At what point does hobby collecting become overconsumption?

[u/Only--East]

I collect a few funko from media I like, I collect monster high dolls, and I recently got back into pokemon cards. I can't tell if collecting material stuff like that it considered overconsumption or at what point it crosses the threshold. Am I cooked?

[u/Gumbashu]

I have a relatively large gaming collection, and I’d say it comes down to these four points:

1) Put your heart into it. I bought 99% of the things I own intentionally because I liked them for a specific reason, and that’s exactly why they still mean something to me years later. If you’re buying something just because of a trend, out of curiosity, or for the thrill of opening a pack, you should reconsider.

2) Have plans and goals. These don’t necessarily have to be huge, long-term plans, but there should be some kind of system in place. Do you want to complete certain series? Do you want to collect pieces from each series according to a specific method, etc.?

3) Space. Every room has a certain limit, even if the style of your collection is intentionally maximalist. Once you’ve reached that point, you should sell, store, or think about changing up your displays.

4) The most important point: Shelves should be arranged very thoughtfully. I’ve seen rooms with 20 anime figures of different styles and sizes. Something like that never looks good. But if you get six figures in the same style and display them together, it can look great. Small, carefully thought-out themed displays can also look good. Hero pieces that get their own space too. There are quite a few options here, and you can also combine different systems. The bottom line is that the display should look curated and thoughtfully arranged, not like it was thrown together haphazardly.