Collections
June 5, 2007
By John

Let's face it. We all seem to have a collection of one sort or another, whether it is antiques, stamps, baseball cards, action figures, DVDs, books, figurines, art, or whatever. Collecting can be a great hobby, but it can easily get overwhelming very quickly on both your wallet and your storage space. Here is some advice for my fellow collectors out there.

From my days of collecting Trans Formers, I can tell you that when you are looking for new items, you need to make regular routes among the local retailers to get the latest wave of toys from their case assortment. There have been many times that I have arrived at a store only to see the same toys there as there were the week before, or even worse, the one toy from the wave of toys that I don't want. Star Wars toys tend to follow this same principle since they also use case assortments. However frustrating this can process can get, just remember that half of the fun of collecting is in the hunt.

I want to tell you that eBay is an uncaring machine of the devil that doesn't support its users and to stay away from it. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the only place to go to get some of the more elusive items for your collections. Just be sure to bid smart and not to go overboard. Always, always, always check feedback and don't trust a new seller. The main point I will advise is to not buy everything that you see. That tends to break your wallet as well as fill up whatever space you have quite quickly.

Storage space can really get to be a problem with large collections. While large Rubbermaid containers are useful, they can still take up a lot of space. However, they also make some nice containers that fit underneath a bed. You might consider those if storage space is an issue. A good way of displaying your collection is to use common book shelves. They typically are inexpensive and do a good job of showing off your collection. If money isn't an issue, stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe's, and Home Depot all carry nice selections of glass display cases of various sizes. Also, stores tend to sell their old display cases whenever they get new ones or close down. That might be another way to get a great display case. For those of you with a small amount of space, I have found that mounting a homemade shelf to a wall really adds a lot of storage space to your room. Simply take a few L Brackets, mount them to the wall, and attach a 1/4" by 12" by 72" wood sheet to them. This will give you a great way to show off your collection in a tight space. Dioramas, if you have the space for them, can be the greatest way to show off your collection. The problem with them, however, is that they can get expensive and take up an enormous amount of space, which would limit the size of your collection.

All in all, collecting can be a great hobby. Just make sure to enjoy it and take some pictures of your collection to post online for everyone else to see.