What and when did you start collecting?

[colorwindpainter]

Uhhh I started collecting beanie babies when I was a kid.... Moved on to collecting Pokemon, mostly eevee related stuff and her evolutions. ( I still collect eevee stuff), I've been doing Disney pins for about 5 years now. I also have a collection of Minnie mouse plushes, pascal plushes, and horse plushes. I didn't learn about Disney le dolls til Merida and only like specific ones since they are BIG dolls and my room is really small and limited on room. I also collect comic books and Harley Quinn statues. My rooms crowded. Hehehe.

 

[Tbird]

I don't collect the dolls, just the disney pins. Now my wife collects the disney snow globes. I also collect aviation related pins and I have around 400 or so of those. I also collect BB and pellet Guns (Mostly Daisy BB guns) and I have over 60 of those.

 

[OlafOlaf]

Well, I don't have a LE doll yet, so I guess I'm not collecting them right now. I do want to start collecting them, the new Frozen dolls would be my first. Apart from LE dolls, I also collect Disney snowglobes and figurines. But not as actively as say pins or future dolls. I do still regret not getting the Brave snowglobe when I was pin Paris in September.

My mum and I also collect BJD dolls and I collect some Blythe dolls. But again, not as actively as we used to. It's a tough business, to want to collect such high valued things.

 

[Dollover]

I just never grew out of dolls. There was a period where I was too embarrassed to buy them but I stopped caring what people thought when I started undergrad. My doll collection has no rhyme or reason. I get whatever looks good to me, so I have Disney dolls, Bratz, Integrity, Barbie, Lollipop girls, My Scene, Momoko, J-dolls, Takara dolls... yeah too many. Running out of space.

 

[Jazzy B Bunny]

I started collecting Lion King in 1994.

I've also had a "huge" Diddl collection somewhere in the 2000's, together with my sister.
(yes, the German mouse, hehe) but I've stopped collecting that. Though, I have all the stationary sheets complete up untill 2009 or so, I feel I should go on ebay and get the rest, just to keep it complete, haha!

i love Diddl!! I had an S necklace with him on and it went missing been looking for another for ages and they don't sell them anymore.

As far as my collections go, I've been collecting lion king stuff for a few years now. Now I also seem to have a side collection of frozen too!

 

[starjade]

This looks like a great thread for me to start posting. I'm loving the sound of all these pokemon collectors. I love pokemon but I've only collected the games LOL. I have every single game since 3rd gen (i.e all GBA and later games) but none of the earlier ones, namely because I've lost them all. I say I collect the games because I mostly don't get around to playing them. I've also got the new the new Tomy legendary pokemon figures as a present from my sister.

I started properly collecting Japanese figurines since the beginning of 2010 (right out of high school) when I realised that there's actually a proper market for it, rather than just the counterfeit goods I find in the dodgy markets I go to from time to time. I used to purchase practically every anime character I knew that was released (so about $300-500) a month, but that wasn't sustainable so I stopped in the beginning of 2012. I found out about the disney designer princess collection when Belle was up for pre-order/order and at the time did go to ebay to look for dolls that were already released. However, back then since my focus was on Japanese figurines I spent all my extra money on those instead (which I severely regret now). I've been relatively up-to-date since the releases of the designer collection but had no idea about the LE line until Polaris (I'm pretty you're the same person I've been emailing *waves hi*) mentioned them when I recently purchased Rapunzel designer princess off him. He's been incredibly helpful in my search for dolls

So I've only JUST started collecting Disney dolls, (i.e. it's been less than 2 weeks, and I only have DP Rapunzel & Snow White and LE Cinderella, LE Ariel on the way) and the market for the dolls is very VERY similar to the One Piece Japanese figurines being released in 2010-2011 where the pre-order wars were totally crazy (One Piece is the most popular anime in Japan - it's EVERYWHERE) and Japanese online stores would crash due to the number of people trying to access them. What I find fascinating whilst browsing these forums is that the type of conversations, speculations and questions being asked are all very similar to collecting the One Piece figurines (and Japanese collectables in general). However in the last two years the market for the figurines have become completely saturated, and there is so much that is being released you can't keep up. The companies just keep pumping out collectables that it's just no fun anymore. Many older figurine releases that were originally grail status became devalued (in my opinion) as more and more products flooded the market and have been re-released into so called "limited edition" repaints that look terrible anyway.

