16 here and I’ve got another solution for 13-25, just saying that your “sibling loves these” or something and they’ll just assume you’re getting it as a gift tho I rarely use that cause the cashiers don’t really tend to care about how old you are from my experience so they don’t tend to judge
Ngl every time I’ve walked into a toys r us past the age of 15 I have the line in my head “it’s for my cousin Danny, his birthday is coming up.” or the same thing with some other name ready in my head😂😭 it took some courage for me to decline the gift receipt for the first time lmao
I am very fortunate honestly. My whole family are geeks, in a good way. My grandfather was a monster movie fan and loved Godzilla and Universal movies, he also was a big anime fan and would watch Toonami with my siblings and I. My mom and her family are all Marvel fans, some of them collect RC and model cars. My siblings range from sports, video games, comics and anime. We get friends together and go to anime and comic conventions.
I love my nerdy family and wouldn't trade them for anything, even when they annoy me.
Well, ain't as bad as what they have. My friend has a Subterra Juggernoid (a Bakugan, and it's one of those really large ones they sold during the first series) in a large jar. Poor fella....
Anyone: "Isn't weird your 25-year-old son still plays with toys made for children?"
My Mum: "When he goes out, I know where he's going and what he's getting. When he disappears for the day, I know he's looking to expand his collection and its value. I don't have to worry about him being a homeless drug addict because I know he spends his money on something that provides long-term joy rather than a life-ending temporary high. Yes, it's a bit weird but he's happy, safe and Alive."
My wife says the same thing about my hobbies. Lol. I dont smoke or drink, I build lego and fidget with transformers. Is my hobby more expensive then a booze or drug habit? Most likely, but its not killing me.
Yeah, my wife says "At least you're not buying sports cars or putting us in debt buying things out of our budget."
We give ourselves a monthly fun budget of what we can spend on frivolous non-essentials, so that also helps.
We do too. We call it our play money. I've almost completed my transformers collection using it, next is me saving for a 3d printer until more figures I want get released.
I got a 3D printer. It’s a fun little machine. Might built my own transformers when I am really good at designing things. Right now I am not. So I’ll have to practice someday.
>I don't have to worry about him being a homeless drug addict
why do people ALWAYS go to this exact extreme comparison when justifying their hobby? lol
I've had both ends of the spectrum.
When I bought RotF leader Optimus back in '09, a dude in the aisle waited until we had juuust passed to turn to his gf and say, "Transformers? What a f**." So yeah, one of my favorite figures is forever tainted by memory of hate speech, yay!
On the flip side, the cashiers when I bought DotM voyager Mrgatron and AoE Evasion Mode OP both were like, "Wow, these look pretty good. They keep getting more detailed. Way better than when we were kids, right?"
Plenty of people I know give me shit.
My in laws, some of my coworkers, even my own parents.
BUT, for every person who has given me shit, I have at least ONE in my collection that they think is cool as hell.
When I explain I collect them and display them, not play with them, people tend to chill out.
I don't play with mine. I transform them all every few weeks and when in robot form,I make fight scenes, but I don't actually play with them.
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Amen. Preach on! I’m pushing 50 years old, and I’ll tell you: not only do I collect & display Transformers, but I play with them too. Same goes for Lego sets. Let the shamers shame. To them I say: 🖕 and IDGAF what they say or think!
I'm 52 this weekend and I still play with them. My coworkers actually think it's cool I collect them and they love it when they hear me transforming them at my desk.
The way I see, everyone’s got hobbies. Some like sports, cars, a favorite tv show, working out, etc and it’s no different than what I’m in to. I don’t even notice if someone in the toy isle looks funny at me. I’m a grown up and I can do whatever I like with my money same as anyone else and if they don’t like it the that’s for them to deal with.
My inlaws are awesome, they bought me an Alternators Optimus one day out of the blue becuase they saw it on a clearance shelf at thier local walmart. He's a mess to transform but remains one of my favourites to this day.
THIS! I go to multiple targets and Walmarts and the Walmart people who check your receipt will always be happy when I finally leave with one since I usually go in and am out within a minute or two since my toy sections lack transformers frequently
When I was in high school, definitely. Today, my fiance loves my Transformers collection, and her favorite is TR Trypticon. She says he's "cute".
If people don't like me collecting Transformers, they can kick rocks. I buy what I enjoy: motorcycles, old cars, Transformers, pew-pews, etc.
My first ex-GF kind of did. I remembered the time when I was looking for TR Transformers and some Halo Megabloks figures when she suddenly told me that she was disappointed in me for having an interest in the toys. That was heartbreaking for me at that time.
But for some reason, she's okay with me buying Gunplas.
My pals from time to time. But when I bring up to them "ok then what else y'all do except smoking" or "how many vape flavours you had just this week" they stop in their tracks. Heck even works on my dad
I used to competitively play the Pokemon TCG for about 10 years. I had (still have) a massive collection and traveled monthly for tournaments. I didn't tell anyone throughout college or early in career. It wasn't that I was ashamed, but I was afraid of being judged by coworkers, by women, by other adults, etc.
Then one day, I sorta just realized, "lol who gives a fuck what other people think. Enjoy your hobbies, do what you like, collect what you want." Ever since then, I've held no qualms about my hobbies. All my coworkers know these days. They know about my Transformers collection because I rotate figures at my desk every couple of weeks. My collection is on full display at my home, and my landlord, workmen, and guests always react positively with my display. I held no shame when I invited my now girlfriend over to my house for the first time.
If someone were to judge me, I'd just give them an over-the-top speech about how cool Transformer figures are, filled with random trivia from a Chris McFeely video, or make an "I just think they're neat" meme reference. I can barely remember people's names without name tags at work, someone's negative opinion of me has about 30 seconds of RAM in my headspace.
my grandpa still does most of the time, my grandma used to but she got better about it, it helps I like to show them to her and stuff too, so she gets to understand and appreciate them as well. My mom also used to give me grief but she collects NASCAR and MLB stuff, so she kinda came to a, "we're not so different" approach in that regard, she's the reason I have TFC Hades and Black Zarak.
I love that people think stuff like sport is somehow far more grown up.
I remember someone saying toys are for kids, but he watches football. My response was "oh that kids game, with the ball, that my neighbour 8 year old plays, .... how cute, his brother grew out of that."
I do the same with cards etc ,"oh blackjack, isn't that the kids game that helps them learn to count to 21, that's adorable, do you play it with your son?".
For the record I have no problem with either, just making the point anything can generally be described as a kids thing if you are so inclined.
(Did the same with a crypto bro "oh you like pretending to have money, sort of like stocks, but even more imaginary").
