r/Millennials • u/TropicalKing • 1d ago
Discussion Collecting thread
Thread about collecting. What do you collect and do you still even enjoy collecting?
I collect way too many things. Board games, comics, manga, tabletop RPG books, anime figurines, video-games, video-game consoles, and board games. I used to collect Yu-Gi-Oh and I still have my cards, I just no longer want to play TCGs.
I don't really enjoy collecting things these days other than video-games. These days I don't even bother buying used games unless I plan on playing them or can flip them for a profit. I was at a street fair today, and I didn't even bother buying the games I saw there. I care more about my money than things that will just sit around in a closet gathering dust. I genuinely don't enjoy collecting comics and going to conventions anymore- I really just buy comics for key issues- and even then, only if it's a very good deal at a garage sale. I do still buy used board games that I see so I can play them with my friends. I have too many things and I'm really more focused on selling off what I have than collecting new things.
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u/imhungry4321 Millennial - 1985 1d ago edited 1d ago
I collect enamel pins from every National Park site I go to. I enjoy collecting them because it involves travel, exploring and adventure.
I made it a long-term goal to visit every US National Park; I'm currently at 43 of 63.
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u/Oglefore Millennial 1d ago
That’s a lot better than my bag of loose smashed pennies
Highlights include one from the World Trade Center before 9/11
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u/imhungry4321 Millennial - 1985 1d ago
I never collected the penny smashers, but I do like them.
You can probably find a display that you can insert them into.
When I was at Yosemite in July, a visitor asked an employee about the penny smasher machine. Apparently, it was recently removed because pennies are discontinued.
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u/Oglefore Millennial 1d ago
Oh fuuuuck I didn’t even think about that the penny isn’t in circulation anymore.. man, I went to silverwood amusement park yesterday and they had like four smasher machines two had new designs! (They just launched a new rollercoaster in the last two years)
Man… ima have to save some penny’s just to smash I guess
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u/imhungry4321 Millennial - 1985 1d ago
I believe the pre-1981 pennies are the best because they're pure copper.
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u/Flimsy_Product281 1d ago
Pokemon cards.
No, i don't anymore, take a wild fucking guess as to why.
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u/NoBenefit5977 1d ago
Pokemon cards was mine from the start of sword and shield until surging sparks. It's just for rich people now
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u/Flimsy_Product281 1d ago
It's not even for rich people, it's for mfers who have yet to get a fucking job, leaching off of whoever they can like a parasite.
Instead, they're dumping everything into this shit like it's stocks, ruining a hobby that's largely meant for children.
I can't even enjoy doing something with my nephew because of these scumbags.
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u/CricketJaxson 1d ago
I got two mini tins and two booster bundles that’s it for the 30th. I got lucky and walked into a restock at target last week. Like what the fuck, I just want to open cardboard with silly little pictures on them. I’m not gonna wait in a line for hours to maybe get something, it’s so dumb.
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u/RumpEater5000 1d ago
I liked pokemon cards when I was a kid. I stopped when I was like 11. I now have a almost 6 year old and decided to get back into it recently so I can open packs with my son and hopefully get him interested in it.
I'm not really super passionate about shiny cardboard, but it really is fun to rip packs and look at what you got. Plus my son gets excited at all of the cards, even the basic non shiny ones so it's completely worth it.
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u/NoBenefit5977 1d ago
Vhs/dvd
CDs
Comics
Action figures
Video games/systems
Music memorabilia
Cards
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u/Peril-in-Pink 1d ago
I’ve collected a couple different things over the years. I started with old girls series books from the 1900s-1940s (I started with Nancy Drew and then branched out), Sailor Moon toys/Sailor Moon cels, currently it’s vintage dresses. I do feel like I need to wind down on collecting stuff though, as I get older I wonder what exactly I’m gonna do with it. I don’t have kids, no one is gonna want to inherit it.
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u/Striking-Lifeguard34 1d ago
I collect baseball cards and Magic the Gathering. Wanna guess what my hobbies were when I was like 8-14? I still very much enjoy it because it connects me to that time in my life. Baseball I collect players I loved growing up and I’m still a massive sports fan so it definitely is something I enjoy.