I'm hoping the above doesn't happen to the Disney dolls that I've started to collect because they truly are beautiful and my friends can now actually admire them with me (since I'm the only nerd around that collects Japanese figures yet everyone knows Disney).

Anyways, at the moment I'm trying to clear my existing collection of Japanese collectables and going to focus exclusively on the designer and LE collections. I seriously can't wait to fill up all my cabinets again.

 

[snowqueenemma]

I used to collect Beanie Babies when I was a kid quite avidly, and then moved on to Breyer horses. I'm trying to sell off the majority of my Breyers now so that I can afford Disney dolls! I am brand new to collecting Disney dolls, my first ones being the 12" Elsa and Anna from the Disney Store. I'm going to be getting the LE Elsa. I wish I could find a 12" Rapunzel from the original run - I love that dress, but hate the one she's in now. Same goes for the original run of Merida since she comes with a bow. I eventually would like to add more LE dolls to my collection, but that has to wait since I have to focus on paying for graduate school abroad next year - that's kind of more important! :lol: My goal is to collect all things Frozen, Tangled, Brave, and perhaps some Beauty and the Beast.

 

[HightopNinja]

The collecting bug is something I've been bitten by for so many years.

I started collecting comic books when I was but a young six year old boy. Twenty five years later, my collection is massive and sitting in storage at my parent's house. At last count, over 10,000 strong in my collection, and I still have the first comic book my uncle bought for me, an issue of Silver Surfer featuring the Impossible Man. Its been to hell and back, but I'll never have it in me to throw that book away.

In the early nineties, I got really into video games. I had had them before, but I actively started saving games/boxes/manuals/etc. when I was in about 6th or 7th grade. I have a massive collection of NES/SNES/All the way up to the Xbox One. I've been going through it recently, trying to trim the fat, but most of them are tucked away in boxes, so they tend to just collect dust until I get bored and hook up my NES.

Of course, I also have action figures/statues/etc. ranging from Sailor Moon to Megaman to Macross to Batman. I'll have to take some pictures soon and post 'em up. I have about two display cases of them and need room for the others.

What can I say? As long as my house doesn't look like it belongs on Hoarders, I'm happy to collect things.

 

[squizz]

Ah this thread is awesome!
I actually can't remember the first thing I ever collected was, I seem to have been doing it for years now. I'm guessing from the first time I ever had my own money lol!
I was always a Disney Princess girl, I had a full set of Disney Princess dolls from the disney store, its amusing because back then the Princess brand didn't exist and Disney only sold the first six and tink, which is crazy when I see my room now.

I sporadically collected Teddies, barbies and lego for years, alongside small snowglobes and ornaments from the disney store. During Uni I collected Pullip dolls, though in recent years they've found themselves with less and less space as the Disney Dolls stole their shelves.
For me my Disney Doll Collection restarted when the first Designer Edition came out, I was working abroad and watched from afar as they came out, I brought the Postcards and had them sent home, I didnt have money for dolls after all.

Whilst I was still working abroad a friend sent me a picture of the soon to be released Animator's collection, no info just the photo, with a message saying saw this and they made me think of your drawings ( which is more than generous lol) but I loved it and saved it to my laptop. When I found out they were dolls designed by Glenn Keane and Mark Henn, I needed them so much lol. My degree is in animation and I collect Animation art books, I was determined to get my hands on them and started saving.
I brought them the day of there release in the Uk, getting my friend to cover for me lol whilst I left the stall I worked on to fetch them.

