But now, while waiting for an auction to end (yes, waiting to see if my bid wins), I thought I now have time to write this. Lol!
Figure Purchases
So far I also now have many family figures, but my priority is still getting accessories, buildings or sets (with or without figures) that interest me. I am mainly a non-figure buyer. When I do get figures, I only get select ones and they tend to be from older releases. I buy them used from non-Ebay sellers where it's usually a 10th or even less that of the list price on sites like Ebay. It's nuts. So I've learned not to get such old figures from eBay and they turn up elsewhere online in a matter of time. Note that Epoch manufactured millions of these figures so they do turn up year after year for resale.
My cheapest rare SF figures I'd say would be the Moss reindeer family and Pettyfur guinea pig family. For the latter, it cost about USD $7.50 or GBP £6.00. And for the reindeer, about £10.00 and they've dark noses still, no fade. And looks un-played with. That was a really awesome find. I also got the CC triplet penguins for only between USD $4 to 8. Crazy!! So my biggest tip to newbie SF buyers, try to check elsewhere and not just eBay where these supposedly rare items get extortionately priced.
What has been less easy to come accross were reasonably priced complete Whisker cat family. That cat family is difficult to find off of eBay. When they turn up, it's not a complete family so I skip those. But finally this month, I saw a complete used Whisker cat family (at about 1/3 the usual price on eBay) and went ahead and purchased. It kinda looks like not as pristine as I would have liked. Might need a tape to remove any fibers sticking to it. So we'll see once I receive the set if I should hunt for another set or resort to eBay. For now, it's one more key family off my SF figure shopping list! hehe.
My priciest figures tend to be the JP releases whether current or discontinued. They are just too cute/perfect. i.e. the JP Cottontail rabbit grandparents, or the 2019 Exhibition Exclusive Chocolate rabbit family set (I don't even have the Chocolate/Hopscotch rabbits complete. Lol.) or the set in the last pic below.
I hope to get the Flair Royal Wedding set one day. No one's been selling a great condition complete set on eBay. Great condition ones are usually for auction so I think I'll finally just bid for one when the time comes. I usually skip auctions as I hate those even though I mostly win auctions. It's a time-sucker. Lol!
My rarest set (with figure) would be the JP Exciting Camping set from 1987 that comes with a beaver, two kinds of campfires, AND a carton backdrop (not in pic below), etc.
Non-Figure Purchases
On the other hand I already have many key buildings/building sets I wanted (just a few left here and there which I won't lose sleep over) that I'm no longer as on the hunt for buildings as before. I'm actually glad I've slowed down. haha!
One of the buildings that is still on my list is a new-ish release. The JP Toys R'Us Town Series mansion gift set from 2018 I believe. Seeing as it's going to be released this year in Europe, I'm still waiting to see if it'll get to our North American shores this year or next (hello amazon) before I buy one, since I find amazon usually has better price and even best when on sale. hehe! Definitely on the lookout for that one!
My rarest building is the JP Village Church. It looks like the Tomy school but way better mainly due to the stained glass windows. Needless to say that's also my priciest building, while the JP Sylvanian Theatre being the next rarest.
Future Collection Plans
Since I'm still into the older releases, I haven't bought or prioritize the latest releases by Epoch. And they're not as attractive as prior releases. Plus these things would still be available for years down the road so I'm taking it slow but still looking for the older stuff I might be interested in (the Flair Gypsy Caravan set, and the Wedding Marquee tables and chairs sets would be nice to haves! ).
Also right now, I'm thinking it would be nice to collect as many Town Series figures as possible eventually. I used to hate the satin-y fabric/outfits but I'll just have to tolerate it. I think they're worth collecting and would still be pretty cool even after 10 years.
