What's your budget?

[Lobsterman]

All this talk about what the coming year holds for Minimates, as well as a pricier-than-usual toy run today got me thinking: what's your tolerance for pain on a pack of Minimates? A box set? Toy prices have been creeping up over the past year, and it seems like they're jumping a bit more with the launch of some new lines ($8 for a basic The Brave and The Bold figure?!?)

Right now, a two-pack is running $7 at TRU, and most online retailers. LCBs are asking a bit more. DC two packs were at, what, $9 some places? So what price is going to make you jump ship? A number of people have said they're already not buying every single set that comes out any more. What's the number that makes you say, "eh, I'm done with 'Mates?"

As for me, I still (thankfully) have the budget to get one of every set – although feeding the 'Mate habit has pushed some other toys off of the bottom of my list. I think $10 a two pack would have me thinking twice about Marvel sets I wasn't thrilled with, and passing on sets from other franchises. $16's my limit on box sets, unless it's a movie I really, really like.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Lobsterman

[karamazov80]

I don't think I could pay $5 for a new, individual Minimate (so, $10 for a 2-pack would be too much, though I could see myself paying $8 in certain situations). . .but, it would depend on the Minimate.

[captain_cbecker]

Since I'm not a completist, my tolerance for pain varies based on the individual mate or license.

I'd pay up to the current list price ($7-$8 for a 2-pack / $15-$20 for a box set / $5 for a 1-pack) or a couple bucks over, plus shipping for a license that I really liked and wanted... like ST, BSG, BTTF, Clint Eastwood, SOTL etc.

I wouldn't go over list price on most Marvel - and to pay list, it would have to be something I really thought was well done or eye-catching, like the Iron Man Movie Wave. Otherwise, I'd start considering at 25% off, depending on character. I rarely pay to ship and will try to find these at a shop first.

Other stuff, like Rocky or 24 I might pay list, but I'd probably wait to see if I could pick it up for less... and I probably wouldn't pay to ship unless I really got a good deal.

DC Mates would have to be really on sale (like 50% off list) for me to even consider.

As for the super-exclusives (Gold/Silver/Santa Spidey, Santa Cylon, Elf Spock) - I track the auctions to see how high they get, but I'd never spend more than about $10 for any single mate - $350 is much too rich for me - I'll leave those for you guys who can appreciate them (and don't have a wife and family to answer to)

[murderofcrows]

My budget is slim for minimates right now. but seriously i will get all of wave 25 and 26 well maybe not bolt face but then again maybe...these waves are that good.

if it isnt a comic book mate, it will be hard to justify this year...maybe a John Connor from T2 and an Arnold Termanator if it comes out...

Punisher War Zone for sure

pass on the Spirit.

but i wont be able to to justify multiples and that sucks for the aim agents....ok maybe 2.

now if the economy continues to tank,...who knows i may have a complete collection right now.....come on recovery papa needs a red skull!!!

now broken record time...i would pay anything for a Kang Minimate

[Twisted Two-Face]

My budget?? If i have the money, i'll buy anything no matter the price. And Momma is willing to lend a few 20s here and there.

Rigth now, though, i need to limit the spending on 'mates. In April i'm getting the iPhone (damn phone-contract-expiration-dates) and need to save what's left of my X-mass moolah. I plan on the Secret Invasion set, wave 23, Wave 24 variant, Spirit, some Terminators (i really don't need John...), and BSG Wave 4 + lots of flight suits and Officer's jacket-suits.

After my phone, i'll be back on track and plan on Marvel 25-26, a few Punsiher sets, more SI sets, the Hostile Takeover set, and the BSG New Caprica set + 5-6 IF they ever come out.

[wallbreaker2.0]

$10 okay $11 not okay. I would have to do seriously rethink my collecting if they got to $11 for a new pack. Althougth I do from time to time pay more for new variants. Oh I'm in Canada so Canadian funds.

Edited January 8, 2009 by wallbreaker2.0

[Trekker 42]

I get no toys except Minimates anymore (and the occasional too-awesome-to-resist, suca as a Movie Masters Joker) so my toy budget is there and there alone. And now that I have almost the entire Ultimate Universe in TPBs (My dream at last realized) I have even more. Though I'm kinda on a Classic Films kick and a some of my toy budget is going into my movies budget to better my movie repritoire (I saw Casablanca for the first time a few days ago. Life-changing. I swear. And I'm getting The Maltese Falcon sometime soon. Out of curiosity, and unfortunately off topic, is Sparticus any good?)