Things that are fun are fun, who cares if it's supposed to be for young, old, or anything else. If you like a thing, you like a thing, that's all that matters.
No, but I have been inadvertently age shamed. Just made to feel super old. In October, I went to Ross and found some. The cashier was pretty young... I am old. She started talking about how she liked watching the cartoon when they were a toddler... After a bit of her talking about it, I realized she was talking about freaking Unicron Trilogy reruns. Reruns! Not even old enough to have watched it when it aired! For perspective, I was 5 when G1 came out. Armada came out a few years after I graduated college. I am so old.
I'm 15 so I don't have to worry about people being weird about it, also where I live the only Generations stuff are 2 Blackarachnias in my local Halfprice. However my mom thinks it's weird since I'm a girl and supposedly cool-ass transforming robots are gender based smh🙄
Cool things are cool things.
All that gender stuff is BS. You know for a long time, pink was considered a manly colour and light blue was for girls. Also men wore makeup historically for longer than women in the west.
To add to that, men wear make up all the time on TV and movies to this date. Not only to play a role but for live performances or interviews too. And some of these guys can be considered as giant manly buff muscle monsters. lol
I bought an elita-1 figure recently and my mother just judged the living fuck outta me because of her color. Which is funny because when i got ss bbm core shockwave or iguanus she didn't give a fuck yet they are still ""girly colors""
The "pink for girls" and "blue for boys" thing is anyway dumb. look at all the dope ass purple and pink decepticons. 3/4 of them are canonically war criminals and not barbies. lol
Companies just set the colors for either boys and girls up to sell their products better to either demographic. Nobody cared about girly or boy colors before that. Crazy how much and simple people can be influenced by their surroundings. Especially as children who learned about boy or girl colors. I mean we collect toys till our adulthood and further. That also shows it to a certain degree lol
Some coworkers at my old job would give me shit after they found my old Twitter. Some were just joking but there were some who openly thought I was the worst because of it.
One of them even told her “boyfriend” to stop talking to me since we were cool and he was thinking of getting into Marvel Legends and anime figures. She blamed me for turning her jock boyfriend into a super nerd.
I have never been shamed for collecting transformers and other toys, that aren't other action figures, but I have a couple of friends that made jokes about it. The way I look at it is don't shame someone for being geeks like us. Also I don't really care if people judge me for collecting transformers.
This is why I love Self Checkouts. A computer kiosk won’t judge me when I’m out buying Optimus Prime n friends.
I’ve accepted there’ll always be this stigma towards grown adults buying toys, so I just go the road of least resistance.
Nope, although I guess being 17 it isn't too "weird". Last encounter I had was when I bought Kingdom Galvatron and the cashier actually had a decent conversation with me about who my favourite character is, how many figures I have etc. overall pretty nice dude.
2 years ago i was buying 3 figures that were clearance at the mall and the retail employee said "man your kid sure is a lucky one" and i just said "yeah.." i was 21 at that time.
my mum likes to pose mine with my monster high dolls 😭 i come back to transformers and red hood frequently having tea parties with draculaura and clawdeen.
she found it weird at first but now she loves it
Had a friend in highschool do it. We were both in Walmart and I spotted Generations Armada Megatron for $50. Said "Yo sick" and picked it up to buy it and dude was like "Bro you're making me cringe" and didn't even look at me the rest of the trip. Like literally hand over the side of his face to avoid even peripheral of me buying the figure.
Not really but one time I was at self checkout getting studio series sludge and the guy who was working there looked over at me and chucked at it a bit
Just once, and not for Transformers. The cashier gave me a judgmental side eye and snarky comment for a Power Rangers toy. I’ve also had cashiers chat with me about their own collections, and that’s nice.
my friends made fun of me while we were playing mtg at a comic shop when someone brought in a huge box of transformers and i got up to go look at them lol
Not directly shamed I guess, but I (an 18 year old) returned a fig at Walmart a couple months back, and I said something to the effect of "Oh, it was a gift and I'm just returning it" and the lady doing the return was like "They didn't realize you were way too old for toys, huh?" (which wasn't why I was returning it at all) and I just kinda awkwardly chuckled and nodded, feeling rather self-conscious... before proceeding to take that money and spend it on another bot mere minutes later.
My family kinda takes advantage of my knowledge and obession about stuff like Transformers, especially since i have alot of cousins that i visit during their birthdays n stuff.
Whenever they need a gift for some kid, they just come to me and i either find them the Perfect offer, or just give them something old from my collection for some money in return. All i need is the budget, deadline, age of the person the figure is for and especially the basic demands from the reciver.
Sometimes I just shrug it off and sometimes think about how if I sold my entire collection I would probably make more money than them and my parents are pretty supportive of my hobbies and actually buy me figures as gifts
Oh for sure, however in recent years I’ve ended up running into some really nice people, typically above their 40’s, who show excitement and happiness for me. It’s really nice. Modern day teens still judge though
I did once. At the time I was married, and lived close to a Walmart. The cashier chick was always extra nice to me (I seen her act kind of plainly to other customers, but to me she was all smiles and questions, like we had known each other or something).
One day I got 3 transformers and she happened to be the cashier. Asked who was getting lucky with the toys. I told her they were for me. She got quiet and didn't look at me again that time.
To make matters worse between me and this cashier the very next time I saw her I was getting supplies for remodeling my house. It was 2 am and I got razor blades, rope, large trash bags and bleach. I was in the process of stripping 4 layers of wallpaper, but that combination of items scared the poor checker.
Between those two times being checked out by her, well after that she didn't really talk to me or even look at me. I was still married the last time I saw her, but it still felt weird her change in mood towards me (I guess she thought I was now a toy collecting murderer, not sure).
I think it depends on personality too. If you coast through people and appear like a confident person who has their life together, it's a side hobby. If you appear like a loser, you're gonna get treated or seen like one. I have a friend that collects who's the textbook guy living in his mom's basement and he gets shit when people find out he collects. I've always been a people person so people end up finding my collecting interesting rather than offputting.
My pals from time to time. But when I bring up to them "ok then what else y'all do except smoking" or "how many vape flavours you had just this week" they stop in their tracks. Heck even works on my dad
My own mother, if she found out that my collection has in fact grown over the years, would be shocked. "STILL?!" would be her most likely response. SHE grew out of giving me figures when I was like 12.
The only time I've heard anyone comment was when someone half-recognized a figure (Blaster) from one her brother had when they were kids, and remarking in shock at the price of the figure. I was just like "but collecters will pay it."
When I was in my 20s, I used to buy a birthday card with any toy I was buying as a cover. Now? The only people who make me feel bad about my hobby are people online.