When Brave came out I loved it, especially Merida and her ginger ringlets, when Disney Store released her limited's photo on facebook, I knew I had to have her , my biggest problem now is finding room to find the pretty shiny things i acquire for my nest, but I swear if I had my own house, every room would be girly and full of dolls even the bathroom!

 

[TheDisneyFanatic]

I suppose the first thing I would say that I actually collected was Pokemon cards, which was probably when I was in the 5th to 6th grade. I used to be obsessed with them, and remember constantly begging my parents to take me to the store so I could buy a few new packs. I remember I loved trading with my cousins, who always seemed to find my favorite Pokemon and some awesome legendary Pokemon. Then I went to Yu-Gi-Oh, which I remember getting a lot more into as I both collected them and actually played the game (I had so many at one point that they took up a large section of my closet and were scattered in different places across my room). My mom and me I guess technically collected Disney stuff the whole time, because whenever we found something Disney related we would usually buy it because we both loved Disney so much and it was such a big part of my childhood. Those times were so simple back then. Now that I am a more serious collector, I collect anime figures and collect more Disney merchandise (In-fact I JUST started collecting Disney pins...yeah I know I am late to the game).

 

[Tinkerboy]

I really thought I had posted in this thread. Oh well.

We have always collected Disney stuff over the last 10 years or, a few pins here and there, a couple of prints, Duffy items, other items. We have a LOT of T Shirts from Disney. Then when the Vinylmations came out we started collecting those.

I was collecting Living Dead Dolls and Pullips (now only have two Pullips, Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffanys, and Marie Antoinette). Then last year I started collecting Monster High dolls (just got rid of them all though to make room for more Disney dolls).

Then about last summer I started with the Disney dolls, and the LE Ariel was my first pre order than I started getting all of the Designer dolls I wanted secondary market, and then I got the DFDC dolls. Then I revived my Disney pin collecting, which led me to DPF in the Fall.

Im keeping my collection to Tink, BatB , TLM, Tangled, SB and Frozen though. If I tried to get them all Id run out of money and room.

 

[Siren]

I've always been a collector and always have loved dolls, so when I grew out of playing with them, I started collecting them. My love for Disney things started in 2009 when I went to Disney World for the first time and I started collecting Disney dolls shortly after.

My main collection is mostly Little Mermaid but I think that will change since Frozen has become my favorite Disney movie.


Little Mermaid Shelf by thedollgrotto, on Flickr

This is a small part of my Little Mermaid collection on my bookshelf that has a lot of my other Disney collectibles on it. I also have all of the Animator dolls and some miscellaneous singing and classic dolls and plush. I've accumulated a lot though since 2009, so focusing on my favorite movies is something I have to do because it's becoming too much too fast. I also have eight of the 17'' LE dolls and I started collecting them when Wedding Rapunzel was released. I've decided to only collect the princesses and heroines like Alice from that line because they're my favorites and I don't love the villains and princes like them. I started buying the villains but I'm now selling them off. I hope one day I can have a wall full of clear shelves to line my LE princess dolls on in order of their movies' release dates.


Monster High collection by thedollgrotto, on Flickr

I also have collected Monster High dolls since they were first released. When they first came out, I collected every single doll since the lines were small. Now that it's grown as big as it has, I only collect Abbey and Lagoona dolls and have sold off a big portion of my collection.


American Girl Dolls by thedollgrotto, on Flickr


Caroline in the Snow by thedollgrotto, on Flickr

My last big collection is my American Girl dolls. I've loved these dolls since I was a little girl and recently got back into collecting for them last July. I love history and dolls, so they're perfect for me.

I also have to say Polaris that your Pokemon collection is impressive! I also love Pokemon and plan on collecting a few things of Glaceon, whose my favorite Pokemon and maybe a few other ice types I like.

 

[SoraPandora]

I've always collected something...

I guess it started with stuffed animals, as a small child - a collection I still cherish, and add to every now and then.

