I started collecting the modern line when it started in 95 and enjoyed the thrill of going back into stores to find the new releases. I was a student at the time and picking up 2/3 figs every month was a great (and cheap) way to get my SW fix. These were the days when the THX video releases were out at the same time. Buying those toys gave me a nostalgia boost for the vintage days.
When I stopped about 2004 I had about 6/700 carded figures - every figure released up till I stopped.
It had become an OCD chore and an expensive folly. I had a room in my house filled with boxes - too much to store never mind display!
Probably more than 50% of those figures had to be bought from the secondary market - comic stores, Ebay etc. It got more and more difficult and when I saw Hasbro were ramping it up even more with spin off Clone Wars lines, Hall Of Fame reissues as well as the standard line - I cracked. It was the straw that broke the camels back. I sold the whole lot. I actually felt a relief - it was easier to have none than some.
I actually stopped just before the OTC line came out which eventually led on to the Vintage Collection - I'm glad I got out of it before that line came out as they looked pretty nice and I might have kept going if I had known they were around the corner!
It still pisses me off that a big chunk of the modern releases has to be found on Ebay or the like. Its been like this since the POTF2 days and even continues to the current Black Series. You're constantly paying over the odds for the stuff. :evil: - LeiaTHX leaflet, Collection 3 Freeze Frames, POTF2's with CommTalk, last wave of EP1 figs - these will bring back memories of stupidness for many of us. And the final slap in the face is that you can get most of these on Ebay for a fiver or less now. :roll:
I still have a bit of nostalgia for the initial waves of the POTF2 when it was fun and before it got too serious.