ive asked myself this question more then a thousend times....
but how do you guys do that?
i know i cant spend a 800$ on a darth vader 12 back AFA or other things like that my wife would kill me!
and if i bought something exspensive without her knowing im dead too.

i got a buget of about 250$ a month to spend on my collection and if i want to buy something more exspensive she either gives me an advance or i need to save up for it.

do you have a job on the side for funding youre hobby or something else?
i think not all you guys are top managers and stuff so...

Personally, either save a little and only buy when I have the money, or stick it on a credit card which really does give me the incentive to save and clear any purchases every month. I'm not talking top dollar stuff here though.

I also spend time buying and selling - buy low/sell high. It is possible to fund purchases this way but it is very time consuming.

when i buy to resell i usally get burned along the way
and i have to invest the money from my buget to do that.
also where i live i dont get the accasion to score decent lots to resell.

I have a similar budget Bjorn. ( & a wife that would kill me too if I hid a big expense) I am not much of a seller, I can't not spend on Star Wars and save up for a big $$$ item so I just don't have any big $$$ items

DLT9 wrote:

i got a buget of about 250$ a month to spend on my collection

From 2008-2009 I had a budget of $100 a month
From 2010-2011 I have a budget of $150 a month

Either way I look at it you have a substantial amount of funds to use compared to me and possibly others here, thats $3000 a year on toys man !

The simple answer to "How do you afford $$$ stuff" is patience, luck, good deals, friends, some buying to sell and dedication.

Sure money helps, and overnight collections can be achieved but thats just no fun! Even the people with the money to buy many high ticket items I bet love a bargain and take their time, just because you can afford it all now doesn't mean its the wisest choice.

Let's take your $250 a month and show you how to work with it.

1. Spend $250 wisely on items with the intention of flipping them, you could buy cheap MOCS, loose figures , boxed toys etc - use the money you make to buy what you really want, if you make $300-400 back you will have increased your budget considerably but as Paul said - its time consuming!

2. Save for a month or two, before long you will have $500 or $750 to use!

3. If you find an item over your budget, ask the seller if he minds doing a payment plan, if its a $500 item you pay him 2 payments over 2 months and its yours, if its more - you do the math

Also - its important to know the market prices well, just because Bryans toys is selling an AFA figure for $400 doesn't mean its worth that, you have to see 3-4 sold before you can work out a market value and then suit it to your budget, if you see them sell for $50 try to get it for $40 or less!

In the last month or two I saw figures sell on ebay up to three times, each at a completely different price and it wasn't $10 difference , the difference was HUGE.

One moc sold for $30
Another sold for 65GBP
And the third for $90 (this was graded 80)

Same character all C8+ MOCS but a different price each time, it shows that sometimes its worth waiting until you can find the cheapest price

Well for me it's easy since I'm a billionaire. LOL

It's a mix of what everyone has said. I flip stuff and do trades when I can. There is also nothing wrong with building up the budget for a few months to stockpile some cash. There is also something to be said for waiting on items and not being afraid to get aggressive when negotiating. I've bought a few times from Brians Toys and offer 50% of asking. As they come down on counter offers I counter with $5 increments. Eventually I get my item for about 60% of asking. There's lots of deals to be made if you're willing to engage But always remember to be respectful and friendly.

i know the posibility of payment plans either with the seller of my wife
did that a couple of times with the seller for some MR lightsabers and with my wife for my precious MR falcon.

as for the AFA graded stuff,i only intend to buy some mocs and the first 79 loose.
but im considering on getting ungraded mocs to get graded by UKG.

anyway looking out for bargain mocs on ebay is no easy task as a lot of them are in the buy it now format.

i will spend some thinking on the buy and sell matter on mocs

Darthberizing wrote:

Well for me it's easy since I'm a billionaire. LOL

It's a mix of what everyone has said. I flip stuff and do trades when I can. There is also nothing wrong with building up the budget for a few months to stockpile some cash. There is also something to be said for waiting on items and not being afraid to get aggressive when negotiating. I've bought a few times from Brians Toys and offer 50% of asking. As they come down on counter offers I counter with $5 increments. Eventually I get my item for about 60% of asking. There's lots of deals to be made if you're willing to engage But always remember to be respectful and friendly.

i always negociate on prices,never thought about is for ebay or stores.
on the briasn toys mention i need to say that even if i get a bargain with them i always get burned by customs so thats a no no.
or have to ask them to send to my friend in the US

as for selling or trading,tried that several times on the forums im on with no succes
maybe its me or the stuff i have to offer.

either way nice the see some other approches

I have to nominate all my potential purchases for approval by my generous wife.

Tank1252 wrote:

I have to nominate all my potential purchases for approval by my generous wife.

And the under the ones you hide under the bed Tim

Some good advice in this thread

Ill say one thing Bjorn your budget is more than mine bro!

Some good advice there for you Bjorn!

Joe's comment about making friends is a really good one actually and it has paid for me a tenfold since joining the online community.

Although I didn't join TIG to make a financial gain, networking with peeps here has helped not only to acquire pieces that I thought I would never see, but also at prices that were literally bargains in my eye. Some of my favourite pieces are the cheapest ones and the majority of these have been through trades, friends taking an interest in what you collect and tipping you off when something cool enters ebay and it being listed incorrectly or cheaply. Even the expensive buy on TIG have been facilitated because folks here have allowed me to set up a few monthly plans.

I went a bit mad with the buying last year after reading couple of other posts on TIG and a bit of reflection, I am going to see if I can work my collection with a limited budget. I got engaged during the vacation too so I will need to start saving for that. I will still want to get some tough pieces and get a few more POTF Coins but I plan to do it sensebly

I agree with a lot of what people already said on here. But I thought I would add to it.

My wife (luckily) is very, very, understanding and really likes to be kept in the "know" on what I'm purchasing/looking at. To that end, I do not hide a thing from her. It's just as much her collection as it is mine, and I would feel incredibly guilty if I just showed up one day with a new piece that she wasn't aware of beforehand.

Also, to echo what Joe and others have said, PATIENCE is a HUGE part of vintage collecting. Especially if you are wanting to dive into MOC collecting. But having friends in the hobby that look out for items for you is a wonderful asset.

Like others have said, my collecting budget is usually about $100/month. It fluctuates occasionally, but that's about it. So if I spend it all in one month, I have to wait. If not, then that means more money in the account for something else. One thing that has really helped me though, is having a focus and realizing that I don't need everything. I know that sounds silly, but when you have a focus, you can more easily pass on big ticket items that don't fit into what you collect. And realizing that you don't need everything under the sun is HUGE. There are some insanely nice pieces out there. But before you make the purchase, you have to pause a minute and ask yourself, do I really need this? Does it fit into my overall collecting goals? Is this something that I really find cool? Or am I just trying to fill a void in my collection?

Just remember, this isn't a race, and nor is it a popularity contest. No one is going to think any less of you for having a tiny collection or a Steve Sansweet type collection. It's all the same and it's all cool!