I used to make fun of people, especially Dyar and Attom, who appeared to have numerous copies of every smurf.
"Collect 'em all, and start all over, again!"
But....
Er....
It's weird--like the saying: the rich get richer.
When I re-started collecting in Nov 2004, two of my dream smurfs were Jungle / Swoof Smurf and Flirting Bully Smurfette. I hunted for them for months before managing to get one of each, which I treasured. Now, I like have three swoofs, three bully smurfettes. And, I don't even try. I win them by accident in auctions when they come in a set with another smurf I was trying to get.
You fight tooth-and-nail to get the first one, but after that, it seems they just pour in.
Granted, smurfs like baseball smurfette never seem to pour in......
On the brightside, I've so far managed to avoid duplicates of "smurf with flowers and gift." If I ever win him incidentally, I think I'll ask the seller to remove him. If the seller refuses, I'll politely respond: "Got a garbage bin? He's technically my smurf now, right? I'm telling you to drop him in."
But seriously, ever had bidders refuse to remove something from the set? I once asked a bidder, "What's the shipping without the plush smurf?" Response: "Sorry, I'd rather include it." Fine, I didn't bid.
....no, seriously....it's like once you are in you get invited for more.
....ok, I'm going to eat some of Nat's worms now
