How do you decide what figures to move on?

[Brontozaurus]

When you're sorting your collections to decide what to keep and what to move on, how do you do it?

It's a question I've been trying to figure out recently. My parents are downsizing their house ahead of moving into a smaller apartment, and part of that is moving all of my stuff into my house now that I own it and have more stability than before. However I don't have that much storage space available, and now I'm reckoning with over a decade's worth of accumulated plastic. I've decided that my goal is to sort everything into three or four (at most) modestly sized tubs, two for dinosaurs (the biggest collection) and the rest for my other nerd stuff.

So far my criteria are:
1. Is it outdated? Not just in terms of scientific accuracy (otherwise almost everything would be on the chopping block), but sculpting and general quality (so goodbye to a lot of early CollectA).
2. Is it better off in the hands of children? I like the idea of toys being used, and I'd rather give them to kids then keep them in a box in the dark. This rule is why I'm moving on most of my mainline Jurassic World collection.
3. Does it take up lots of space? I've decided that any really large figures that can't fit in a box have to be on permanent display, because then what's the point? The JW Legacy Spinosaurus is really cool, but it's been living in a box for the last few years so I'm not getting much worth out of it (plus the HC Spino now exists).
4. Do I have a personal attachment to the figure? Probably my most important rule, because it can override the others. For example,
the Carnegie Kronosaurus is not great and there's better toys of the genus out there (some of which I own). But I spent a lot of my childhood wanting this figure and I finally got it on a birthday trip to the US, so there's a story to this terrible plastic sausage monster and I'd be bummed to get rid of it.

What do you do to thin your herd?

[Libraraptor]

When it comes to thinning the herd,  only doubles and "cheaposaurs" that came to me as bycatch have to go.

[Noideaforaname]

It's covered in dust/been sitting in a box for a decade are pretty clear signs that I don't actually need this toy.

Having a focus is a good idea. A shelf that's a display is loads better than just cramming in dozens and dozens of toys. The internet, I've found, is OBSESSED with obscure deep cuts, and it's incredibly easy to get sucked into this hype and grab every Glup Shitto-type figure for no real other reason than it's Glup Shitto. It's a lot of fun, sure, but if you want your collection to tell a story of some kind (whether than be an actual narrative or a reflection of your interests), repeatedly saying "you've probably never heard of him" isn't particularly interesting.


There's also checking the resale value, though that can be hit or miss; i.e. might be "I could really use that money", but also might be "there's no way I could ever rebuy this if I regret selling it".

[Brontozaurus]

It's covered in dust/been sitting in a box for a decade are pretty clear signs that I don't actually need this toy.

Having a focus is a good idea. A shelf that's a display is loads better than just cramming in dozens and dozens of toys. The internet, I've found, is OBSESSED with obscure deep cuts, and it's incredibly easy to get sucked into this hype and grab every Glup Shitto-type figure for no real other reason than it's Glup Shitto. It's a lot of fun, sure, but if you want your collection to tell a story of some kind (whether than be an actual narrative or a reflection of your interests), repeatedly saying "you've probably never heard of him" isn't particularly interesting.


There's also checking the resale value, though that can be hit or miss; i.e. might be "I could really use that money", but also might be "there's no way I could ever rebuy this if I regret selling it".

Yeah I'm realising that I definitely bought into the hype for a lot of toys, rather than buying based on what I really like. The JW Legacy Spino, as much as I've genuinely enjoyed the toy, is very much one of these, and it hasn't spent enough time out of storage to justify staying. On the other hand, I just pulled out the CollectA Excalibosaurus and I genuinely appreciate it for being an odd ichthyosaur with a fun name (and for being small).

I've also figured out a fifth rule: does it fit in my collection's focus? It's really helped cull the aforementioned hype toys.

[Turkeysaurus]

First of all If i think i have emotional ties with a model then i'll keep check my mood some time before selling it so i don't regret my decision afterwards.

I have some filters and I say good bye to those can't match those.

1. I only keep Jurassic Park series dinosaurs (1-3 Movies) , only one model for each (maybe except T.rex)

2. I only keep if it's truely vintage looking : Only kept some Invicta , even sold my carnegie series.

3. I only keep high quality detail & paintwork , scientifically accurate enough, around 1:35 scale dinosaurs for new releases.

After starting PNSO, Haolonggood etc. I have sold most of my papo, schleich, collecta, safari ltd because they all look too different to eachother quality, accuracy and scale wise.

[thomasw100]

I only keep the group 3. in the list of Turkeysaurus.

And even from my PNSO, I have parted with some of the older ones which have the rougher textural look.

I also gave some of my older Schleich Replicasaurus to the child of a friend.

Main idea is to keep the collection as compact and high quality as possible.

[JohannesB]

I guess it is a balance between accuracy and aesthetics, weighed against the time the figures were made. My Invicta collection is worth to me just as much as my favourite PNSO models, for example. At the same time I also will keep my Bullyland figures of the more "obscure" (or rarely represented) species. My Papo figures on the other hand, I am slowly getting rid of, mostly.

[Eatmycar]

Honestly it depends, but, if it's a figure that is getting a better version, it's easily the first on the chopping block. Like you, I am getting ready to get rid of my legacy Spinosaurus! The Hammond version looks better in every way possible, and even Mattel's Rebirth figure is just so much... better, in every way. Nicer proportions, better sculpting detail, and hopefully not the horrible QC that plagued the original Spino figures!

I also am trying to focus on what I really value in a collection. For some folks its paleo accuracy, for others its articulation, and so on and so forth. For me, I want that sweet articulation and the pose-ability, so my PNSO figures and my older BoTM raptors just have no place in my collection anymore. I'm not really going to bother selling those either. I'll put them out in my building as free and other tenants can have first dibs on them.

