It has pretty much become a fact of life that whenever a certain franchise becomes popular, the merchandise is never far off. And why not? Certainly for fans it is pretty cool to own something from a beloved movie or tv show. It ofcourse also has a downside, and that is it usually is not very kind to the contents of your wallet. When there is money to be made, they usually know how to cash in on something that is very popular. I’ll be honest, I can be highly influenced by advertisements. Especially if I like a movie franchise or tv show a lot, I pretty much begin to collect stuff from it. Ofcourse there are certain lines that I don’t cross. If I have to cough up an amount of money that I have to work a year for (yes, I like to exaggerate lol), than I say thanks but no thanks. But if it is something that I really like, and the price is right, than I really like to add another piece to my collection. Showcased below, for your enjoyment, are three franchises that I enjoy collecting stuff from.
Star Wars
Ever since seeing Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, I have been a massive Star Wars fan. I love science fiction, and without a doubt Star Wars will always be my favorite galaxy, far, far away. Over the years my collection has been growing a lot, and it contains novels, action figures, trading cards, artbooks, comics, and games. We are about a month away now from the latest installment hitting the theatres, and I am already looking forward to it immensely. The problem with Star Wars merchandise is that there is so much to buy and collect, that it is almost impossible to keep track of it all. Still, with no end in sight to what is on offer, there is a lot to enjoy for fans.
The Walking Dead
What can I say, ever since first seeing the first episode of this incredible tv series I have been hooked. After learning it was based on a comic book, I started with collecting those, and when the tv series became popular, the merchandise train got on board as well. The Walking Dead has some truly awesome action figures on offer from McFarlane toys, as well as novels that expand the story, and some very cool boardgames. Though the range is not as wide as Star Wars, there is still enough on offer for fans, to start collecting stuff.
Sword Art Online
Earlier this year a friend of mine told me to start watching an Anime series called Sword Art Online. Honestly, at the start of the show I did not enjoy it. Sure, the storyline was interesting, the animation looked cool, but I just could not get into it. However I did continue to watch, and I am really glad I did. This series has become one of my alltime favorite Anime shows, and as is usually the case with things I like, I just had to start collecting some stuff. A few months back at the Amsterdam Comic Con (which is pretty much the same as the American version, only smaller) I found some truly cool items, which are on display at the picture above. This collection is at the moment pretty small, and I don’t think it will grow as big as my Star Wars or Walking Dead collection. Still, if I come across something interesting, I will probably add it to the existing pieces.
Final thoughts
Merchandise can be a lot of fun. As long as you can contain yourself and don’t go overboard with spending money, I see absolutely no harm in starting a collection of cool stuff. The biggest problem I think is that whatever you start collecting, there is usually way too much on offer, or too little. Some movies or shows, that are a little bit less popular, have almost no merchandise to collect. That can at times be frustrating, especially if you are a fan. On the other hand, with too much on offer, it usually comes down to what should I buy? You can only spend your money once (duh) and with so many cool items on display, it can become very hard for a fan to make the right decision.
So what are your thoughts on merchandise? Do you like it, hate it? If you are collecting stuff, what are some of your favorite pieces? Let me know in the comments section. As always, thank you for reading, and see you at the next post!
I probably fall under the category of going overboard. My Free! collection is starting to get out of hand. LOL. I’ve been collecting nendoroids for specific series and some figma’s (as you can see from my IG) – I’m pretty bent on getting all Haikyuu characters!! I think my growing Haikyuu collection is my favorite so far. I actually JUST started buying merchandise and collecting this past year to be honest. lol.
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Haha, well good for you! I say go for it. Honestly I am pretty much an impulse buyer sometimes, and especially on certain comic cons, it is hard to resist the items on display lol. So yeah I can understand what you are saying. Still, it is truly fun to start a collection, so I say keep it growing lol 😀Thanks for your response 😀
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Yeah I often wonder what I’ll do with the collection as I get older! Lol maybe my future kids, nieces or nephews will love anime just as much! And yes the cons are a disaster for impulse buyers!
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Haha…well I am 40 now, and I still enjoy the collection and Anime, so I say for some things you are never to old 😀 Isn’t that true right? There really should be a law against those cons….but then again no there shouldn’t be. I love those cons (even though my wallet doesn’t 😂)
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LOL – I’m 31 and definitely still a kid at heart
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I will always remain a kid at heart myself as well (and proud of it too lol 😂😂)
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My biggest problem with merchandise is where to put it. I’m kind of out of wall and shelf space (not because I have that much merchandise but because of other things). So even when I find something cool I question whether or not I have anywhere to put it and usually the answer is no.
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Haha….yes that is another big problem with merchandise as well lol. So yeah I feel your pain. At the moment I have way too much things stored in boxes, instead of on shelves to display. Oh well…Maybe it’s time to ask my boss for a raise so I can buy a bigger house 😂😂
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Bigger house would definitely solve the problem. Though in my case having less stuff would also probably help (far too many books and things stacked around the place).
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Haha…yeah I have the same. I just have way too many hobbies, and like way too many things. (And that also makes it hard to keep up with things). Still, I would not change a thing to be honest. Like my hobbies too much for that 😊
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oh my god that Sword Art Online merch! So cute ❤
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Haha, I know right? I am especially fond of the Asuna figurine 😀 I just could not resist buying it (even though my wallet wanted to lol 😂). Ps: welcome to the blog, and thanks for the follow 😀
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Ahh I love the collections. I am trying to improve on my SAO collection as well. I have a lot of the LNs, a teleportation crystal necklace, and lots of posters. Your collection far exceeds mine though! Nice stuff!
I also dig the Star Wars Old Republic encyclopedia that you have. The Knights of the Old Republic games were some of my favorite, and I highly recommend if you haven’t played them yet.
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I am currently reading the Old Republic Encyclopedia and will be doing a review of it sometime in the future, but I can tell you already that it is one of the finest Star Wars books in my collection. The art and wealth of information in it, is absolutely amazing 😀 The games were great too ! Sword Art Online has pretty cool merchandise out there. (And way too much tempting offers lol:)). That teleportation Crystal sounds cool !
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My main collection are the shows themselves. I have a ridiculous amount of DVD’s, lol. But I do have some Star Wars merchandise that I mostly collected within the first few years of becoming a fan. I’ve got some nice Sailor Moon stuff too and wouldn’t mind having some more of that 🙂
I love your Sword Art Online collection! The amazing artwork from that show is perfect for all kinds of merchandise.
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Haha….well…..my biggest collection: is definitely dvd’s as well lol. I also have an enormous amount of them, bordering on the pretty much insane 😀 Sailor Moon is definitely cool to collect as well. Most of my Sword Art Online collection was from visiting a single con, pretty much amazed at what I found there (but ofcourse I did not mind it all 😀)
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When it comes to merchandise I try to not go overboard, as I don’t have much storage space. As an example, I own the Walking Dead graphic novels on tablet rather than the physical books. Good series, but a tad depressing. I stopped reading after the infamous bat scene.
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I have the same problem…but I also have a much bigger problem, I just have way too many hobbies lol. Which means there is always something that I find on cons that I just have to own lol. But yeah, I do try and contain myself as much as I can, it doesn’t always work though
I own the first three volumes of the Walking Dead graphic novel, but still have to read most of it. I guess since I’m such a fan of the tv series itself, that I don’t have the urge to really read it. (It’s a bit like Game of Thrones which I also haven;t read yet 😀).
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