[Nessex]

I collect a couple of lines at the moment. I was collecting the Masters of the Universe mini statues which were retailing for $45 each in Australia. A lot of money - but they are gloriously detailed & the paint aps are almost flawless.

I'm also pretty keen on Marvel Legends & Marvel Minimates. The Legends vary greatly in price - In comic books shops & large retail stores like Target/K-Mart i've paid anywhere between $14 & $35 dollars for a marvel legend. Rather depressingly - it's been the Hasbro Legends (of which i am less fond) that have set me back the most. The price seemed to jump once Hasbro took over.

As for Minimates (which are only avaiable in Comic Specialty stores), I've paid up to $20 for a two pack, and about the same for a 4-pack. At my local CBS, most of the DC MiniMates are $15.95 a pair & Series 16, 19 & 20 of Marvel MiniMates sold for $17 a pair.

Even with the difference between US & AUS dollars, there's still quite a price hike sometimes - And i'm sure it's not all shipping costs.

I have a Hasbro Exclusive Marvel Legend Sunfire on order & it's costing me $40. . . OUCH!

Unfortunately, i'm too much of a sucker to say 'No'.

Seriously - i think a crack addiction would cost me less!

[Dio]

I just buy whichever Minimates I need so that I can be done with it for months at a time.

[MiniFiend UK]

I dont really have a budget I just save a bit every month on my credit card then buy what comes out that I want.

[Rad]

Budget?

AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Erm... I just pretend I can afford em and hope my wife doesn't look too closely at the bank statements.

[buttheadsmate]

Although my budget remains the same, what I can buy with it (in the US) has decreased by 30% in the last 4-5 months

[NorthRaider]

My budget?? If i have the money, i'll buy anything no matter the price. And Momma is willing to lend a few 20s here and there.

Rephrase that last sentence as "masterfully weasel a few hundreds off of Mom and Dad" () and that pretty much sums up how I can afford new minimates. Since (and I reiterate from another thread) they're crazy-hard to find here, I end up being a WHOLE LOT MORE FLEXIBLE with regards to the maximum price I'll pay for a pack.

The highest amount I've ever paid for minimates is (conversion from Philippine Pesos to US Dollars aside) approximately $5 plus shipping for a single loose mate (DCD Mary Marvel from local eBay), $12 for a two-pack (DCD Supergirl/Bizarro set from local eBay... not including shipping ) and approximately $24 for a boxset (a tie between the first BTTF set and Avengers#1). I will seriously draw the line if a two-pack hits the $16 mark, and will downright commit harakiri if a boxset hits $40 *eep*

(I saw Casablanca for the first time a few days ago. Life-changing. I swear. And I'm getting The Maltese Falcon sometime soon.

I was equally blown away when I saw Gone With The Wind in full for the first time. I'm also a huge fan of that Jet Li film Hero. (My college professor even used the costumes in that film as a motif for her wedding! We all love her, she is the coolest.)

(Haven't seen Spartacus yet so I dunno if it's any good. Sorry )

Edited January 8, 2009 by NorthRaider

[buttheadsmate]

NorthRaider , perhaps my situation is way different to yours & I'll try & do something more than sympathise. I live in the UK & have never bought a Minimate in a shop in my life apart from once in a Suncoast in San Diego. Everything I buy is plus shipping ,usually plus international shipping & it is much the same for every collector outside of the US. Unfortunately that is the fact we have to live with. Despite that there are many people here who have helped me build quite a collection . The box sets you mention are mostly still available & could be shipped altogether for probably the cost of just one of them ! Perhaps your situation precludes buying a whole heap in one go so perhaps foster a relationship with a fellow-collector who might share the costs ,trust me there are ways round it. If your interested I'll elaborate later.

[TBT!]

Budget?

AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Erm... I just pretend I can afford em and hope my wife Concience doesn't look too closely at the bank statements.

What he said with the apropriate modifications.

T.

[winkerbean]

i normally buy by the case so i'd say alot but i do favors (no not those sort of favors ) so the cost comes down and its not like its 2 cases a month so i'd say around £70 on mates

then god no's how much on materials for customizing and making set's but some of that stuff normally just falls into my bag at work and comes home with me

Edited January 8, 2009 by winkerbean

[gambitron]

Luckily my wife thinks that minimates are cute so me buying all the ones I want is cool (I usually get one of each and then extras on clearance here and there) other than that I get 20$ a paycheck to satisfy any other collecting that I do*, I keep a list in my wallet so that I hold myself to buying those things which makes my "allowance" last longer.