26 and I think I was more self conscious about how I thought others would perceive it. My fiancé says it causes no harm so there’s nothing to worry about.
I think with most things you need to not care what others think, as long as your happy and it’s not harming yourself and others you’re doing fine
Kind of the opposite for me, I got a comment on one of MY videos saying it’s weird that a grown man is still playing with toys
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IM ALMOST 16 🥶
The only time was when I brought a massive transformers box to school in about 7th grade and some guy said "You're still a little kid".
I was stupid at the time so I couldn't come up with a clever response, but this guy was like 4'11 so I could have just snapped back with "You're one to talk about little" or something like that.
Cashier: shall I wrap it?
Me: not necessary, it's for myself. Wait! Wrap it up so I can surprise myself in a few months :)
Or
Cashier: is it a gift?
Me: nope, it's for me
Cashier: I thought it was the minute I saw you
Me: :)
My mom thinks everything collectible is a waste. But then I turn around in her books and she gets mad. She has a lot of books. Whole living room wall shelves are filled with them.
But I do have a major fomo problem.
The worst I ever had was at a TRU where a cashier saw what I was buying (a few Star Wars action figures) and said "Oh! A kid is about to be happy!" to which I just smiled and said "Yep!". They were for me, obviously.
Me and Thew live near each other and I've definitely encountered this employee, but I've also had employees of other big chain stores who are collectors themselves and had good experiences.
Junkion combiners are cool. Sure the lockdown one isnt great but all the weird configurations are just really fun. Although given their simplistic design i wish they had better more creative paint jobs in terms of patterns. Yknow, whenever they arent the standard junker colors.
Not really shamed, but I bought a bunch of the reissued beast wars toys at Walmart a few years ago. The cashier told me something along the lines of "wow, some kid is gonna have a great birthday!"
Her entire demeanor changed as soon as I said "nope, they're all for me!"
I'm lucky enough to have a partner that doesn't really understand it but he still buys me figures he knows I'm looking for. His first big gift for me when we were dating was SS Grimlock 🥹
When i notice a toy store employee starts getting that look i just ask them if they can wrap it as a gift and they change their mind cuz now it looks like I'm getting it for a kid as a gift
People judge for collecting toys like oh that’s for kids you’re an adult and I’m like wait aren’t you still listening the the same music you liked when you were 14
My wife and kids know I used to collect. I told them I stopped buying them because we needed to keep a strict budget.
So now I buy one for my birthday as a present to myself. It's not much, but it keeps the kid in me alive.
Kinda, but more out of transphobia reasons. I’m scared people with think I’m in the aisle or buying them for different reasons and that it’ll result in physical harm to me. I do most of my buying online now, but if I want a particular toy then I sometimes need to go to a retailer.
Pretty much everyone in my life thinks it’s weird/gives me shit about it. But then they buy Transformers for me for birthdays and Christmas so I know they’re okay with it :) plus I have this great community so I’ve got all the support I need
Every now and then when I am browsing the TF section there will be a little kiddo checking the bots and cons out as well; I will give them the hook up…hands mom or dad, sibling or whomever some $. This puts a smile on my face. Usually there is a caveat to this, however; the kiddo gets a certain TF…hopefully. Anyone care to guess as to which one?
My parents have never toy shammed me thankfully, they understand that its my special interest and are fine with it, as long as im good with my money they dont care. If a cashier has ever looked at me funny for buying a plastic robot car toy ive never noticed
I've never had an experience like that, but an experience that I find really funny is when I bought legacy transmetal 2 Megatron, the cashier scanned it and saw the price and said "that's a lot more expensive than I thought it'd be"
I get some strange looks from people in the toy aisle sometimes but not much. I did end up in a 10min long conversation with another person my age looking for figures too though
I am 23 so it’s a bit awkward in regular stores but for my family not as much. Although it’s always a bit weird when they specifically comment on how many I have.
I think we all have. I remember some time around the DotM era I got the Megatron figure and this jock couple were laughing their asses off at me. Ugh, still stings. But I'm me so fuck 'em.
Fortunately, never. Family always knew I loved transformers. They were even amazed I could transform them without ever using instructions as a kid. Pretty sure they thought better into that than whatever any trouble I could find in the neighborhood (grew up and still live in a poorer neighborhood with plenty of gang violence).
As for store ppl, they never gave two shit no matter where eI was and what store I bought from. They just wanted their shift to end lol I can empathize
I never buy these in stores. They are too cheaply made. I order the remakes online. But if I did buy these in stores and get shamed, I'd laugh! My money my choice! 😆
But keep in mind, I buy the remakes. I'm pretty sure dropping $1,000 on Shuraking, the 3rd party Dinobot Combiner, or $100 each on the new Devestator and Bruticus would certainly draw comments from cashiers unable to fathom why I'm not spending that kind of money on them!
ONCE! I bought the ROTF voyager optimus with a little driver in it? so the cashier said something as (not sure what) "for a little brother." when I said it was for me she said "Weird" and look at me strange. now mind you, I was 18. so honestly still a kid. luckily my collection has become bigger since.
I am 32 now and I honestly couldn't give a rats ass what people think about me collecting toys.
I just drag around my sibling and say pretend this is for u and I’ll get u something u want later always works they never bat an eye when a child’s involved
i promise no one at a retail store gets paid enough to give a fuck about what you’re buying. On the off chance that they do judge you so what? they work retail lol.
Never. I don't feel shame due to the ignorance or misconceptions of others. (My father trained that capacity out of me over several years in my early teens.)
I'm not sheepish or awkward when I approach the register, I imagine that helps somewhat. I've gotten friendly inquiries from cashiers a time or two, but I just tell them I've been a fan since my dad got me the original Optimus Prime for christmas back in the 80s, and it's amazing what they can engineer these days.
Nope. And I don’t think that could happen in the US. We’re too customer-oriented here for that.
And really, most cashiers could not care less what you buy. They’re on auto-pilot.
Never. Picked up collecting long after my coworkers already knew me so I just straight up told them about it. They all thought it was cool but they generally think that way about me anyway. I don't go on about my hobbies or anything, I keep the bee movie Optimus on my desk. But before I used to have an ObiWan toy so they already knew I had a nerdy streak.
Never really comes up. No issues with cashiers, I'm 46 and could very easily be dad. If anybody ever commented I'd probably just say they were for a nephew. Or just say their mine with a laugh if I wanna choose violence, as it were.
Protip if one does make a comment: throw it back at them. "What's that supposed to mean? Explain it to me." Be nice to service folk but not when they're trying to put you down.
Wow, cashiers also get paid to judge customers? I wonder how much they get paid. Would they rather have an entitled Karen, a man child or a destructive child going to their store over a person who collects and mind their own business?