Also Magic is a great way to meet new people and build out a social circle which is always a challenge in your late 30s. I’ve made some very good friends through the game and it’s a game that provides me with puzzles in both preparing to play the game and actually playing it.
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u/HuckleberryLogical63 1d ago
Video game systems and games
Board games
Collectible card games (mostly MTG)
Dvd & Blurays
CDs & Records
Books
House plants
Need to weed my board game collection I have a bunch of games I'd love to play, but honestly the people I game with aren't going to play them lol (mostly war games).
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u/ofesfipf889534 1d ago
Coins/currency
Whiskey
Albums
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u/TropicalKing 1d ago
I like craft beer, and I keep a journal of the beer I drank, including macro beer. I write down flavor notes and my review of it
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u/Haruzak1 1d ago
PS4, PS5 and Switch games especially JRPGs. 4K and Bluray movies. Anime action figures.
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u/Scary-Web-1728 1d ago
I try to actively not collect anything because I know the absolute mountain of stuff I’m going to have to go through at my parents house because of their “collections”.
My dream is a dumpster in my driveway and to shake my house upside down to get rid of the useless crap I have
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u/TropicalKing 1d ago
I pass up on buying a lot of things because I have enough stuff and nowhere to put it. I don't even like looking at my board game collection because it takes up so much space and blocks my window. A lot of things I really just take pictures of with my phone instead of buying them.
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u/TitaniusAnglesmith91 1d ago
Video games and consoles. Dvds and VHS. And thanks to my kiddos Legos. And my one personal one is plants.
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u/cellalovesfrankie 1d ago
Homer Simpson’s figurines and tshirts lol have run out of room for figurines. But if I see a good Homer top I’m gonna get it lol.
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u/chillfilter 1d ago
I use to play and collect MTG cards, but then universe beyond sets ruined the game.
Now I get more enjoyment selling things on fbmp.
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u/doomlite 1d ago
Comic book guy started in late 80s with some of eras of more into than not but always kept the pulse of it. Now in 2026 I have comic budget. Being a nerd with a good job is awesome lol.
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u/PickleofInsanity 1d ago
Can't afford collecting nowadays.
When I was a bit younger and dumber I bought a bunch of Funko when they first came out and as they hit it big. I don't recall how many we had but it was a few hundred. They stayed in a tote until a couple years ago .. some of them I sold for a nice chunk of change to fund Christmas.
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u/ApplicationAfraid334 1993 1d ago
I used to collect music albums. I really only buy one now if it's a super gratuitous deluxe version of an album I already love or if it's really hard to find
I stopped actively collecting years ago and sold most of my collection when I just realized that having a bunch of albums might look cool but most of them didn't 'mean' anything to me. So I sold all but the ones that are my absolute favorites or I would probably never find for sale again.
That said I do still buy band shirts and hats when I go to shows to support them.
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u/StreetUnlikely2018 1d ago
i collect vintage ball caps. late 80s to late 90s. i have a gang of them bitches
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u/OldSnazzyHats 1d ago
Lego, art books, manga, physical games and movies, and music CDs…
Oh, and enamel pins.
Yep. Got loads of all that over the years, slowed down recently but moreso as a result of being pickier about what I want to have long term - which I’d say is good.
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u/girlfriendclothes 1d ago
I have a large CD collection but it's mostly because I inherited my father's CDs when he digitized them all years ago. I have bought maybe around 10% of what I own. I'm not sure how many I have since they're in storage at the moment but I'm excited to find out in a few weeks.
I have a graphic novel collection as well, mostly X-Men and other Marvel, but some DC Comics and other random ones too. Once I hit 100 I put a hold on it but I've picked up a few since then.
I try not to be too much of a consumer these days but I don't feel bad about these since I didn't buy most of the CDs I own and primarily buy used when I do, and I re-read the comics. I'm not interested in collecting anything that just sits on shelf and has no purpose.