*I can usually convince my wife to let me get other things though, within reason.

[drgnrbrn316]

Given that my neck of the woods is relatively dry as far as Minimate findings go, I tend to place all of my orders online, picking up whatever stray packs make it to store shelves. As far as budgeting goes, I should try that sometime. The "preorder a case now and pay for it later" approach tends to bite me in the ass, especially when Diamond sees fit to ship about 8 different products at once, leaving me to eat a several hundred dollar bill when it would be far more manageable to pay a little each month or whatever.

[Jatta Pake]

I've had to eliminate all Minimate purchases starting with the New Year but I'll grab variants if I can find them. My lists of needs to trade will grow this year, but I have a backlog of mint in box goodies I've been holding onto. New collectors will want to watch my trade list starting in March.

[Lobsterman]

I've had to eliminate all Minimate purchases starting with the New Year but I'll grab variants if I can find them. My lists of needs to trade will grow this year, but I have a backlog of mint in box goodies I've been holding onto. New collectors will want to watch my trade list starting in March.

Ouch, sorry to hear that, Jatta. Sucks to quit cold turkey...

[NorthRaider]

I've had to eliminate all Minimate purchases starting with the New Year but I'll grab variants if I can find them. My lists of needs to trade will grow this year, but I have a backlog of mint in box goodies I've been holding onto. New collectors will want to watch my trade list starting in March.

I wish I had the immediate capacity to buy mates from the States already, so I could call dibs on that MIB Joker/Harley Quinn on your list!

(Dammit... just gave it away, didn't I? *facepalm*)

[gledzee]

i dont have a budget a such but as im not a completest by any means i usually dont by whole waves (that was till i saw timbo's pics of wave 23 ) but being in the UK BHM i know your pain im lucky enough to know a couple of shops that sell mates but once they're gone thats it so a good portion of any self imposed budget for a particular mate is usually taken up with shipping so this year im having to see what my money situation is like with each release

[Ivan]

It's weird. I've never really thought about it in terms of 'budgeting' for Minimates. They've always been affordable (apart from the super-rarities I still don't have), and the expectation is that if they're available I'll buy them. Of course I don't buy at any price. In my soul I'm still a cheap bastard and will comparison shop for the lowest total cost.

When I try to come up with an upper limit though, it's tough. $10 for a 2-Pack, sure. $12, okay that's do-able. $15, unnh, I guess, I do have a website to maintain. Much more and that's where the hard decision would have to be made. I think I'd have to murder (with great vengeance) my internal cheap bastard if I decided to pay more. (Of course that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, he was the guy who prevented me buying a gold spidey in '03 and convinced me not to spend more than $3 on extra blanks. Jerk!)

If things got to that point my other toy purchasing would definitely drop before Minimates. Muggs, done. LEGO, I've got enough. Hasbro Heroes, I've already cut back. Random impulse Japanese blind boxes? No more Designer Interior Chairs for me. (Yet they will never leave my heart.)

I rarely buy loose 'mates, and only if I need a bunch and can get a bulk discount.

*Goes off to play with his cute little chairs. No tea party like a mini tea party!

[handsomedevil]

I probably spend an average of $20 a week on toys. I'm currently into SW/Marvel Muggs and DCU Classics. I used to buy Galactic/Robot/Combat Heroes, but they're up to about $7 a pack and that's crazy for that small bit of articulation. I used to be a completist with anything I collected, but now I just buy what I REALLY like. Those damn Build-A-Figures usually blow that though (anybody need a loose DCU Amazo? LOL). It's getting pretty sad when a single Mighty Mugg, Marvel Legend or DC Universe figure costs over $10.

My breaking point with lines usually comes when the prices jump drastically at about the same time that the quality drops drastically. With Minimates, that time came when they were still in Target and arms and legs were breaking off right out of the box. I've picked up a few loose 'Mates since, but they have been from other members' sell offs. At least that way, I'm sure they're defect-free...

Edited January 8, 2009 by handsomedevil

[Gouki]

I buy what I must have FIRST. They get the other one that are not so important.

But i really want customs. It's just so cool having minimates that no one else has that is like it. But the price for them are alot. Probably $15 up for just one.