In elementary school, I collected cat figurines (porcelain, ceramic, wooden, resin... If it was a cat, I wanted it) - my favorite animal. I went through short bursts of collecting other animals - bats, owls, wolves, and crocodiles - but I always came back to cats. I still have some favorite pieces of my cat collection, but most of it was donated years ago, because it started to take over my room. (I also collected McDonalds toys, Sanrio, My Little Pony, and Littlest Pet Shop figurines in elementary school!)

In middle school, I collected magical, fairytale items that caught my eye, along with new age items like tarot cards and crystal balls. My Bat-Mitzvah (13th birthday party) had a fantasy theme, and my mother hand-painted all the centerpieces - carousel horses, castles, and chess pieces.

In high school, I got a little wiser, and decided to stop collecting big things - which took up way too much room - and start collecting smaller items. Thus began my collection of bookmarks, postcards, notecards, art prints and stickers - all of which I still collect today. I also got a pet pug dog at that time in my life, so quite a few pug items were added to my cat collection.

I had always collected a little bit of Disney and a little bit of Sanrio, but I think high school is when I really began to focus on those collections. (I was a goth girl then, and rather obsessed with Tim Burton. I had a lot of Sally merchandise, along with Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Alice in Wonderland. "Chococat" - the black cat from Hello Kitty - was and still is my favorite Sanrio character.) I also started collecting purses, shoes, and comic books that caught my eye.

A couple of years ago, I started collecting clowns and circus stuff, and a couple of dolls that my friends find exceedingly creepy.

Now, at the age of 28, I still collect most of the above items, along with my biggest collection ever - Disney pins!

And I have always, always, always collected books. ♥

 

[SoraPandora]

Oh, and I recently started collecting Jim Shore figurines and hair bows! :facepalm:

 

[Lady Ariel]

I can't remember if I started collecting Sonic the Hedgehog comic books first, or TY Beanie Babies XD Then I used to collect Sailor Moon memorabilia, Spice Girls memorabilia, Pokemon cards, movie stubs, Harry Potter memorabilia, "Gone with the Wind" memorabilia, Romeo & Juliet memorabilia, musical theatre souvenir programs, Bleach (manga & anime) memorabilia, manga, Black Rock Shooter memorabilia, Ariel figurines, Twilight memorabilia, R.L. Stine Fear Street books, Hanson memorabilia, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia...

I didn't start collecting Disney Princess dolls until 2011 when the Designer dolls came out, and then started collecting miscellaneous Ariel memorabilia, MLP Fluttershy memorabilia, and Lady Gaga memorabilia. I still collect a few things from above, but the Disney Princess line has taken me hostage, LOL.

 

[Bionicgirl1459]

Hi all,
I started collecting dolls when I was a kid, mostly ones that were gifts at holiday time as we didn't have much money growing up. I have a few boxes hanging out at my parents still (heheh) my grandmother had collected holiday barbies as well so there are a few of those thrown in that I acquired from her collection once she passed away. I took a break for awhile during college, and then started again with some of the villains collection that came out from mattel, and some of the mattel disney princess dolls that were released, then onto the obvious disney dolls from disney, and a few park released dolls. Unfortunately I'm out of room again!
:anxious:
Thankfully my fiancee stopped me from selling any of them when I started to panic about costs for our wedding this winter... I knew I picked him for a reason!

 

[tdscm19]

You know, I never considered myself much of a collector but I'm starting to think that I have mini collections of things starting to spring up...

It started when I first started working for TWDC in 2010. I found out about the vault system and decided to get as many of my favorite movies on Blu-ray as I could.

My main thing is mugs. I have a big mug problem, to the point where I'm running out of space. It started with one, then two, then this one was on sale and then this one was so pretty and then this one went on clearance but this one was new. Now I have a ridiculous amount. I'm really having to cut down and choose which ones I can't live without. Most of them I use but some are too pretty, so they go on display only.

Here's a few of my favorites over the year... not my pictures, but I promise I own them.

My Duffy collection is starting to get there. Currently I have the LC Duffy, medium Duffy, Shellie May, mini Duffy, keychain Duffy and hand puppet Duffy... plus outfits of course. I also have the Disney Store display board to go behind my collection, as shown below though the collection was smaller back then.