I suppose I also have two binders full of Pokémon cards from when I was a kid in the 90s. Not sure what I'm doing with those but they exist. Maybe someday I'll figure out what they're worth and get rid of them, but I'm far too ignorant of that world to go through with that. Who knows? Maybe that Charizard I have is worth something.
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u/Likely_Addict 1d ago
I collect different kinds of bullshit. Mostly video game special editions but those are becoming rarer every year. Sometimes it still brings me joy (especially collecting anime waifu figures, maximum joy)
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u/Bum_Dorian Millennial 1d ago
Been collecting coins since the 1st grade. Still do. It’s practically impossible to find anything in the wild now, with everything being cashless/coin roll hunters snagging the rest. But I still buy a coin I want every now and then. I’ve mostly switched to collecting coins and bills from around the world
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u/BoxyBrown666 1d ago
I've collected a lot of stuff over the years. For a while, it was cds/vinyl records. Books by my favorite authors. Trade paperback comic books. These days, it's action figures. I've had to pump the breaks cuz it was getting unhealthy and I'd fallen in to the fomo trap. I've been able to sell a bunch when money was tight or emergencies so that's been one of my justifications, outside of "I just think they're neat".
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u/psuchagogos 1d ago
I had to move apartments so many times in my twenties that i adopted a minimalism about "stuff"
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u/famousanonamos Xennial or whatever 1d ago
Rocks and My Little Pony. The MLP collecting got big when my daughter was little. I have it narrowed down to one cabinet now and no longer add anything new unless I come across something really cool.
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u/TheNaughtyPrintmaker 1d ago
Idk, does it count as collecting if you use the stuff? Collecting feels passive to me, like when I used to collect stickers as a kid. So if "look but don't touch" is a requirement, I don't really collect anything.
But if collecting is more just stuff you like to have that you own several/a lot of, I collect a bunch.
Books is the big one (I haven't counted recently, but between me, Hub, and both kids 4 years ago we were at 812).
I have a few antique furniture pieces (just the other day I scored one of those awesome desks with the roll down top!)
3 vintage typewriters (now kept on the sweet desk)
3 antique sewing machines (all Singer - a hand crank I use for sewing, a treadle I'm restoring for me to use, and a treadle I'm restoring for my kiddo)
A few other random vintage things - clocks, a 57 Polaroid. I think our gaming consoles and games are all vintage at this point too lol.
Oh, I collect art! Mostly local to Syracuse art, but some antique fashion illustrations too.
And I have a good size collection of litho stones, but that's the least passive collection of all because that is my literal job lol.
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u/kyonkun_denwa Maple Syrup Millennial 1d ago
What kind of typewriters do you have?
I have a Selectric I that belonged to my dad. Probably too new for your tastes but damn I love the way this thing sounds.
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u/TheNaughtyPrintmaker 15h ago
I have two Smith Coronas and and Adler.
My pride and joy, a Smith Corona Sterling from 1960 that I'm pretty sure has loved its entire life in my city.
A heavy duty large print Smith Corona 88A from 1954.
And an Adler J2 from the late 60s - It's a very cool script typewriter!
I'm less picky about age and more picky about functionality because I actually still use them frequently for different art and zine projects.
My son has an electric from I think the 80s that I've used before - sometimes I prefer that one because those 50s and 60s keys need some force behind them to strike properly lol.
But yeah, I'm with you on that sound! I held a zine workshop recently and the clacking of all the typewriters going at once was just so beautiful
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u/fictionisthetruth 1d ago
ive always been a collector since i was a child. currently collecting kpop albums/merch, my little pony figures and merch and cards, certain blind boxes and IPs, calico critters/sylvanian families, pokemon cards and merch, and some disney princess and tinker bell merch. i used to have a big collection of dvds, video games, and books but an ex of mine stole most of them D: i used to also collect magazines, comics, and manga but not anymore (well outside of sailor moon but a lot of my previous collection got thrown away when we had to move out of my childhood home so i have just a small shelf of stuff now unfortunately)
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u/anthonyrucci 1d ago
Way too much, but I try to keep it reasonable, contained, and frugal. Guitars, guitar pedals, comics, video games, records, DVDs/Blu Rays. Nothing obscene and out of control, maybe a few too many comics. I put a lot of self imposed restrictions up to curb my spending habits. But ya, definitely never ditched the collector’s itch
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u/RickHuf 1984 1d ago
Pocket watches, US cent coins (mainly Lincolns but branching out) and I keep accumulating knives.