Going forward, though, I find myself needing to avoid the hype around stuff and being critical. I didn't need the PNSO Corythosaurus, it has bad head proportions and can't stand. Yet I bought into hype for it. Same thing with a few of my Mattel figures and some BoTM dinosaurs tbh, and the latter can be really expensive...

[Turkeysaurus]

I only keep the group 3. in the list of Turkeysaurus.

And even from my PNSO, I have parted with some of the older ones which have the rougher textural look.

I also gave some of my older Schleich Replicasaurus to the child of a friend.

Main idea is to keep the collection as compact and high quality as possible.

Especially when there are new companies joining in and old companies still producing a lot every year.

A friend of mind spent a lot money on a 2nd hand 75" TV and i told him  wasted too much money for bigger TV. When i do the math i realized i have spent same amount of money on 2nd hand Mcfarlanes in last few months.  I think i'd rather have a giant top quality TV over those toys. 

I don't feel any regret over for spending on dinosaurs though.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Nostalgia keeps a lot of figures in my collection.  I do replace figures if a new, better one comes along.   A problem I run into is one figure has something good about it but then another one comes along that's nicely done but the older figure has that one aspect better. So then it get's difficult.

[Concavenator]

Let's say you have two figures. Both being fantastic figures you really like. One of them represents a species you are a big fan of and the other a species you don't care about, but still picked up the figure because you liked it. If I were you and were running into a space issue, I'd get rid of the latter.

That's just an example, but in general, I'd recommend keeping figures you really like of species you really like. And getting rid of figures you're not a big fan of and/or nice figures of species you could live without.

What do you do to thin your herd?

Scientifically accurate prehistoric animal figures are the only thing I actively collect. And I've been collecting these for about 18 years now. So one would assume that my collection is massive. However... my collection is just 16 figures ATM. What do I do?

1. Stick to a single figure per genus.
2. Stick to a single scale (or more appropriately said, a tight range of scales).
3. Stick to species I particularly care about: species that my collection would feel incomplete without. If a super nice figure of a species I don't find interesting enough is released, that's a skip for me. That includes figures of super famous dinosaurs that are generally considered a "must-have" too, but that I don't find interesting on their own (and my collection doesn't feel "incomplete" for lacking those). Figures of fragmentary species are also a skip for me, regardless of figures of them being nice.
4. Even when it comes to species I really like, on top of only getting 1 figure of that species, the figure in question I have to consider accurate enough and I have to like it too.

Really, there are many criteria you could establish, and the more you add, the more controlled your collection will be. Though generally speaking, I'd recommend striving for this:

Main idea is to keep the collection as compact and high quality as possible.

It's a great piece of advice!

Having a focus is a good idea. A shelf that's a display is loads better than just cramming in dozens and dozens of toys.

Another great piece of advice. I am of the opinion that, it doesn't matter if your collection's pieces are individually great, if they're all packed like sardines, it's useless (or at least, I wouldn't feel satisfied with my collection). Maybe that's because I'm a particularly minimalistic person.

[BlueKrono]

I'm doing this all wrong then. 😳

[Bucklander]

I'm doing this all wrong then. 😳

There is no right or wrong. Whatever works best for you is right. We are all different, have different tastes, budgets, space availability. It's like asking what is the right way to compose music? Or design a house? There is no correct answer. Just be true to yourself. If others suggest constraints, and that strikes a chord - awesome. But I would guess that no two collectors are exactly alike.

[Halichoeres]

For me it's one per genus with a few exceptions. I have a large collection, but it's considerably smaller than if I bought everything that caught my fancy.

The only rule that should be universal for all collectors is: don't buy Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus more often than once every five years. 

[Primeval12]

For me it's one per genus with a few exceptions. I have a large collection, but it's considerably smaller than if I bought everything that caught my fancy.

The only rule that should be universal for all collectors is: don't buy Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus more often than once every five years. 

Not me buying two T. rex this week.

[Halichoeres]

For me it's one per genus with a few exceptions. I have a large collection, but it's considerably smaller than if I bought everything that caught my fancy.

The only rule that should be universal for all collectors is: don't buy Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus more often than once every five years. 

Not me buying two T. rex this week.

[dies]

[suspsy]

I'd happily buy ten T. rex toys in a single year as long as I liked them and I could afford them. And I'd review them too.

[Gwangi]

I like having a chronology of T. rex figures. What dinosaur species to better represent the changes in this hobby and dinosaur science than the most overdone (and popular) species of all? So although I don't buy every T. rex I still like to get a new one every couple of years, provided it presents T. rex in a unique way.

As far as the original question goes... I'm pretty picky about what I get in the first place so I seldom have the desire to cull the collection. But I also strive to keep my collection contained in the displays that I have allocated them. Those displays are pretty crammed so a cull is probably in my future. In the past I would give unwanted dinosaurs to my daughter but she has outgrown dinosaurs ( ). But I do have another daughter now, she's only two but I hope she'll take interest in the dinosaurs I no longer wish to display.

[Halichoeres]

Oh yeah, and once in a while somebody gives me a dinosaur as a gift, and when that happens, regardless of what might come out subsequently, I'll keep it.

[Gwangi]

Oh yeah, and once in a while somebody gives me a dinosaur as a gift, and when that happens, regardless of what might come out subsequently, I'll keep it.

People giving me dinosaurs as gifts is something I don't want! That's how I ended up with a Schleich Velociraptor.    Thankfully, the few people that do gift me dinosaurs usually use my wish list.  I don't get rid of gifted dinosaurs either.