He's just soooo adorable.

Lately I've been doing the vinylmation thing but in moderation. I pick one vinyl from every series I love and stick with it. So far that includes Gaston from Batb, the shark from TLM whose name escapes me right now, mini Snow White from the SW keychain series and mini Jasmine in her red outfit from the new Aladdin Vinylmation Jr.

I feel like my small collections are nowhere near as fancy and cool as everybody elses! And I don't collect dolls, so I'm a bit of an outcast on these boards lol but I just adore reading about all the releases and the excitement about everything.

 

[Graemecookie]

Hi I started collection toy story toys first and my collection has grown to the point where I have all charachters from woody and buzz to wheezy the penguin and Lenny the binoculars. Some of these toys are very hard to find and worth a lot of money so I don't let my kids play with them haha. Then I started collecting all the disney classics on blu ray and pixar films. My best piece is the luxo lamp in a collectors case and it's number 2 out of 500 ever made.
Then September 2013 I thought I would buy the dolls 17" LE so my 3 girls have something when they are older and I like them too haha. I got Ariel first then got the 2 frozen ones and now pre ordered the other 2 frozen ones.
Just wish I started the dolls earlier

 

[Beachgirl626]

Very enjoyable threads.You all really put a smile on my face. I was crazy for Barbies and Care Bears as a kid[still wish I had my old Jem an the Holograms dolls] Also collected Garbage Pail Kid cards, boy were those fun. LOL ~Disney has always been huge with me and my sisters. Disney videos were on repeat in our house. Going to the movies to see the latest Disney movie was always my favorite night out growing up. Now I can share all of this with my daughters. We love listening to Disney soundtracks,watching new/classic movies, Disney t.v. shows, reminiscing about past trips to D.L. and etc...~Trading Disney pins at Disneyland, got me started. My family and I so love that part of our Disney time together!! Tinkerbell, Princesses, Minnie are my favorite kind of pins. Although sometimes I am drawn to super random pins...
From there I went crazy for Vinylmations for a while. I really loved anything related to romance or sweets on that collection.The Kidada releases are probably my favorite from my collection. So whimsical and pure fun.
Now I am totally hooked on Disney Limited Edition Dolls. The amazingly wicked Designer Maleficent was my first limited doll. She must have put a spell on me because all of my collecting attention has gone to limited dolls.The 17'' dolls are super well done and I really love how well detailed they are. I started at the right time with Winter Elsa and Coronation Ana. They are by far the pride and joy of my collection. My happiest purchase on Disney.com ever!!! Super lucky to be able to collect and enjoy this hobby with my daughters and you fellow Disney fans! :hug: Aloha!

 

[rabbitunderground]

hi!

as a child and in terms of disney, i used to collect disney princess magazines (still have some thanks to my grandparents). my favorite movie was "the little mermaid" and i remember making a paper shell necklace after seeing the second movie because it blew my miiiiiind. haha!

but i really like collecting whatever i feel like collecting. i collected kinder surprise toys and still sort of do now, although european toys are awesome and i can't get my hands on any anymore, unless i go on ebay, but it's not a super duper collection i like to pursue. possibly someday, cause hand painted little cute figurines are awesome.

now though, i mostly collect alice things. i love collecting vintage and rare alice in wonderland books with beautiful illustrations. i have a couple of disney alice in wonderland items, including books, an ornament, that tea tin, a pin, and a snow globe and a candy wrapper which features cheshire. my collection strays from the animated film into things like a very nice silver/gold/black pocketwatch with a clear back (a bit expensiveee but so pretty), bracelets, etc. i also made a jewelery box to store that in.

i am really getting into pixar stuff now. i love "up", "ratatouille", and "wall-e", and hope to collect a few things, especially art books. i'm in love with "up", although for the sake of my face the next day, i can't watch it because i will start bawling. unfortunately, a lot of merchandise is quite expensive and rare, so perhaps one day i will start and expand my collection. it's probably in the top 5 for me, if not the top 3 animated movies of all time.

