Collecting isn’t just a fun hobby, it’s an expensive one. To anyone else, the figures in my room are just a bunch of duplicate characters or pieces of plastic. But they are special to me because they give me a good feeling every time I look at them. I love lining them up on my shelf and just letting them aura farm.

I’ve been collecting since middle school, back when things were easy to find at Target or Walmart for like $20. But after a while, I stopped collecting because I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore. 

I fell back in love with it when I saw my friend Karlos’ collection. Walking into his room and seeing his setup just looked super cool and brought all that excitement right back. On the outside I was trying to play it off, but inside I was geeking out. I knew I wanted a collection like his.

Since I didn’t have a job and I knew I wouldn’t have time for one since I was busy with sports, I started selling on Mercari to get some money. 

I started selling off older figures from when I was younger that I didn’t care about as much anymore, or ones that were outdated and didn’t have much articulation, just so I could buy the newer things I wanted or go back to figures that I’ve always wanted to make my collection feel complete.

But modern collecting has its obstacles. Prices rose from $20 to $27, and buying three or four figures a month adds up to over a hundred dollars. For a high school student, that is a lot of money spent on figures. It’s gotten to the point where I have to decide between buying a new figure or going out paintballing with my friends (I choose the figure every time).

On top of that, living in Salinas makes it hard to find anything. Most of the time, the shelves at local stores are empty or only have the same crappy figures that nobody is looking for.

I didn’t let that stop me, though. I started getting serious about building full teams this past December. By looking for bundles on Mercari to get a deal, I’ve managed to get a big lineup of the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Ghost Rider and Iron Fist, because they are cool. Honestly, I’m really happy with the collection I have right now, but I am on the hunt for the Avengers Beyond Earth’s Mightiest Marvel Legends Black Widow. That figure is literally the definitive Black Widow to me. Hasbro absolutely cooked with it, the articulation is way better than any other version they’ve ever made, and it comes with a ton of accessories. It’s the perfect version for the display. 

The only thing holding me back is the price. Retail was $27.99, and now you can’t find it for less than $50 because of scalpers. Even though I have the money, I’m not paying that. My strict limit is $40 max including shipping and fees.

For now, I just have a saved tab on my phone waiting for a notification, hoping someone who doesn’t know what it’s worth lists it for cheap.

To someone else, it might just look like a row of toys, but to me, each figure is a victory against high prices and empty store shelves. I’m content with what I’ve built, but I’m still gonna keep collecting whenever I come by something cool.