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Alright kids, both your comic books are really cool.
Consoomers / Consoomer Culture - Because if it has a recogniseable brand on it, I’d buy it!
- Thread starter Spez
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Political consumerism is a lost art these days:
Anaspook
kiwifarms.net
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- Dec 31, 2020
When does consooming stop being consooming and move to historical archiving
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- Jan 25, 2022
Does collecting silver coins make Josh a consoooomer?
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- Jan 25, 2022
Honestly, I give a pass for political memorabilia. They are intresting pieaces of history and if I was still in the US I might collect some buttons too.
But to answer the question. The difference between consooming and collecting is that one is a respectable hobby, while the other is acting like a superfan that eats breaths and shits their obsession.
Sleazy Car Salesman
Believe me when I say that I will take your money
True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
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My criteria for the difference between a consoomer and a collector are as follows:
1. Wasteful: the person buys more than they could feasibly ever use
2. Mindless: there is little to no engagement required
3. Bland: there is no meaningful difference between experiences or items
4. Compulsive: despite requiring little to nothing of the persons time or energy it some how it takes up all of it
5. Trivial: no matter how you slice it the thing isn't important
6. Pursuit: the finding and purchasing of the item is more important than the actual act of possessing the item
If a "collector" meets 5/6 of these criteria I consider them a consoomer. Furthermore: Consoomers seem to fall into two major "subsets", those who consume for the dopamine hit that consooming gives them, and those who wish to buy into a group, in this second case the act of consooming grants them status within the group.
Edit to add:
I think the difference between enthusiast and consoomer is a gradient rather than a distinct line, but it's somewhere around buying a lot of stuff just to have it. There's nothing wrong with liking things and living in a house with no decorations or personal touches would be a bit grim, but when you start buying a lot of the same or related things purely to accumulate them, you're getting into consoomer tendencies. You can descend into consoomerism like an alcoholic descends into chemical dependency. Someone can start out really loving music and buying physical copies of albums they enjoy, then they start buying a few special editions, then albums they don't love to have complete discographies, then new releases just because they're hyped up and sought after and throw tantrums if they don't get one, and then overpaying for multiple presses from different years or labels where the only discernible differences are the matrix codes. I'd say the change is somewhere around step three, where they're gone beyond what they originally loved and are buying things for their own sake. For example, buying an action figure and even a couple of classic toys that you've always admired isn't really consoomerism, but collecting anything with the logo on it is in that territory.
1. Wasteful: the person buys more than they could feasibly ever use
2. Mindless: there is little to no engagement required
3. Bland: there is no meaningful difference between experiences or items
4. Compulsive: despite requiring little to nothing of the persons time or energy it some how it takes up all of it
5. Trivial: no matter how you slice it the thing isn't important
6. Pursuit: the finding and purchasing of the item is more important than the actual act of possessing the item
If a "collector" meets 5/6 of these criteria I consider them a consoomer. Furthermore: Consoomers seem to fall into two major "subsets", those who consume for the dopamine hit that consooming gives them, and those who wish to buy into a group, in this second case the act of consooming grants them status within the group.
Edit to add:
I think the difference between enthusiast and consoomer is a gradient rather than a distinct line, but it's somewhere around buying a lot of stuff just to have it. There's nothing wrong with liking things and living in a house with no decorations or personal touches would be a bit grim, but when you start buying a lot of the same or related things purely to accumulate them, you're getting into consoomer tendencies. You can descend into consoomerism like an alcoholic descends into chemical dependency. Someone can start out really loving music and buying physical copies of albums they enjoy, then they start buying a few special editions, then albums they don't love to have complete discographies, then new releases just because they're hyped up and sought after and throw tantrums if they don't get one, and then overpaying for multiple presses from different years or labels where the only discernible differences are the matrix codes. I'd say the change is somewhere around step three, where they're gone beyond what they originally loved and are buying things for their own sake. For example, buying an action figure and even a couple of classic toys that you've always admired isn't really consoomerism, but collecting anything with the logo on it is in that territory.
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- Jan 25, 2022
Other than compulsion all the rest can be describe both collectors and consoomers.
Collections are inherently wasteful, mindless, trivial, and bland to everyone but the collector. It boils down to "I think X is neat and I like to collect them". The reason why they think it's neat can differ from person to person, but at the end of the day you are still gathering useless trinkets and knickknacks.
It's the obsession and identity built around it that makes a consoomer, not the collection its self.
Sleazy Car Salesman
Believe me when I say that I will take your money
True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
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At the end of the day it's always going to be a sniff test but those are common behaviors of consoomers, for me collectors tend to focus more on curation and preservation rather than the simple act of hoarding like a consoomer does.
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Everything you say about collectors can apply to people who buy funko pops. Curation, preservation, etc.
How is collecting coins not trivial, bland or mindless?
Ontop of that how does pursuit mater at all?
