The collecting dynamics

Growing up, I always thought my collections would last forever. I'd get more and more things over the years and somehow I had the idea that one day it would be complete and I'd have everything there was to collect on a certain subject (My Little Pony, DVD's, anime and manga) and I'd be happy having it all. Of course, that's not how it ended up working.

As I started collecting things through the internet, the most fun part of collecting was not actually getting new things (while that was fun, too); it was the interaction with other collectors, the trading and making new friends, that made it so addicting. And as much as I enjoyed buying new things, at some point I had so much I began to lose track of what I had and everything went from a fun collection to a cluttered house.
So instead of only buying and trading, I began to sell parts of my collection.

And I loved it. It was awesome to go through my things and select only those that I really wanted to keep and ship off other things to other people, making back some money in the process. I loved seeing my trader feedback grow and I loved using the money I had made selling things to buy new things I enjoyed more.

But lately I haven't been buying much at all; I'm only selling and the size of my collections is shrinking rapidly, and I'm even selling off some things completely. I'm currently in the process of selling my Monster High dolls (all of them) and I'm planning to sell at least 200 ponies because the truth is, I enjoy my stuff more when I only have those things that I really, really want. I used to keep adding things to my collections just for the sake of making them complete, but that just lessened the amount of joy I got from them because they consisted of things I didn't really want.

This doesn't mean I will stop collecting or that I don't enjoy toys or other collections anymore - I most certainly do. I just don't want them to be in every single part of my house and there's so many other things I want to do more lately (writing courses for example). But I am still very much enjoying collecting. Selling, too, is part of the whole collecting experience for me and I love to interact with other collectors on forums and in real life. Besides, I feel like my collections grow stale if I don't go through them every once in a while to make sure I still really want all of it.

And the truth is, I feel like I enjoy everything so much more now - appreciating other people's collections, the few things that I still do buy, the news about upcoming new products; I no longer feel obligated to get it all and I can just be very picky about the things that I add. And it's great to let things go once in a while. Sometimes you just get bored with a toy line or it doesn't evolve in the direction you like and it feels refreshing to say "okay, I'm letting this go and I'll focus on something else", which is how I feel about Monster High now. And sometimes I just feel like selling stuff just so I get to meet new fellow collectors!

Review: Monster High Gloom Beach Draculaura

Finally, after wanting one for like a year, I got my first Monster High doll! I finally cracked and ordered two online. Of course 2 days later I find out they're actually getting released here as well (only took them a year...) but that's okay because I love this line and there's plenty more that I want!

So here she is, my first MH doll: Gloom Beach Draculaura. She came with everything you see in this picture (and a stand and a card with a cute text from this girl to another MH character, Lagoona), which isn't that much, I know. I'm sure the normal releases come with more items (and a cute pet) but I guess for a cheaper re-release with a beach theme it's okay. I would have liked a little towel or so too, though; would have made it a bit more complete. All her items are of proper quality, which is nice for a play line doll.
When I took her out of her box the first thing I noticed was that her hair is very soft and of great quality, something which both play line and collector dolls don't always have. It's easy to style and to play around with a bit. I really like the pink touch in her hair. Her bangs have glue in them to make them stay in place, though. I'm not sure what to think of this. It does help in keeping your doll displayed nicely, but I can imagine this becoming icky when played with. I'm also not sure how it'll look if I wash it out so I'll keep it in for now.

Her faceup is pretty detailed although I do think these dolls have entirely too much makeup, but that seems to be a problem with more playline dolls these days (Moxie Girlz, for example). I like the expression on her face and how close it matches the cartoon Draculaura. You can tell they put an effort in the face mold (I've been told each of these dolls have a unique one, which is great!). Her vampire teeth are painted on but that suits me just fine, I think molded ones would have looked pretty weird.
Her body is a bit cheaper than her face; the joints are sometimes pretty rough and she's not as flexible as most collector dolls I've seen, but then once again this is a play line doll meant for kids so it's not supposed to be delicate. What I really do love is her hands; they're in a great and life-like position so you can create all kinds of wonderful poses for her with them. I think her torso is waaaaaay too thin but it does fit the style of these dolls. They're not meant to be realistic. Still, for a playline doll I can't help but wonder what kind of message this will give to kids playing with them, especially combined with all the makeup.

Her feet are a bit weird; they're positioned in such a way that you can't really put her down without shoes as they're made to fit these insane high-heeled shoes. Don't get me wrong I like her shoes (I love how the colors of the straps are reversed) but I would've also liked for her to be able to walk barefoot (especially for a beach-themed doll). Also the box said she can't stand on her own but she totally can with some effort, which is a fun little bonus.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this doll and I'm sure I'll get some more of this line. I'm not sure if I'll get regular Draculaura as well, I'll have to see her in person in order to decide that. Meanwhile I also have Gloom Beach Frankie Stein here and I am planning on getting a Ghoulia, Lagoona Blue and someother version of Cleo de Nile but I haven't figured out yet which version of her I like the most. I really do recommend this line if you're looking for some fantasy dolls with a fun franchise (really, go check out the webisodes on the official website)!