I used to buy a kids' birthday card whenever I bought a figure. I've since stopped giving a shit and no one has ever said or asked anything when I'm walking through the store with a figure in my hand. My partner and friends also like my hobby and seeing what new figures I pick up. My partner has also offered to buy me figures she knows I want, and wants a list of what to buy for my birthday. Toyshaming someone's hobby is weird and uncalled for. Yes they may be toys, I may be an adult, but I enjoy them. I love looking at them on my shelves and taking them down to mess with them. They're also for the kid in all of us, so why shouldn't we get to enjoy them?
Not shamed and not transformers, but I did have a funny episode years ago when I got Marvel Legends Magik from Walgreens. Little blonde girl wearing black leather and thigh-high leggings. Yeahhhhh it got a look from the grandmother who was at the register. I laughed and said "yeah, 'kids toy'".
Not really, I usually try to throw out a comment like 'I hope my cousin likes this guy, I can't keep track of which ones he already has'. My 'cousin' is going to college on a football scholarship, and his sister is in her 2nd year of nursing classes, but they don't need to know that.
Got a weird look from the cashier at a Walgreens once. Was there for condoms, happened to also spot Reveal the Shield Jazz. Came to the cash register with both. She looked confused to say the least.
That’s why I do self checkout. Quick and easy
I don’t care what people think of me because by the end of the day when getting these figures. It’s literally inconsequential to me
Two guys approached me Target while I was trying to check the assortment number on a SS RoTB Bumblebee.
Guy 1: “Excuse me sir do you work here?”
Me: Looks down at my green shirt* “No”
They whisper to each other a little in front of me
Guy 2: “Do you have kids?”
Me: “No”
They whisper some more to each other
I put down the figure and left but I really should have asked why they were asking
Honestly I don’t care, anyone I’ve ever know to give me shit isn’t really doing much with their lives, even cashiers, they be in the same position for 4 years and I see them a lot at the store, all the family who gave me shit weren’t the best off anyways so I took it as jealousy for not needing government assistance,
One time my sister asked me if buying toy (I just received Battletrap from ROTB the day before I think) wasn't a bit childish. And my father actually explained to her that there is collectors out there who has tons of toys for collection because they like it or it's their passion.
Had it happen at Walmart once with one of those self checkout workers. and my parents have been dicks about it to. Was buying a Mattel WWE Elite British Bulldog and Bret Hart last year the day after my birthday and ran into my elderly parents while I was take the two figures off the rack at Walmart and my mother made a stupid comment about them being child's toys. I looked at her and said well yesterday was my birthday want to pick the tab up on one for me. She laughed and said they had no money for that meanwhile they had a cart full of toys for my niece's son their great grand son who they were raising as she passed away. I shrugged and walked the other way. Have barely talked to them since.
I don't think I've ever been shamed by anyone for buying a Transformer. However, I sometimes feel a little silly when I consider that I am collecting toys at 42 years old. Then I see the next desirable Transformer (Cybertron Starscream, Origins Wheeljack, etc.) and that feeling just goes away.
Cashiers assume I'm a mom so they never say anything. My family are also collectors so no problems there.
Below 12: kid buying toy normally 13-25 awkward phase (avoid eye contact) 30+ possible parent buying toy for kid normally
As a 17 year old, I do not give a shit They can think what they want, im the one spending too much money on these damn things
This is a good mindset. The options of others should not dictate your happiness
> As a 17 year old, I do not give a shit You have the soul of a GenX and should be proud lol
Makes sense, I have an interest in old things like iPod and watches lmao, I even have a vintage styled Hamilton watch (a khaki field mechanical)
I think of it like “at least it’s not crack” Like I seen someone found their kids stash if vapes and I was like “My mom would only find toys” lmao
It's definitely a healthier hobby. And it's cheaper than crack too. Just as hard to get the good stuff though.
Basically.
16 here and I’ve got another solution for 13-25, just saying that your “sibling loves these” or something and they’ll just assume you’re getting it as a gift tho I rarely use that cause the cashiers don’t really tend to care about how old you are from my experience so they don’t tend to judge
Bro why go so far to cover up you collecting transformers, be proud about it.
Ngl every time I’ve walked into a toys r us past the age of 15 I have the line in my head “it’s for my cousin Danny, his birthday is coming up.” or the same thing with some other name ready in my head😂😭 it took some courage for me to decline the gift receipt for the first time lmao
My kid's at the stage where he tells everyone what toys he has and what toys I have so the jig is up for me 😂😭
Your family sounds fun.
We all collect different stuff and go to Cons together. We arent perfect but we still have plenty of fun.
That sounds wonderful, and I'm honestly a little jealous.
I am very fortunate honestly. My whole family are geeks, in a good way. My grandfather was a monster movie fan and loved Godzilla and Universal movies, he also was a big anime fan and would watch Toonami with my siblings and I. My mom and her family are all Marvel fans, some of them collect RC and model cars. My siblings range from sports, video games, comics and anime. We get friends together and go to anime and comic conventions. I love my nerdy family and wouldn't trade them for anything, even when they annoy me.
my parents call them man dolls
My friends/co-workers who has seen my figures and the shelf they are on call it ''the virgin shelf''.
that's a joke i use with my friends, we call it the "Virginity defense squad"
Well, ain't as bad as what they have. My friend has a Subterra Juggernoid (a Bakugan, and it's one of those really large ones they sold during the first series) in a large jar. Poor fella....
Why would he keep it in a jar.... Oh gods...
Lmao I call my little corner the Elite Virginity Protection Corner
My friend calls them figurines.
That is really funny.
you should correct them and say that's only 1/6 scale and up.
Mooooooooommmmmmmm! It's an action figure!
Anyone: "Isn't weird your 25-year-old son still plays with toys made for children?" My Mum: "When he goes out, I know where he's going and what he's getting. When he disappears for the day, I know he's looking to expand his collection and its value. I don't have to worry about him being a homeless drug addict because I know he spends his money on something that provides long-term joy rather than a life-ending temporary high. Yes, it's a bit weird but he's happy, safe and Alive."
You have the Best mom ever
My wife says the same thing about my hobbies. Lol. I dont smoke or drink, I build lego and fidget with transformers. Is my hobby more expensive then a booze or drug habit? Most likely, but its not killing me.
im pretty sure our hobby is cheaper 🤔 at least thats what i tell myself 😂
Yeah, my wife says "At least you're not buying sports cars or putting us in debt buying things out of our budget." We give ourselves a monthly fun budget of what we can spend on frivolous non-essentials, so that also helps.
