Geek Girl #14 - If You Give a Geek A Comic

If you give a geek a comic, they will want the trade. If you give a geek a trade, they will want the complete run and so on and so on.  This is what we do as geeks. We collect stuff that has no value to the rest of the world, but to us, it is the mother lode.  We horde our stuff as if it’s the cure for some illness.  I should know. I am a geek that hordes like no on else.

I have a sickness that can only be called toy collecting.  I shop at Toys-R-Us  and Target so much that the clerks know me by name and sight.  In fact, they will when asked, hold certain items for me while I go get a second shopping cart.  They LOVE me - period. 

I have earned the respect of many a cashier by just showing up and saying do you have (fill in blank) and that I need two of them please. I am really bad when it comes to collecting toys that I feel, as a geek, I need in order to go on living.  So indulge me for a bit and let me share with you some of my finds, both recent and in the past.

I am  currently collecting the Alex Ross Kingdom Come series - http://www.toywiz.com/dcdico.html.  I own about 20 figures and still have a long way to go in completing a set.

I have found that at my local comic shop, the owner is trying to unload a bunch of stuff that’s taking up space in his back room.  The figures are being slowly marked down each week. I have managed to pick up a few main characters and a lot of the secondary ones for about $4.99 each plus a 10% store discount. 

Sweet! Score! So going to get them all!  But as I am on my happy mission to collect these toys, I have a sense of guilt at getting these toys at dirt cheap prices.  Many of the people that I know who are series toy collectors do not always find the deals that I manage to find. 

The best example of this is my old toy collecting group over at Star Wars Action News - http://www.swactionnews.com/.  These guys really pay some hard earned cash to pick up good toys.  I know Star Wars toys are expensive, but being a serious collector of this line can cause you to go broke, fast.

I know eBay is always a good spot to look for deals, but with shipping and handling you might end up paying more than your actual toy cost.  A few years ago I picked up a Star Trek communicator for my husband for $20. The shipping from eBay was nearly double.  I did not have a choice in the matter. It was the week before Halloween and he needed it for his costume. 

This link is a better deal for a two pack that includes a phaser gun.  Again, money is issue on finding cheap deals for our collecting habit.  Remember the geek creed: Buy low to buy more later.

The last deal that I have to share is a tip. Find  a group of fellow collectors who are willing to trade for figures that you do not have or for ones you need to unload. 

The concept is to trade and/or  buy—at cost—extras of collectable items. This way, you have a surplus to trade in order to get your holy grail. I have found that a group really works quite well if you have like minded goals. 

The best way to do this is to go on Yahoo and find any number of groups that share the same likes as you and join the group. 

I would recommend as a new member of a group that you start out slow and not try to grab all of the go od stuff first. Make sure you share or you will get booted from the group fast.  Take you time. Slowly learn your way around the idea of trading toys. 

Here is a warning: some people are not into trading for the love. They are in it for money.  Don’t get so caught up in the joy of trading that you get burned by a pro who only wants to pick up items to resell on eBay for twice the toy’s value.

So that’s my little guide to being a collector on a budget. 

Shop smart, be safe when trading and most of all have a blast hording all of your geek goodies.