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The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions (from a collecting perspective). I have to say that it is not really one of the big world problems, but it is what us as collectors have to deal with.

First of all I received shipping notes for two great statues and I am really excited to add them to my collection. By coincidence they actually will pair off nicely.
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First shipping note was for the delayed Incredible Hulk Premium Format Figure from Sideshow collectibles. I have been waiting for this since I ordered back in April 2014.
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Secondly I received a shipping note for the huge Hulkbuster by Imaginarium art. I am really excited for this as I feel it was the most shine out piece of Singapore Toy and Game Comic Convention 2015 (Still working on Geo so I get to keep this one, may cost me later on).
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Then while I was on the internet looking for trips to New York, as I was planning on visiting in a few weeks for New York Comic Convention. I quickly realized that the flights were pretty cheap, but the accommodation costs in NYC are insane. I searched for a few hours, before it dawned on me that I will not be going and I should have planned further ahead of time. So while sulking to myself and scrolling through social media for something to cheer me up. I managed to do a deal on a piece I have wanted for a long time. I checked the price of the piece and my bank funds… Even though this is going to be the most I have personally spent on a piece. I justified the purchase as I would spend 3 times as much if I did go to NYC. After transferring money between my bank accounts and asking my girlfriend to sponsor me till payday. The Big Chap Maquette from Sideshow Collectables will be joining my collection (yes it did cheer me up).
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Then, while I was riding the wave of pleasure for all of the great pieces I would be adding to my collection, I quickly realized that I do not have the space. I sat down and took the old fashioned approach, took out a tape measure, a pencil and paper, sketched out my room, listed my collection and measurements of my collectibles and cabinet. I even phoned Geo to ask for advice…He just laughed and provided no help at all (to be honest I would have done the same to him). I even resulted to going through the latest copy of the IKEA catalogue. It did take my mind off of the problem for a little, but it wasted 30 minutes of my time, I realized there was no cabinets big enough to encase the Hulkbuster  , that I still hate all of the new Besta range doors (bring back the Tomba!!!) and finally that I am in trouble (space-wise)!!!

So my morning of collecting drama got me thinking that these must be the issues that arise with collectors at some point and I thought I would look at what are the top 3 issues for Radd Titan.
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This is a factor with most things in life. We have brought a lot of collectibles over the last few years. Geo and I have put out over 250 videos and most of them are pieces one of us have owned to give you some kind of idea. So it is not surprising that we are both under pressure form out partners to slow down.

Also, the cost of collectibles is only going up in price and at a pretty fast rate. Premium Format figures from Sideshow used to cost $299 and used to have edition sizes that were a lot lower. In this case it was seen as an investment collectors would feel that they were getting their moneys worth and also if the worse came to worse the value of the collectibles would raise over time. Currently to get some pieces in hand is costing over $1000 even before shipping and the tax and with edition sizes bumped up. Will this lead to the bubble to burst with the oversaturation of product and companies wanting their slice of the collecting market? (This is another topic we will cover on a weekly chat or a discussion on a separate post).
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Space is the enemy 95% of us have to deal with. Geo and I are currently very lucky and we both have assigned Man-Caves for our collections (Geo’s Man-cave…. Alex’s Man-cave). We have both utilised our spaces differently, but we both are adamant that we do not want to overload our rooms with too many collectibles and take the focus off of other pieces.

Geo has a strict plan. He has a list of the characters he is waiting for and his spaces are set aside. Geo is a naïve fool. There will always be pieces that come up that he has not considered and the other point relevant to this section… Pieces are getting bigger!! So when Geo has some spaces set a side (on top of his detolfs or to use two shelves in his detolfs) he maybe in trouble when they do not fit in the locations he has reserved.

I have he same issue really there were 2 pieces I did not have on my radar to join my collection, but then the great guys at Imaginarium Art got in touch and sent us he huge Aquaman on throne each and the even bigger Hulkbuster.. Not to mention I have about 10 pre-orders and a hulk and big chap Alien coming in the next few weeks… So I am in the process of planning out my room again…To be fair… I am pretty screwed (space wise).
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The main issue we have with time is the delays from companies. Geo waited 6 months after the release dates to receive his Superman PF and I have waited an extra 9 months for my new Hulk PF. This is frustrating as the companies have our money for such a long time with out delivering a product. Especially companies like Pop culture shock who I have 10 orders with and 9 are paid in full, but I can not check the progress of my orders on their website (but that is a debate for another post).

Also when statues are displayed at conventions, but then we have to wait a year to pre-order and then over a year to actually receive them. Guess we are just impatient.

Geo is surprisingly patent with waiting for thing to be released and he does not complain as much as I would have thought about delays. He will moan about it a lot and swear constantly, but he will sit on the money till it is released.

On the other hand I am different… First of all it will not bother me so much. I will tell myself that it is for the best. The company is doing all they can to make the product to the best of their ability. Then, while I look through social media and EBay I will see a few things that I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. I will not bite straight away. I will leave it and maybe go out for a drink with friends. Then when the right amount of alcohol has entered my blood I think about the space on a shelf and the money in my bank and I struggle not to spend. Maybe have another drink, but it does not help. It just makes me almost lie to myself and say it is a good idea. Also with Phones now having full internet access it make it even harder, Facebook post update, new eBay listing matching your saved searches and even YouTube updates saying new videos from you subscribed users. I normally crack and I am terrible as I end up buying without always reading the full description. This has burnt me in the past and I have got a lot better with it.
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Whereas there are still other factors that arise, like final products not looking like the prototypes, issues with quality control or even items being cancelled and my personal favorite or where do I put the latest art box and shipper. The above where the ones that bothered us at the time of writing and yo keep the post at a easy to read post as I know for babbling on.

If you have any topics you would like us to write about please email Alex@RaddTitan.com
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