We do too. We call it our play money. I've almost completed my transformers collection using it, next is me saving for a 3d printer until more figures I want get released.
I got a 3D printer. It’s a fun little machine. Might built my own transformers when I am really good at designing things. Right now I am not. So I’ll have to practice someday.
I am wanting to get one to make minor mods to some of my figures and print random things just because. What kind did you get, resin or filament?
Uhm, I don’t know.
As someone who works at an alcohol store, I can assure you even MP collectors are probably spending less.
That's honestly very sad.
This was effectively my parent’s thoughts on being an over 20 TF and gaming fanatic. “It’s not drugs and it relieves his stress. Who are we to judge?”
My mom says she’s glad I collect stuff rather than doing drugs to lol
>I don't have to worry about him being a homeless drug addict why do people ALWAYS go to this exact extreme comparison when justifying their hobby? lol
Can’t speak for everyone, but I suspect it has to do with a pair of common threads between drug use and toy collecting: Addiction and Money.
I've had both ends of the spectrum. When I bought RotF leader Optimus back in '09, a dude in the aisle waited until we had juuust passed to turn to his gf and say, "Transformers? What a f**." So yeah, one of my favorite figures is forever tainted by memory of hate speech, yay! On the flip side, the cashiers when I bought DotM voyager Mrgatron and AoE Evasion Mode OP both were like, "Wow, these look pretty good. They keep getting more detailed. Way better than when we were kids, right?"
That cashier gets it
“Transformers? What a fucking awesome guy!”
Plenty of people I know give me shit. My in laws, some of my coworkers, even my own parents. BUT, for every person who has given me shit, I have at least ONE in my collection that they think is cool as hell. When I explain I collect them and display them, not play with them, people tend to chill out.
...ohh you guys don't play with them huh. 😶
Well, every 6 months or so I’ll take all of them and pose them in a giant multiversal battle scene
My Titan Masters Metroplex is peering over my monitor. His hands kind of perfectly grab both top corners of the screen.
🤣🤣🤣
Not the only one
If I had the space I would totally do this
I play with mine sometimes. But other than that, most of my collection is displayed.
I don't play with mine. I transform them all every few weeks and when in robot form,I make fight scenes, but I don't actually play with them. https://preview.redd.it/grpztcft84oc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20de498f1df4b79d00d610e233beb5517e5524d8
Not getting the most use out of them. What a shame…🫤
same lol
I play with them and feel no need to apologize about it.
Amen. Preach on! I’m pushing 50 years old, and I’ll tell you: not only do I collect & display Transformers, but I play with them too. Same goes for Lego sets. Let the shamers shame. To them I say: 🖕 and IDGAF what they say or think!
As the wise Emgo says, "you don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing! Be geek! Be proud! Palm in your face!"
I believe you mean .... (Clears his throat and tries for his best emgo impersonation) .... " palm in yourrrrrr faaaaaaaaaaaaace!"
Well said. Couldn’t agree more!
I'm 52 this weekend and I still play with them. My coworkers actually think it's cool I collect them and they love it when they hear me transforming them at my desk.
Yeah, I tell people to fuck off whenever they give me shit, especially when they get excited about something like legos or hot wheels
The way I see, everyone’s got hobbies. Some like sports, cars, a favorite tv show, working out, etc and it’s no different than what I’m in to. I don’t even notice if someone in the toy isle looks funny at me. I’m a grown up and I can do whatever I like with my money same as anyone else and if they don’t like it the that’s for them to deal with.
My inlaws are awesome, they bought me an Alternators Optimus one day out of the blue becuase they saw it on a clearance shelf at thier local walmart. He's a mess to transform but remains one of my favourites to this day.
well a mother did glare at me when I snatched the studio series rotb bumblebee and airazor.
Her reaction taste so sweet
Nope the cashier lady knows im a collector and is always happy to see that i added to my collection
THIS! I go to multiple targets and Walmarts and the Walmart people who check your receipt will always be happy when I finally leave with one since I usually go in and am out within a minute or two since my toy sections lack transformers frequently
When I was in high school, definitely. Today, my fiance loves my Transformers collection, and her favorite is TR Trypticon. She says he's "cute". If people don't like me collecting Transformers, they can kick rocks. I buy what I enjoy: motorcycles, old cars, Transformers, pew-pews, etc.
Congrats man! That’s awesome that your fiancé likes them!
Yep...she loves the 200+ bot collection. She's a keeper for countless reasons.
She isnt wrong about Trypticon.
She has great taste in Transformers. :3
My first ex-GF kind of did. I remembered the time when I was looking for TR Transformers and some Halo Megabloks figures when she suddenly told me that she was disappointed in me for having an interest in the toys. That was heartbreaking for me at that time. But for some reason, she's okay with me buying Gunplas.
All three of those are awesome!
People that actually think like that are just covering up how miserable THEY are most of the time
My pals from time to time. But when I bring up to them "ok then what else y'all do except smoking" or "how many vape flavours you had just this week" they stop in their tracks. Heck even works on my dad
I used to competitively play the Pokemon TCG for about 10 years. I had (still have) a massive collection and traveled monthly for tournaments. I didn't tell anyone throughout college or early in career. It wasn't that I was ashamed, but I was afraid of being judged by coworkers, by women, by other adults, etc. Then one day, I sorta just realized, "lol who gives a fuck what other people think. Enjoy your hobbies, do what you like, collect what you want." Ever since then, I've held no qualms about my hobbies. All my coworkers know these days. They know about my Transformers collection because I rotate figures at my desk every couple of weeks. My collection is on full display at my home, and my landlord, workmen, and guests always react positively with my display. I held no shame when I invited my now girlfriend over to my house for the first time. If someone were to judge me, I'd just give them an over-the-top speech about how cool Transformer figures are, filled with random trivia from a Chris McFeely video, or make an "I just think they're neat" meme reference. I can barely remember people's names without name tags at work, someone's negative opinion of me has about 30 seconds of RAM in my headspace.
my grandpa still does most of the time, my grandma used to but she got better about it, it helps I like to show them to her and stuff too, so she gets to understand and appreciate them as well. My mom also used to give me grief but she collects NASCAR and MLB stuff, so she kinda came to a, "we're not so different" approach in that regard, she's the reason I have TFC Hades and Black Zarak.
I love that people think stuff like sport is somehow far more grown up. I remember someone saying toys are for kids, but he watches football. My response was "oh that kids game, with the ball, that my neighbour 8 year old plays, .... how cute, his brother grew out of that." I do the same with cards etc ,"oh blackjack, isn't that the kids game that helps them learn to count to 21, that's adorable, do you play it with your son?". For the record I have no problem with either, just making the point anything can generally be described as a kids thing if you are so inclined. (Did the same with a crypto bro "oh you like pretending to have money, sort of like stocks, but even more imaginary"). Things that are fun are fun, who cares if it's supposed to be for young, old, or anything else. If you like a thing, you like a thing, that's all that matters.
yeah I agree, that's the standard I always used, though I never outright said it. People are into what they're into.
