Anyone Else?

[🪦 Last_of_the_Brunnen-G ●]

In the past year I've reallt begun losing interest in all the horror props and masks. At least as far as buying them goes. Everything these days seems to be either poor quality or overpriced. That and the fact that I've been screwed over more times thatn I care to mention. I enjoy just seeing pictures of the stuff now. I suspect I'm not alone since I've seen several people selling off things they had sworn they never would up until recently, and some people selling off entire collections. Is the hobby dying?

[🪦 myers04 ●]

this hobby will never die always gonna be a kid out there looking for a acurate replica of somthing horror...i try never to sell my personel collection specially me NIGHTOWL stuff..i think some people are not into it as much as they thought and they get tired of looking at there collection.me on the other hand i have had some of my masks for 12 years..but no i dont think it will ever die off ...with j mabry mking new monsters all the time that is..

[🪦 WarLocK ●]

The hobby is definitely not dying... if anything, it's growing tremendously. The bottom line is that we all lose some interest at one time or another. I've gone through droughts where I don't buy any masks/busts for months b/c I have a lot to catch up on in life. And there have been 3 occasions where I've sold off my entire collection to fund other things of more importance. Look at how fast Dan Drista sold all of his pieces... most of them were gone in 2-3 days! And that was a lot... shows you how much interest is out there. The main thing to remember is to keep everything in moderation and stay balanced. If you try to obtain every single mask you want in a short period of time... you'll get frustrated and lose interest. I've been there and done that. You have to just set aside a hundred or so a month and stick to buying ONLY what you like and ONLY what you can seriously afford. Otherwise its easy to get caught up and overwhelmed... which can result in a loss for the passion of collecting. Another suggestion is to always keep things fresh in your collection - buy/sell/trade but only to trustworthy members on the boards. One thing I can never guarantee is that I will take any mask to my grave - there are too many other factors that may skew that statement. I keep what I can and enjoy it while I can. If I still have it when I'm 50 that's great... if not, I know that there were more important things to enjoy in life. =CHAD=

[🪦 SlasherHouse ●]

Well said Chad. You summed it up perfectly. I'm in one of those burnt out stages at the moment where I've sold it all. But I know the time will come when I will get back in it head over heels. I still enjoy seeing new pieces being produced and love seeing the excitement when members score new pieces. The mask making aspect is what I'm into right now and that I hope will never change. The hobby isn't dying out, if anything it's only getting bigger and better.

[🪦 Dr.Killjoy ●]

I've loved Halloween masks since about the age of 6 and I still haven't lost interest at 31. I haven't been collecting as much as I usually have because I'm getting married next weekend so most money has gone to paying for my wedding. If not for that I would have bought more masks. This hobby to me is getting bigger. I see many high end pieces I wish I could drop $400 or $1000 on, only it's not in my budget. those pieces are selling because I see other people snatching them up. You are right about seeing more poor quality work and people getting ripped off. I just avoid giving any of those people my hard earned cash. I've been ripped off on ebay but never from any board members on here or on the HMA. So far so good.

[🪦 Dahone ●]

Wise words, Chad....On a side note.....Congrats, Frank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fang]

I got sick of it twice in the 4 years I've been here, and I sold my entire collection. Then start over again. It's easy to get burnt out quick.

[🪦 jpetz ●]

I agree with you guys. I have gotten burned out myself. I'm just coming back into it again. I have been a member here for probably 4 or 5 years and I was heavily into it for awhile. I had a lot of health issues that I'm still dealing with that keep me from collecting. (money problems too) Its awesome to see all the collections though. Lots of awesome stuff.

[🪦 LustigManiac ●]

Me and Larry had a similar topic of conversation during our trip to Jersey. I have always spead my collection out. I mainly collect posters/lobby cards/ press kits etc etc. I used to have some masks about 5 years ago but sold them all the get a holy grail (not Monty Python just a poster i really wanted) poster. But i came back a little over a year ago and tracked down all the ones i wanted. Yeah after you get them all you loose interest in a way, but i always turn it back into the paper items. I label the masks as done for now. and hit into the paper items which i dont think anyone can ever complete a collection of paper stuff just waay way to much out there and the the paper stuff starts drying up which that happens one week you will see everything produced you get as much as you can and the next week you are lucky to find a bootleg. But life happens, i would in a heart beat sell of my collection if a situation arrised that i had no alternative.. Just My opinion. Matt

[🪦 adam ●]

Chad's right about interest coming and going. I'm at the point where I'm not so into it; I'm not done, I'm still really into horror, but I'm not so into the masks and busts aspect of it. It also seems like nothing interesting is coming out lately either.If you break it down though, there are goals you set when you start out and you want to get those certain pieces. Once you get them, or you get a number of top level quality pieces, anything after that, no matter how interesting, may not be as interesting. But I also feel a lot of it has to do with overpricing. I understand the work that goes into pieces and I appreciate it, just so no mask maker starts a fight, but just a few years ago, a high price was around $250-300. Now, busts are pushing $400-800 and in my humble opinion, it's quite ridiculous. After all, it's just a latex head that sits there and serves no purpose other than aesthetically, and when life gets in the way, you can no longer justify spending half a K on a head.. to have it only set there... staring at you. I still have a very small 'collection' I'm keeping, and I'll always have the movies, books, posters, etc., but I think having busts of every character has gotten out of hand. Maybe it's just me, but when you step back, it looks a little ridiculous to have a ton of heads on a shelf displayed, in most cases, in a small room. Another thing could be that there are not enough solid makers/businesses out there, like Justin and others, like there used to be.I know it hasn't come down to the fact that I've lost interest because I really wasn't as into it as I thought, or that I wasn't really a horror fan or anything like that. I think it's just the financial standpoint of it all. And for me, being a 22 year old guy starting life and trying to begin goals that I hope to reach later on, this is a hobby that has become too expensive. Like I said, only a mere three or more years ago, top pieces were selling for $250-300.