Fartificial Insmelligence
kiwifarms.net
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None of it really matters, frankly, long as you take care of your needs first and your wants second. The only problem is when you buy stuff just to buy stuff...
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Certain things I will never EVER understand. For example, I simply cannot fathom why anyone would want a Funko Pop. They're soulless and generic looking and impress NOBODY besides maybe the most fanatical of collectors and even then. If you want a figurine of a character there is very likely a decent looking one somewhere online, especially for popular media. Sure it typically costs more but they look better most of the time. But I can understand why someone might want to collect Hotwheels even if I haven't cared for them since I was a kid.
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- Jun 17, 2018
On the topic of Funko Pops, between the shutdowns it’s been a while since I hopped in this thread but Funko Man himself is offloading his 9000+ collection! Not $9000… 9000 Funko Pops. He cites Funko’s predatory business practices exploiting FOMO and creating artificial exclusivity making it no longer fun to buy them. So you know things are REALLY bad when even a king consoomer like him taps out.
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Funko Pops are popular because they are figures made for mass consumption. They are cheap, everywhere, and have a ton of licensed products. So it's easy for people to impulse buy some because they like the show or character. Also, I think a lot of funko pops given as a cheap gifts, like with me when my friend got me a Judge Dredd and Blood Angel figure. If you want a GOOD figure, you need to not only pay more than $15, but HUNT for it, which most people are unable or willing to do. If someone has a few out on their shelf or desk I don't hold it against them. But if you have shelves dedicated to them pristine in the box, then it't time for an intervention.
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Doesn't sound like a good friend to me. There are a lot of cheaper stuff that isn't shit that can be gifted. Giving a funko as a gift is shitty. You feel guilty for throwing it away, even though you hate it. Because you got it from a friend.
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I never really do gifts with friends, so the surprising gesture from her is what matters most to me. Besides the Dredd and Blood Angel figures don't look too bad becuase their helmets cover the creepy soulless eyes.
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- Aug 7, 2018
The Super Mario toyline is kind of fucked up when you think about it being a blotched toy line.
There is a smaller line of two inch figures with very basic (usually just arms) articulation that are usually found in the checkout line of Wal Mart and they are decent if only for the fact that you have a decent variety of villains (granted nothing from Mario 2 save Shyguys) and a four inch line that is kind of bulky and limited character selection plus suffers from having god-awful distribution (case in point, Bowser is super rare as he was one of the first figures made and the early lines, especially those put out as part of the larger "world of nintendo" line with other Nintendo IPs had super bad distribution issues).
Both scales have their fans but character selection is limited to just the mainline modern Mario stuff mostly, plus the fact that character distribution between the lines is annoying as fuck.
Case in point: they FINALLY start making Kooplings, but first in the 4 inch line then they stopped and started making them in the 2 inch line instead and then stopped making them there so they could catch up and redo them for the 4 inch line.
It's super crazy as hell, especially since the Kooplings are among the most popular Mario villains out there but who knows if they'll ever complete the gang, let alone in both scales.
Adding to this, the only characters we get from Super Mario 2 are Bob-Ombs and Shy Guys. We still don't have Wart, Fryguy, Mouser, or Triclyde for instance.
Similarly, the diaramoa/playsets are pretty cheap looking and are messed up by the different scales they have plus seem to be more for kids than adult collectors.
I have SOME of the figures in the 2 inch scale (most of the Kooplings, Dr Mario and regular Mario, and some Shyguys plus a bunch of 2 inch Metroids for sci-fi displays) but it's a line where it could be so much more if they actually didn't halfass things.
Actually part of the appeal of Funko is that they EXPLICITLY GO AFTER properties with NO toy representation. Or only crappy ass toys that are long out of production and would cost you more than it's worth .
That's part of how they draw at least, the casual buyers in. The hardcore ones are the completist types and those who think they will be worth big bucks, which is how they make a lot of their money.
Fartificial Insmelligence
kiwifarms.net
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Not as bad as Funko Pops, but I present to you.... The PRE-stickered beverage bottle! For the most basic of bitches who want to look, from a distance, like they've been places and done things! And what's even better(?), it's all one big sticker! No worries about overlapping and peeling!
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Torque Wheeler
kiwifarms.net
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- Mar 20, 2021
Is there a word for chain restaurants that are more expensive than Applebee's and Olive Garden but about the same experience? The highway was closed so I had to drive through a rich part of the city that was a victim to suburban sprawl, and there are miles of Chuy's, red robins, Carrabba's, Brixx, Bravo, Blaze, Chick-fil-As etc. I hate that people would rather spend money somewhere safe and sanitized than take a chance at a hometown restaurant that could offer a unique experience. It's killing small business and making people fat fucks. Tophats please
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- Jan 15, 2019
I know this is just the result of a site hiccup, but I laughed my fucking ass off when I saw this and just had to inflict it on (er, I mean "share it with") all of you.