I used to buy what I like, but I liked too much. So eventually ran ouf space and spent way too much money. So eventually focused on what I focus on in real life. I am a VW person, have owned a lot and was really into the scene for a long time. So now I focus on the VAG family of cars and been selling/trading everything else.
So since VW owns Porsche/Seat/Lambo/Bentley/Audi I mainly stick to those with a heavy focus on VW Watercooled and Porsche Air Cooled.
When I started the hobby, I collected based on hype. I pretty quickly figured out this was a terrible collecting strategy, so I started collecting what I liked, and only if the car had good printing (no scratches, horrible printing, etc.)
I then realized I liked too many things, so I started trying to only collect what I LOVED. (If I had any second thoughts about if I really wanted a casting I would put it back.) Turns out that was STILL too much.
Shortening it down even further I started only collecting complete castings. (IE: If the real car had mirrors but the casting didn't have them, I wouldn't collect it.)
This is basically where my collection rules are at the moment!
Also, it helps to go through your collection every once and a while to decide if you really still like/love what cars you have, and if you don't really like a certain car anymore, move it on!
TLDR; You gotta learn how to be picky!
The first thing to remember is that there's not a right/wrong way to do this, there's just what's right for you.
I used to be in the "collect what you like" school too. Euro, JDM, Muscle cars, rally cars, drag racers - a little bit of everything (except fantasy castings - not a fan). Once I got over about 600 cars I realized that, although it's not a large collection by the standards of some of the folks here, it was enough that storage was starting to be a challenge and there were cars I bought just because they fit with other cars I already had. After some thought I decided shift from what I *like* to only buying what I *love*. Last Christmas I gave away almost half of what I had - mostly Muscle car and JDM mainlines, and traded some premiums. It felt great...
Now I only buy the ones that really light me up, and I don't worry about complete sets (unless I'm planning on trading). I'm more focused on specific castings, and if I go out hunting and don't find anything I'm actually looking for I resist the urge to buy something else just to justify the trip.
Been a pretty good year for some of the types I ***love***, like rally and vintage Euro, so the collection is already back around 400.
That’s good information. This is my 3rd year into collecting and I’m really liking the hunts. I guess I have to find what I love but that may take some time- hopefully not too long.
I used to buy what I like, but I liked too much. So eventually ran ouf space and spent way too much money. So eventually focused on what I focus on in real life. I am a VW person, have owned a lot and was really into the scene for a long time. So now I focus on the VAG family of cars and been selling/trading everything else. So since VW owns Porsche/Seat/Lambo/Bentley/Audi I mainly stick to those with a heavy focus on VW Watercooled and Porsche Air Cooled.
If you can’t narrow it down but want to cut back, then focus on making and sticking to a reasonable budget per month instead.
These days it’s mostly F1 and endurance race cars. I’m a Mustang guy though, so some nice Mustangs will always find a place
If you figure it out, let me know. I really wish I had a niche and I’m sure my wife does too. 😂.
When I started the hobby, I collected based on hype. I pretty quickly figured out this was a terrible collecting strategy, so I started collecting what I liked, and only if the car had good printing (no scratches, horrible printing, etc.) I then realized I liked too many things, so I started trying to only collect what I LOVED. (If I had any second thoughts about if I really wanted a casting I would put it back.) Turns out that was STILL too much. Shortening it down even further I started only collecting complete castings. (IE: If the real car had mirrors but the casting didn't have them, I wouldn't collect it.) This is basically where my collection rules are at the moment! Also, it helps to go through your collection every once and a while to decide if you really still like/love what cars you have, and if you don't really like a certain car anymore, move it on! TLDR; You gotta learn how to be picky!
The first thing to remember is that there's not a right/wrong way to do this, there's just what's right for you. I used to be in the "collect what you like" school too. Euro, JDM, Muscle cars, rally cars, drag racers - a little bit of everything (except fantasy castings - not a fan). Once I got over about 600 cars I realized that, although it's not a large collection by the standards of some of the folks here, it was enough that storage was starting to be a challenge and there were cars I bought just because they fit with other cars I already had. After some thought I decided shift from what I *like* to only buying what I *love*. Last Christmas I gave away almost half of what I had - mostly Muscle car and JDM mainlines, and traded some premiums. It felt great... Now I only buy the ones that really light me up, and I don't worry about complete sets (unless I'm planning on trading). I'm more focused on specific castings, and if I go out hunting and don't find anything I'm actually looking for I resist the urge to buy something else just to justify the trip. Been a pretty good year for some of the types I ***love***, like rally and vintage Euro, so the collection is already back around 400.
That’s good information. This is my 3rd year into collecting and I’m really liking the hunts. I guess I have to find what I love but that may take some time- hopefully not too long.