For new readers: next to my desk at work is a little yellow notebook, in which I have been keeping a running total of every action figure or toy I buy. I started December 2005 and haven't filled it yet, so apparently I'm not buying enough figures. Hopefully, each entry has the figure, the line, the price, and where I bought it; and possibly a link to a cartoon or strip that toy was used in. (Unless that figure's unloved or unphotogenic, I guess.) Totals will usually include postage and tax. Usually. This is by no means a "Best of" list or anything, just what I bought.
As always, most of this list was kept up at OAFE.net, and here's links for 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006. Seven years of data...of my spending habits, which probably tells you nothing, but still.
1-5 GLC Manhunter, $8.80, Toys R Us.
1-20 Loose DCUC Timber Wolf, $13 w/free shipping, eBay.
1-23 Nightcrawler figurine, $7.16, eBay.
1-24 Battlestar Galactica Tigh and Gaeta, $9.99+.97 postage, Hastings.com.
2-8 DCUC Samurai, $9.74, Wal-Mart.
2-16 Lego Minifigures 6 Mechanic, $3.24, Wal-Mart.
2-17 Marvel Legends Steve Rogers and Ghost Rider variants, $14.99 each, total $32.43, Target.
2-23 Lego Alien minifigure, $3.23, Walmart
2-27 Lego Astronaut Girl, $.99 + $1.50 postage, $2.49, eBay.
3-2 DCUC Toyman, $5; Winter Combat Captain America, $3; total $8.72, Walmart.
3-6 ML Stealth Iron Man, $16.29, Target.
3-7 ML Klaw, $16.78, Wal-Mart. (Completing Terrax!)
3-9 DC Heroics Superman, $.97, Wal-Mart.
3-16 ML2 Captain America (Bucky-Cap), $16.29, Target.
3-20 Thundercats Cheetara (six-inch), $7.58, Wal-Mart.
3-25 ML Fantomex, $16.29, Target.
4-11 DCUC Hawk and Dove, $15.99 each, Target, total $34.63.
4-17 Two DC Action League Martian Manhunter/Deadman packs, $1 each, Wal-Mart, total $2.19.
5-1 DCUC Indigo Tribe Atom, $8.84, Fred Mayer.
5-13 DCUC Star Sapphire Wonder Woman, $6.79, Fred Mayer.
5-17 DCUC Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, Sinestro Corps Scarecrow, $6.79 each, total $13.58, Fred Mayer.
5-19 Green Lantern MM unmasked, $4.31, Ross.
6-15 Movie Masters Jim Gordon; Wal-Mart, $16.50.
6-16 or so: DC Direct Saturn Girl, $1.99+$2.45 postage.
7-2 Anti-Monitor left arm, $4.00+$5.00 postage. DC Direct Nite Owl (modern!) $8.50+$7.99 postage.
8-6 Movie Masters Batman, Bane, $12.79 each, K-Mart. ($25.58 total.)
8-10 Batman: Power Attack Two-Face and Mutant Assault Batman; $8.97 each, $17.94 total, Wal-Mart.
8-16 HALO Cortana, $2, Wal-Mart.
8-22 DCUC20 Sinestro, $8, Wal-Mart.
8-24 Young Justice Red Arrow, $10.80, Ross.
8-31 Young Justice Aqualad, $10.80, Ross.
9-20 DCUC Shark (loose), $3+$3 postage, eBay.
9-26 Movie Masters Catwoman, $16.99, Fred Meyers.
10-4 DCUC Elasti-Girl (loose), $16.99+$13.99 postage, eBay.
10-11 Regular Show Mordecai & Rigby, $21.67 w/postage, Toys R Us. (Website.)
10-23? DCUC Uncle Sam (loose), $11.03, eBay.
11-20 MM R'as al Ghul, $17.99, Hastings. Completing the Bat-Signal!
12-14 Rorschach (loose), $9.99 shipped, eBay.
12-24 Power Attack Total Destruction Batmobile, $14.99, Fred Meyers.
12-28 ML Iron Man (90's Neoclassic), $5.90 shipped, Amazon.
2012 total: $706.32. 2011: $564.71. 2010: $966.10. 2009: $558.16. 2008: $555.16. 2007: $426.00. 2006: $620.00.
Although I'm usually pretty solid in my record keeping, I know this year I didn't keep track of garage sale purchases; like the as-yet unidentified robot seen with the DCUC Manhunter. I know I didn't spend a ton on yard sales, either, but still. Likewise, I bought multiple Hot Wheels/Matchbox Batmobiles, Bats, Mystery Machines, and so forth; both for myself and the boys and my nephews. And the same for the Avengers Chibis, Marvel Bonkazonks and Squinkies, vending machine toys: little things seemed to fall through the cracks, then.
Still, I'm mildly surprised the total was up a little this year; since there seemed to be long stretches where there weren't a lot of figures floating around, and the usual gloom-n-doom about the action figure market collapsing or drying up or imploding or whatever. Somehow, I still managed to come up with a ton.
eBay made a bit of a comeback in terms of my purchases as well; partially because I picked up several figures loose directly from China: Azrael-Batman (although I bought him domestically as well), Uncle Sam, Blue Lantern Kyle, Timber Wolf, Rorschach, and possibly my favorite figure of the year, Elasti-Girl. "Dinner Jacket" Venom was an older figure, but also loose from overseas.
eBay and happenstance also played a part in completing one of this year's three Build-a-Figure/Collect-and-Connects, the Anti-Monitor: four figures bought at various degrees of clearance plus two parts from eBay, for a total of $46.07. The other two, Terrax and the Bat-Signal, were finished from retail purchases. The six figures needed for Terrax were a combined $98.25. The Bat-Signal's math takes some walking-through: you needed the six Movie Masters figures to build it, but a seventh, broken piece came with Commissioner Gordon! And Dale hooked me up with Alfred! Out of the seven figures, one was a gift, three were marked down, three full price, for a total of $86.75.
3 comments:
Nice captions there, especially the Kyle/Sinestro one, Dinner Jacket Venom/Catwoman(DJVenom should be like the unofficial mascot of this site, or a Matire'de, one of the two;)
and of course the US Agent/IM and US Agent/Bucky Cap one. Love that "So cold....so cold" line from Ra's/Duc Gard.
Also glad to contribute to your habit, as you do with mine;)
you have a lot of testicular fortitude to openly showcase just how much $ you spend on figures. You have my respect;)
Especially when you looks at the $ you spent on these things compared to what else you could've spent them on and, you're like, hmmmmm. Oh well, better than spending it all on useless things like reliable transportation, gas, housing or crack right?:)
Also like you, I hit a dry path from oh say July-October, and then really blow the point spread in the last two months alone. God help my poor shelf when it comes to this year:)
HOly...! That's a lot of figures!
I have to say that you have Sinstro down pat.
Pretty much. Methinks Goo and I are in some kind of unconscious/sub-conscious game of who can get the most figures in a year. He's ahead only because he still buys the smaller toys, yet I probably out-spent him. I guess I didn't win after all;)
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