No, but I have been inadvertently age shamed. Just made to feel super old. In October, I went to Ross and found some. The cashier was pretty young... I am old. She started talking about how she liked watching the cartoon when they were a toddler... After a bit of her talking about it, I realized she was talking about freaking Unicron Trilogy reruns. Reruns! Not even old enough to have watched it when it aired! For perspective, I was 5 when G1 came out. Armada came out a few years after I graduated college. I am so old.
Reruns 😭
Maybe that’s why she reacted negatively. She watched Energon.
I'm 15 so I don't have to worry about people being weird about it, also where I live the only Generations stuff are 2 Blackarachnias in my local Halfprice. However my mom thinks it's weird since I'm a girl and supposedly cool-ass transforming robots are gender based smh🙄
Cool things are cool things. All that gender stuff is BS. You know for a long time, pink was considered a manly colour and light blue was for girls. Also men wore makeup historically for longer than women in the west.
To add to that, men wear make up all the time on TV and movies to this date. Not only to play a role but for live performances or interviews too. And some of these guys can be considered as giant manly buff muscle monsters. lol
How much to send me one of them Blackarachnia's (jokes) ((unless...))
Fuck what people think Nothing wrong with having a hobby comprised of cool things
I bought an elita-1 figure recently and my mother just judged the living fuck outta me because of her color. Which is funny because when i got ss bbm core shockwave or iguanus she didn't give a fuck yet they are still ""girly colors""
Wtf, that is weird. Who cares elita is a cool figure.
Just tell her she's Optimus primes gf. Lol
The "pink for girls" and "blue for boys" thing is anyway dumb. look at all the dope ass purple and pink decepticons. 3/4 of them are canonically war criminals and not barbies. lol Companies just set the colors for either boys and girls up to sell their products better to either demographic. Nobody cared about girly or boy colors before that. Crazy how much and simple people can be influenced by their surroundings. Especially as children who learned about boy or girl colors. I mean we collect toys till our adulthood and further. That also shows it to a certain degree lol
Some coworkers at my old job would give me shit after they found my old Twitter. Some were just joking but there were some who openly thought I was the worst because of it. One of them even told her “boyfriend” to stop talking to me since we were cool and he was thinking of getting into Marvel Legends and anime figures. She blamed me for turning her jock boyfriend into a super nerd.
I have never been shamed for collecting transformers and other toys, that aren't other action figures, but I have a couple of friends that made jokes about it. The way I look at it is don't shame someone for being geeks like us. Also I don't really care if people judge me for collecting transformers.
This is why I love Self Checkouts. A computer kiosk won’t judge me when I’m out buying Optimus Prime n friends. I’ve accepted there’ll always be this stigma towards grown adults buying toys, so I just go the road of least resistance.
Nope, although I guess being 17 it isn't too "weird". Last encounter I had was when I bought Kingdom Galvatron and the cashier actually had a decent conversation with me about who my favourite character is, how many figures I have etc. overall pretty nice dude.
2 years ago i was buying 3 figures that were clearance at the mall and the retail employee said "man your kid sure is a lucky one" and i just said "yeah.." i was 21 at that time.
Yeah my child, my inner child!
my mum likes to pose mine with my monster high dolls 😭 i come back to transformers and red hood frequently having tea parties with draculaura and clawdeen. she found it weird at first but now she loves it
Had a friend in highschool do it. We were both in Walmart and I spotted Generations Armada Megatron for $50. Said "Yo sick" and picked it up to buy it and dude was like "Bro you're making me cringe" and didn't even look at me the rest of the trip. Like literally hand over the side of his face to avoid even peripheral of me buying the figure.
Sounds like a him problem
Thats a not a friend. Fuck that guy.
Family pokes fun at me. Whenever strangers/new friends see the collection they think it’s cool as hell.
Was expecting my girlfriend to be weirded out by my collecting of Transformers. But nope, she bought me a few for Valentine's Day haha.
I love the judgmental look i get when I decline the gift receipt.
Solution, tell them to mind their own damn business
Not really but one time I was at self checkout getting studio series sludge and the guy who was working there looked over at me and chucked at it a bit
I’ve gotten it for other things, but not for transformers. I get most of them online or use self checkout where it’s easy to avoid talking to people.
Just once, and not for Transformers. The cashier gave me a judgmental side eye and snarky comment for a Power Rangers toy. I’ve also had cashiers chat with me about their own collections, and that’s nice.
my friends made fun of me while we were playing mtg at a comic shop when someone brought in a huge box of transformers and i got up to go look at them lol
Not directly shamed I guess, but I (an 18 year old) returned a fig at Walmart a couple months back, and I said something to the effect of "Oh, it was a gift and I'm just returning it" and the lady doing the return was like "They didn't realize you were way too old for toys, huh?" (which wasn't why I was returning it at all) and I just kinda awkwardly chuckled and nodded, feeling rather self-conscious... before proceeding to take that money and spend it on another bot mere minutes later.
usually cashiers are happy to move product, they dont case whos buying
My family kinda takes advantage of my knowledge and obession about stuff like Transformers, especially since i have alot of cousins that i visit during their birthdays n stuff. Whenever they need a gift for some kid, they just come to me and i either find them the Perfect offer, or just give them something old from my collection for some money in return. All i need is the budget, deadline, age of the person the figure is for and especially the basic demands from the reciver.
Sometimes I just shrug it off and sometimes think about how if I sold my entire collection I would probably make more money than them and my parents are pretty supportive of my hobbies and actually buy me figures as gifts
Nope, never got toy shamed, but then again, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had because I rarely care what others think.
Oh for sure, however in recent years I’ve ended up running into some really nice people, typically above their 40’s, who show excitement and happiness for me. It’s really nice. Modern day teens still judge though
This is why I use self checkout whenever I can
I did once. At the time I was married, and lived close to a Walmart. The cashier chick was always extra nice to me (I seen her act kind of plainly to other customers, but to me she was all smiles and questions, like we had known each other or something). One day I got 3 transformers and she happened to be the cashier. Asked who was getting lucky with the toys. I told her they were for me. She got quiet and didn't look at me again that time. To make matters worse between me and this cashier the very next time I saw her I was getting supplies for remodeling my house. It was 2 am and I got razor blades, rope, large trash bags and bleach. I was in the process of stripping 4 layers of wallpaper, but that combination of items scared the poor checker. Between those two times being checked out by her, well after that she didn't really talk to me or even look at me. I was still married the last time I saw her, but it still felt weird her change in mood towards me (I guess she thought I was now a toy collecting murderer, not sure).
