So, I want to apologize for the sudden and abrupt ending to this blog. I have been thinking about what to write and how to explain everything – if there is a way to explain it – and the more I thought about it the harder it seemed to put into words. The truth is that I was getting more and more frustrated with mounting costs and what I consider to be less quality products. The only power that us consumers have is to speak with our wallets and to stop buying. Of course, that isn’t easy decision to make when you have spent the better part of close to two decades collecting a certain character.
I started this blog back in 2007 when my collection was bursting at the seams already – and when the blog continued to grow in readers and in popularity I felt that I needed to keep the momentum going by posting something everyday. This led to many purchases that I wouldn’t have personally made had I not been looking for something to blog about. That’s all on me, of course, and no one else. Then I started seeing more and more Hulk products that I considered to be over-hyped, too expensive pieces (mostly from Sideshow) that other collectors seemed all too eager to buy. I felt like this was the beginning of a nasty trend. The Hulk Hot Toys – which looks incredible – but is a plastic action figure and the asking price is $300. The Maquette – which is an open edition statue (and to me that is an immediate red flag) – retails for $650. Again, this is a beautiful statue but with an outrageous price tag. Both of these pieces are cool – but I felt like it was just another slip down an already slippery slope where I see the collectible market heading.
If you have read my blog in the past than you know I was always a big believer in patience and finding the best prices and also haggling to a better price. This becomes harder and harder when prices already start at an outrageous jumping off point. Even harder still when other collectors willingly and excitedly pay those pieces and even defend those bloated prices. It’s frustrating to say the least. All of these issues continued to boil over and it was a constant thought and aggravation in my life – what was once a fun hobby had turned into a regular point of contention. I decided it was time to leave this hobby before I became bitter towards it all.
Now for the updates: Believe it or not – the collection has stayed. I did contact someone about buying a bulk of what I had to offer – but it didn’t pan out – and besides, most people wanted me to sell the few things I wanted to hold onto – my comics, art and certain figures and statues. I haven’t exactly left it all behind either – I am still reading the comics and even picking up a Hulk piece here and there – but I have left more on the shelves than I have bought… which is not something that has happened in, well, DECADES! I think I just needed to take a break and to learn to let things go – not get so wrapped up in things. It’s hard sometimes – especially when you’ve done something, lived and breathed it, for 20+ years – to just decide to let it all go. I was ready to do something – shake things up a bit – and at first I thought the best alternative was to do just that: LET IT ALL GO. But I couldn’t.
If anything, I think the many, many emails, comments and phone calls I received humbled me into seeing just how much this site meant to people. What started off as a little passion project turned into a useful place for all Hulk-a-philes (like myself) to come and talk, or argue over the latest and greatest in the Hulk universe. In fact, I just read through an email which really made me miss this site. This was it:
Hello Ratchet!
My name is Justin Wigard, and I’m a graduate student at Central Michigan University.
http://hulkcollection.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/hulk-vs-wolverine-through-the-years/