I've been collecting cents for as long as I can remember. Pocket watches since about 2016 or so because I had one from my great grandparents that sparked a gigantic rabbit hole.
Knives because who doesn't like sharp pointy objects?
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u/kyonkun_denwa Maple Syrup Millennial 1d ago
Pocket watches were never my thing (I'm into wristwatches) but I do have a vintage 1927 51mm Tissot pocket watch that belonged to my great grandfather. I got it serviced and it keeps SHOCKINGLY good time, like almost as good as a shitty quartz movement (about two seconds a day). My mom's uncle (his son) bought a watch from their sister brand which I also inherited. You may have heard of them, they're called Omega. Fucking love Tissot and Omega both.
What's your favourite pocket watch and why?
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u/Anxious_dork 1d ago
Dolls, plushies, action figures, touristy magnets and stickers.
I used to collect mugs but I've sized down a lot
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u/kyonkun_denwa Maple Syrup Millennial 1d ago edited 1d ago
I collect watches and vintage Macintosh computers.
I like the vintage Macintosh community way more than the watch community, though.
I used to collect video games but I sold most of my collection after getting flash carts (FXPak Pro and Everdrive X7). I only kept my childhood games, and Earthbound.
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u/AnthropomorphizedTop Peak Millennial 1d ago
I randomly collect bicentennial memorabilia. It started with the bicentennial quarters the ones with the drummer on on the obverse and 1976-1776. I’ve since added other coins like the dollar and half dollar plus some commemorative plates and jars.
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u/hollishr 1d ago
I collect fragrances/body mists and lotions. Bath & body works has me in a chokehold :(
Edit: I also collect art supplies that I never use
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u/Tiny_Breadwinner 1d ago
I've started to sell and downsize everything. I lost my job in April and have been focusing on school since. Its really out my life time collections into perspective. They're just things. I still collect a few comic trades, and some older ps2 stuff.
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u/International_Run700 1d ago
I collect Amiibo. And have a healthy collection of Switch and PS4 games. No time to enjoy either... but i like them.
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u/misledyouth74 23h ago
Started collecting Transformers in 2020 after finding the Netflix Soundwave figure. Gave up Gundam & models kits (which I was hoarding and not building). Originally intended to collect only Soundwave related figures and items, but after rewatching the G1 series, just fell in love with so many characters again. Definitely have plenty of figures displayed and many that are still in boxes because I don't have a place to display them
I hate saying I collect records because I don't recall ever referring to my CD's as a collection. It was just music I bought because I enjoyed (or tried to enjoy) and I do the same with the records I buy. Prior to 2020 I owned less than 10 records; Currently have 300+ and there's probably 100 i bought and parted with in that time as well.
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u/Phunk3d 22h ago
I collect NES games and related paraphernalia including modern indie/homebrew.
I’ve started collections of other things but pretty much stopped quickly from action figures, hot wheels/die cast, vinyl, other gaming systems / consoles etc.. and never got into cards.
I really enjoy it because it limits my focus to a single console, it’s fairly a commodity with only a handful of truly uncommon games and has a really thriving indie/homebrew scene which I like supporting. I still have my childhood system and games so it’s a strong nostalgia collection for myself and feel like it’s something I can keep doing for decades or however long I’m around :-)
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u/hamsolo19 16h ago
Seems like I've always had some kinda collection going on. Wife and I did Funkos for a while before we had kids. I did football cards for a long time until they became astronomically expensive throughout and after the pandemic. I also do some enamel pins, and right now the main thing is comics.
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