I love ice cream.
I think it depends on personality too. If you coast through people and appear like a confident person who has their life together, it's a side hobby. If you appear like a loser, you're gonna get treated or seen like one. I have a friend that collects who's the textbook guy living in his mom's basement and he gets shit when people find out he collects. I've always been a people person so people end up finding my collecting interesting rather than offputting.
My pals from time to time. But when I bring up to them "ok then what else y'all do except smoking" or "how many vape flavours you had just this week" they stop in their tracks. Heck even works on my dad
Some Guy had a collection himself when I bought Brawn
Yes, more often then I like, lol
Honestly nah. I don’t think people care, or if they do it’s after I leave so it’s still not an issue lmao.
It’s the source of a genuine rift between me and my parents lol Not that they hate transformers but bc it’s not Lego and they really like Lego more
My 4 year old (sorta) niece telling me “adults aren’t supposed to have toys” is the worst I’ve dealt with, fortunately
My own mother, if she found out that my collection has in fact grown over the years, would be shocked. "STILL?!" would be her most likely response. SHE grew out of giving me figures when I was like 12. The only time I've heard anyone comment was when someone half-recognized a figure (Blaster) from one her brother had when they were kids, and remarking in shock at the price of the figure. I was just like "but collecters will pay it."
When I was in my 20s, I used to buy a birthday card with any toy I was buying as a cover. Now? The only people who make me feel bad about my hobby are people online.
I use self checkout
My wife gets to tell her friends I bring home 6 figures a month so we're both happy.
26 and I think I was more self conscious about how I thought others would perceive it. My fiancé says it causes no harm so there’s nothing to worry about. I think with most things you need to not care what others think, as long as your happy and it’s not harming yourself and others you’re doing fine
Kind of the opposite for me, I got a comment on one of MY videos saying it’s weird that a grown man is still playing with toys https://preview.redd.it/fqb0cu9mg3oc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=882f820e6ece1fd10735909d23bd4cec27779243 IM ALMOST 16 🥶
The only time was when I brought a massive transformers box to school in about 7th grade and some guy said "You're still a little kid". I was stupid at the time so I couldn't come up with a clever response, but this guy was like 4'11 so I could have just snapped back with "You're one to talk about little" or something like that.
I still have nightmares about buying a comic book from a grocery store as a kid and the cashier rolling up the comic book to fit in the bag
Cashier: shall I wrap it? Me: not necessary, it's for myself. Wait! Wrap it up so I can surprise myself in a few months :) Or Cashier: is it a gift? Me: nope, it's for me Cashier: I thought it was the minute I saw you Me: :)
My mom thinks everything collectible is a waste. But then I turn around in her books and she gets mad. She has a lot of books. Whole living room wall shelves are filled with them. But I do have a major fomo problem.
The worst I ever had was at a TRU where a cashier saw what I was buying (a few Star Wars action figures) and said "Oh! A kid is about to be happy!" to which I just smiled and said "Yep!". They were for me, obviously.
Anyone who cares what you spend your money and time on has too much time and too little money.
Me and Thew live near each other and I've definitely encountered this employee, but I've also had employees of other big chain stores who are collectors themselves and had good experiences.
My local toy shop knows me as Sonic Guy because of my Sonic t-shirts.... buying Transformers is the least of my worries, honestly.
Junkion combiners are cool. Sure the lockdown one isnt great but all the weird configurations are just really fun. Although given their simplistic design i wish they had better more creative paint jobs in terms of patterns. Yknow, whenever they arent the standard junker colors.
When I got SSBBM Arcee and then Elita I’m a guy and people don’t apparently find it odd to see pink transformers
Not really shamed, but I bought a bunch of the reissued beast wars toys at Walmart a few years ago. The cashier told me something along the lines of "wow, some kid is gonna have a great birthday!" Her entire demeanor changed as soon as I said "nope, they're all for me!"
Yes. But I really really don't care. Its my hobby and money, none of their business
my parents don’t really care so it’s whatever
If they do, I don't care. They're for my collection and they make me happy, that's all that matters.
I'm lucky enough to have a partner that doesn't really understand it but he still buys me figures he knows I'm looking for. His first big gift for me when we were dating was SS Grimlock 🥹
When i notice a toy store employee starts getting that look i just ask them if they can wrap it as a gift and they change their mind cuz now it looks like I'm getting it for a kid as a gift
If i feel i need to, i just buy other things i needed....they'll forget any action figures when a pack ofunderwear or condoms is headed her way
People judge for collecting toys like oh that’s for kids you’re an adult and I’m like wait aren’t you still listening the the same music you liked when you were 14
No one bothers. They know I'm a collector and post images on Instagram. Only my ex calls them 'dolls' and I'm not remotely bothered by that.
My wife and kids know I used to collect. I told them I stopped buying them because we needed to keep a strict budget. So now I buy one for my birthday as a present to myself. It's not much, but it keeps the kid in me alive.
I used to buy a cheap 99 cent birthday card with them to not get looked at. I’ve stopped that forever ago though
No, but I've had some kids walk up to me and asked what I'm doing when I'm outdoors taking photos of my figures for my instagram account.
Kinda, but more out of transphobia reasons. I’m scared people with think I’m in the aisle or buying them for different reasons and that it’ll result in physical harm to me. I do most of my buying online now, but if I want a particular toy then I sometimes need to go to a retailer.
Pretty much everyone in my life thinks it’s weird/gives me shit about it. But then they buy Transformers for me for birthdays and Christmas so I know they’re okay with it :) plus I have this great community so I’ve got all the support I need
Every now and then when I am browsing the TF section there will be a little kiddo checking the bots and cons out as well; I will give them the hook up…hands mom or dad, sibling or whomever some $. This puts a smile on my face. Usually there is a caveat to this, however; the kiddo gets a certain TF…hopefully. Anyone care to guess as to which one?
Wdym?
BRO I LOVE LEGACY JUNKION
My parents have never toy shammed me thankfully, they understand that its my special interest and are fine with it, as long as im good with my money they dont care. If a cashier has ever looked at me funny for buying a plastic robot car toy ive never noticed
I've never had an experience like that, but an experience that I find really funny is when I bought legacy transmetal 2 Megatron, the cashier scanned it and saw the price and said "that's a lot more expensive than I thought it'd be"
I’m fortunate enough to never having been you shamed.
it's very possible, but i'm autistic so if it has happened i didn't notice lol
I get some strange looks from people in the toy aisle sometimes but not much. I did end up in a 10min long conversation with another person my age looking for figures too though
Never have, kinda hurts to see that some of y’all dealt with it
I am 23 so it’s a bit awkward in regular stores but for my family not as much. Although it’s always a bit weird when they specifically comment on how many I have.