i also like "anastasia" merchandise because that movie holds a special place in my heart and i have a huge vinyl figurine of anya.

yeaaaah! <3

 

[milaya]

I've been collecting stuff ever since I remember.
It started out with letter paper, stickers and napkins.
Then it became Diddl stuff, nail polish and what might have been in fashion in the 1990's.
After that I was Pokemon and Dinosaurs. (I was such a boyish girl back then).
Then I think I collected Idol posters, idol magazines and Pucca stuff.

During high school I collected Japanese pop CDs and after that until recently I had a period I actually didn't "collect" to be specific, but I spent a huge amount of money on make-up, clothes and shoes. Guess like a true girl.
And then because my husband and I decided to try and get pregnant a few months ago, I wanted to get my favorite Disney movies on DVD for our future children. For some reason I came across the Animators' Collection Dolls, bought Mulan and Belle in the spur of the moment I thought I would regret it, but a week later I bought Jasmin and Ariel. Skip forward a few weeks and I had bought all the animator dolls and classic dolls and that's when I discovered the limited edition dolls - got up early on the 10th of January and pre-ordered the Anna and Elsa set and got my first LE dolls. Money has magically disappeared from my husband's bank account ever since...

As I'm unfortunately a person who gets all passionate about a certain collection and a few years later I cool down and regret getting things - I am happy that the LE Disney dolls only gets more valuable as time passes.
Now I'm thinking of selling half of my CD collection, because it just takes up space and most of the CDs are still in the original plastic - though getting those 500+ CDs with me to Japan when I move is a big problem.

 

[weebo]

Wow great thread and some wonderful collections thanks for sharing

Me well i collect a lot of stuff, i collect movies i have a collection of over 2,500 and i have now moved on to blu rays and blu ray steelbooks to i try and put some photos up, i also have a few traditions figures and 2 WDCC figures to, i have some animator dolls, vinylmations, pins other Disney collectables to and also coins, i have started a new collection of movie posters to 11-17 size. Having Aspergers Syndrome makes me collections easy as i get obsessed with things that i get into , oh and how could i forget i collect Disney cars to yes i have 100s lol.

 

[Mcandy]

Well, when i was a kid I collected barbie dolls...then sweet valley twins and SVH books in high school. Then as an adult, I came across disney snow globes and also some disney figurines. I dont have a space anymore so I stopped buying. 3 years ago or less, Whenever im in toronto I always visit american girls store. I wanted to buy but I thought its for kids and its embarrassing to own one. I didnt buy any. Then I discovered the disney store. I bought the classic dolls of anna and elsa then came back for kristoff and then hans. My husband was so supportive of my hobby. Then when the first store of disney store opened here in my town, I saw belle being displayed and I was in love. I bought her and then followed it with gaston. Im thinking if I should buy too from the heroes vs villain thats coming up or just stick with the 17 inches doll. Im considering getting moana as well. I didnt like what happened when i missed getting rapunzel because I didnt know about LE dolls so maybe I should get moana. Such an expensive collection! But hubby told me hed rather collect these dolls than designer bags lol

 

[kabe]

Choosing which dolls to collect is a tough one. I've limited myself to the 17" because their size is so novel to me, but I do wonder a lot about switching teams to the designers. The 12" ones are so well made! And I feel you on the embarrassment with toys for kids - I often find myself trying to sneak into the toy aisle in department stores, hoping no one will catch me in there

 

[Mcandy]

Me too. Before I started my doll collection, I always make a point to visit the toy section of walmart to look at barbies. I was a mattel girl. I thought it was the best made doll til I came into the disney store. I like american girls too. I remember looking at a kid carrying one when she came in the disney store. The hair looks so soft and lovely. I never bought any american dolls because of the price. Disney LE dolls are different in my opinion because it is LE so it justifies the price for me. I love dolls a lot.