around 1000 meters away). I was looking there, now is there a sports ground for a school   

I can't find a picture of the factory at the moment, but do have a photo of the grand house he bought for himself and family, when the business was doing really well, in 1894. It is/was Radebergerstrasse 23. Is the house, or indeed the street, still there?

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I see i was wrong, i live in the near where they had the shop (Langestrasse). The factory was on the other side of the river Elbe, but not really much away  

Reading on in my Heyde book, I see that on the night of 13 February 1945 the factory, which was at Alaunstrasse 16 was destroyed, and the house in the photo was 'damaged'. The book doesn't say how badly damaged, so I don't know if was repaired or demolished afterwards.

DaveScriv wrote:

Reading on in my Heyde book, I see that on the night of 13 February 1945 the factory, which was at Alaunstrasse 16 was destroyed, and the house in the photo was 'damaged'. The book doesn't say how badly damaged, so I don't know if was repaired or demolished afterwards.

You wrote a book? I can look for you on this places if you wish that- but let me time  

No, I meant my copy of the book about Heyde written by Markus Grein.

I have written books, but those were about poultry.

I am mostly a casual collector these days and just get what's really interesting to me - except for certain lines. Playmobil I collect all the animals and try to have every one, I have most of them and will continue to search for the few I don't have and collect the new ones as they become available. In Safari brand I collect the minis and have all of them to date, so I suppose that is a 'serious' list type collection. The whole collection of those takes up about as much space as a Schleich horse.  I also collect a few vintage brands and have most of them. For those I watch eBay from time to time but usually have to search a lot to find one I don't have yet. I can only do that when I have money which isn't often these days. Hopefully again in the spring.

Wow! A lot of information. Thanks all of you

My first and most important tip is: Do not buy nothing for the first time I see it. I have to return at home, see my papers and check which model is and If I need it, the ''rarity'' of it

DaveScriv wrote:

No, I meant my copy of the book about Heyde written by Markus Grein.

I have written books, but those were about poultry.

Okay :)

I'm new here on the forum, so I apologize if this topic has been discussed many times already.
I see here that people have very different types of collections, and it's so interesting to see! I would like to know what the focus of your collection is: do you collect a specific brand, a certain type of animal, are you hunting for rare pieces, going for comletion of a certain something, or just anything you like? Please share!

I collect only Schleich ( for now) , all animals, and lately also dinosaurs because my son loves them.

When I joined I collected mostly Schleich, but as of late I've been selling my Schleich collection to collect exclusively horses, and with that mostly Breyers, Peter Stones, and some artist resins. I'm transitioning more into the model horse hobby than collecting animal models now. Of course I can't bring myself to sell my Schleich horses...

Um. Mostly I go for what meets my fancy and my budget. When the US Yowies came out I tried for completion.

(https://sts-forum.forumieren.de/t13104-how-do-you-collect?

And
https://sts-forum.forumieren.de/t9916-how-do-you-decide?

Might overlap?)

https://sts-forum.forumieren.de/t2813p15-your-collections-now-first-part

I collect what I like I have one rule, no insects...
But I think it is just only time before that rule is broken too
My only 'one animal collection' is my Border Collie collection. :)