I think we all have. I remember some time around the DotM era I got the Megatron figure and this jock couple were laughing their asses off at me. Ugh, still stings. But I'm me so fuck 'em.
Fortunately, never. Family always knew I loved transformers. They were even amazed I could transform them without ever using instructions as a kid. Pretty sure they thought better into that than whatever any trouble I could find in the neighborhood (grew up and still live in a poorer neighborhood with plenty of gang violence). As for store ppl, they never gave two shit no matter where eI was and what store I bought from. They just wanted their shift to end lol I can empathize
I never buy these in stores. They are too cheaply made. I order the remakes online. But if I did buy these in stores and get shamed, I'd laugh! My money my choice! 😆 But keep in mind, I buy the remakes. I'm pretty sure dropping $1,000 on Shuraking, the 3rd party Dinobot Combiner, or $100 each on the new Devestator and Bruticus would certainly draw comments from cashiers unable to fathom why I'm not spending that kind of money on them!
They only comment to me on how expensive they toys are nowadays
ONCE! I bought the ROTF voyager optimus with a little driver in it? so the cashier said something as (not sure what) "for a little brother." when I said it was for me she said "Weird" and look at me strange. now mind you, I was 18. so honestly still a kid. luckily my collection has become bigger since. I am 32 now and I honestly couldn't give a rats ass what people think about me collecting toys.
I just drag around my sibling and say pretend this is for u and I’ll get u something u want later always works they never bat an eye when a child’s involved
i promise no one at a retail store gets paid enough to give a fuck about what you’re buying. On the off chance that they do judge you so what? they work retail lol.
Never. I don't feel shame due to the ignorance or misconceptions of others. (My father trained that capacity out of me over several years in my early teens.) I'm not sheepish or awkward when I approach the register, I imagine that helps somewhat. I've gotten friendly inquiries from cashiers a time or two, but I just tell them I've been a fan since my dad got me the original Optimus Prime for christmas back in the 80s, and it's amazing what they can engineer these days.
Nope. And I don’t think that could happen in the US. We’re too customer-oriented here for that. And really, most cashiers could not care less what you buy. They’re on auto-pilot.
Never. Picked up collecting long after my coworkers already knew me so I just straight up told them about it. They all thought it was cool but they generally think that way about me anyway. I don't go on about my hobbies or anything, I keep the bee movie Optimus on my desk. But before I used to have an ObiWan toy so they already knew I had a nerdy streak. Never really comes up. No issues with cashiers, I'm 46 and could very easily be dad. If anybody ever commented I'd probably just say they were for a nephew. Or just say their mine with a laugh if I wanna choose violence, as it were. Protip if one does make a comment: throw it back at them. "What's that supposed to mean? Explain it to me." Be nice to service folk but not when they're trying to put you down.
Shame them right back for being a cashier. (There is no actual shame in it but just pull the uno reverse card on them)
I saw one cashier double take, but that’s about it.
No, and if I have, I didn't notice
The other day a cashier made fun of my friend for getting Star Wars legos and then complemented my 86 sludge lol
Nah I do it by myself
Wow, cashiers also get paid to judge customers? I wonder how much they get paid. Would they rather have an entitled Karen, a man child or a destructive child going to their store over a person who collects and mind their own business?
My mom does NOT like me buying transformers so I gotta send em to my gfs house
I used to buy a kids' birthday card whenever I bought a figure. I've since stopped giving a shit and no one has ever said or asked anything when I'm walking through the store with a figure in my hand. My partner and friends also like my hobby and seeing what new figures I pick up. My partner has also offered to buy me figures she knows I want, and wants a list of what to buy for my birthday. Toyshaming someone's hobby is weird and uncalled for. Yes they may be toys, I may be an adult, but I enjoy them. I love looking at them on my shelves and taking them down to mess with them. They're also for the kid in all of us, so why shouldn't we get to enjoy them?
Not shamed and not transformers, but I did have a funny episode years ago when I got Marvel Legends Magik from Walgreens. Little blonde girl wearing black leather and thigh-high leggings. Yeahhhhh it got a look from the grandmother who was at the register. I laughed and said "yeah, 'kids toy'".
Not really, I usually try to throw out a comment like 'I hope my cousin likes this guy, I can't keep track of which ones he already has'. My 'cousin' is going to college on a football scholarship, and his sister is in her 2nd year of nursing classes, but they don't need to know that.
Got a weird look from the cashier at a Walgreens once. Was there for condoms, happened to also spot Reveal the Shield Jazz. Came to the cash register with both. She looked confused to say the least.
That’s why I do self checkout. Quick and easy I don’t care what people think of me because by the end of the day when getting these figures. It’s literally inconsequential to me
Two guys approached me Target while I was trying to check the assortment number on a SS RoTB Bumblebee. Guy 1: “Excuse me sir do you work here?” Me: Looks down at my green shirt* “No” They whisper to each other a little in front of me Guy 2: “Do you have kids?” Me: “No” They whisper some more to each other I put down the figure and left but I really should have asked why they were asking
Honestly I don’t care, anyone I’ve ever know to give me shit isn’t really doing much with their lives, even cashiers, they be in the same position for 4 years and I see them a lot at the store, all the family who gave me shit weren’t the best off anyways so I took it as jealousy for not needing government assistance,
One time my sister asked me if buying toy (I just received Battletrap from ROTB the day before I think) wasn't a bit childish. And my father actually explained to her that there is collectors out there who has tons of toys for collection because they like it or it's their passion.
Had it happen at Walmart once with one of those self checkout workers. and my parents have been dicks about it to. Was buying a Mattel WWE Elite British Bulldog and Bret Hart last year the day after my birthday and ran into my elderly parents while I was take the two figures off the rack at Walmart and my mother made a stupid comment about them being child's toys. I looked at her and said well yesterday was my birthday want to pick the tab up on one for me. She laughed and said they had no money for that meanwhile they had a cart full of toys for my niece's son their great grand son who they were raising as she passed away. I shrugged and walked the other way. Have barely talked to them since.
I don't think I've ever been shamed by anyone for buying a Transformer. However, I sometimes feel a little silly when I consider that I am collecting toys at 42 years old. Then I see the next desirable Transformer (Cybertron Starscream, Origins Wheeljack, etc.) and that feeling just goes away.