A Neopian Guide to Collecting: No.1 Petpets

In that case, we would like to suggest you something which may cause a change of heart over your Neopets goals. Many Neopians live only to collect as many Secret Avatars as possible; others make sure their pet reads hundreds of books in a matter of days (a hideous thing, actually); and some others would rather enjoy portraying their pet to compete among thousands in the Beauty Contest. To sum up, everyone always tries hard to achieve merits which may suddenly be forgotten about overnight, and then, the only thing you are left with is a shiny trophy in your User Lookup.

Being somewhat of a collector myself, I actually enjoy getting the most random items you could ever find in Neopia nowadays. With over 13,700 items, an incredible sum which keeps increasing on a daily basis, take it for granted that you’ll spend hours and hours collecting them and, hopefully, it will save you from a Neopian life full up of dreadful yawns.

Eventually, it is your own choice whether to sell them or not, an option which would probably grant you a nice profit, but that’s not what this article’s about. It isn’t, by no means, one of those guides which will help you winning the Gallery Spotlight either: we are talking about collecting in order to give some meaning to those items which have been rotting forever in your Safety Deposit Box and, once and for all, spend those savings you’ve been saving throughout your game at the National Neopian Bank.

Collecting will become a hobby which, perhaps, will take as much of your spare time as Neopoints. It doesn’t mean you can’t collect items which aren’t extremely expensive, but the simple fact to keep upgrading your shop size and getting, little by little, every item which concerns a theme will require some reductions on your budget. This won’t stop you from feeding your Neopets omelettes and jellies everyday, so don’t worry about that: the thing is, at the end of the day, you’ll have some fun collecting items and you’ll also feel pretty satisfied about it.

Convinced, yet? Well, it would be a bit difficult to start off your way planning a proper collection (even though it may actually turn out to be tougher to actually finish it) so here are a few steps we recommend you taking before proceeding:

• To begin with, save up some money. The exact amount of NPs you will need to spend is practically determined by the theme or purpose of your collection, but it isn’t a bad idea either having a few spare NPs in the bank. Otherwise, we suggest you to start playing quite a lot flash games or restocking.

• Having said that, it’s time to think about the way you’re going to show off your valuable collection. Usually, people enjoy letting others know what they collect through User Shops, though you may also want to keep your collections private in your very own Safety Deposit Box. If you choose to go for the first option, then the next step will be opening a shop, in case you haven’t done it already. It won’t be something really expensive at first (150 NPs for 5 items) but, in a matter of time, you’d probably see yourself forced to upgrade its storage spending as much NPs as you’d pay for an only item. ._.;

• Ready, then? The next step will probably be the most difficult part: choosing a theme. There is no need for it to be original, but something you really like and would enjoy staring at it for hours o_o Otherwise, you will eventually get bored and, therefore, quit collecting with a bunch of items on hand. That’s why in these series of articles we’ll guide you through the art of collecting, covering the themes Neopians find most attractive: Petpets, Plushies, Paint Brushes… or simply random. Remember, we are NOT trying to win anything in here.

• Once you’ve made your decision, let’s begin organizing your collection: having well-defined goals will definitely help you standing firm on your decision. The best way to do this is simply by keeping track of the items you’re willing to collect- even if they are thousands. The Shop Wizard and Trading Post will give you a hand on this.

In these first series of articles, as said, we will entirely focus on something which, at first glance, shouldn’t be considered as a mere item. Their main use is to keep our pets in company, though they may even give you a Secret Avatar every now and then. We shouldn’t leave aside either the fact they can be as nice as incredibly… disturbing, which makes them even more charming: we’re obviously talking about Petpets. It’s probably very difficult to collect them all, so we recommend you to make up your mind on what exactly you would like to achieve: having every Petpet-related item? Spooky Petpets? Painted Petpets?

Now that you have everything set up, let’s focus on how to actually collect them.

Organize your collection

In case you followed up our previous advice, divide your list into multiple categories: by colours, by cost… whatever you feel the most appropriate. That way, you will be able to combine different kind of objects to add gradually to your gallery and you will always keep in mind what you’re really saving for. It isn’t a bad idea either to set an exact number of Petpets to buy per week, so you’ll get a slight idea of how much we are spending here.

Where to begin?

Bear in mind, you are not supposed to get every Petpet which involves your collection in one only day, as little as it might be- what would be the point of collecting, then? We are not in a hurry so far, so we suggest you to begin with the cheapest, easier-to-get Petpets. As your collection grows, you may also enjoy planning more difficult ways to get them so it becomes more exciting! Some of the cheapest (not necessarily the most ‘popular’ ones) Petpets are on the following list:

Neopian Petpet Shop

1. Tenna – 1100 NPs approx.

2. Spyder – 1200 NPs approx.

3. Mallard – 1500 NPs approx.

4. Cobrall – 1800 NPs approx.

5. Greeble – 1800 NPs approx.

Faerieland Petpets

1. Magaral – 3300 NPs approx.

2. Floud – 3500 NPs approx.

3. Melvie – 4000 NPs approx.

4. Barbat – 5000 NPs approx.

5. Meekins – 5500 NPs approx.

Peopatra’s Petpets

1. Selket – 1000 NPs approx.

2. Scarabug – 1500 NPs approx.

3. Wadjet – 1500 NPs approx.

4. Khnum – 2800 NPs approx.

5. Horus – 6000 NPs approx.

RoboPet Shop

1. Wheelie – 4500 NPs approx.

2. Diddler – 6000 NPs approx.

3. Pinceron – 8000 NPs approx.

4. Screwtop – 10000 NPs approx.

5. Scout Unit – 17000 NPs approx.

Rock Pool

1. Sproing – 3600 NPs approx.

2. Walein – 4000 NPs approx.

3. Peadackle – 4200 NPs approx.

4. Cubett – 5000 NPs approx.

5. Ramosan – 5500 NPs approx.

Spooky Petpets

1. Abominable Snowball – 1000 NPs approx.

2. Sludgy – 1800 NPs approx.

3. Mummy Baby – 2600 NPs approx.

4. Bearog – 3000 NPs approx.

5. Walking Carpet – 3000 NPs approx.

Tyrannian Petpets

1. Stego – 2500 NPs approx.

2. Uggatrip – 3700 NPs approx.

3. Scado – 3900 NPs approx.

4. Donksaur – 4300 NPs approx.

5. Airax – 5700 NPs approx.

Wintery Petpets

1. Fir – 4100 NPs approx.

2. Feepit – 5600 NPs approx.

3. Jinjah – 9500 NPs approx.

4. Polarchuck – 11000 NPs approx.

5. Yullie – 11000 NPs approx.

Ye Olde Petpets

1. Karren – 4100 NPs approx.

2. Albat – 4900 NPs approx.

3. Drackonack – 28000 NPs approx.

4. Ganuthor – 60000 NPs approx.

5. Dragoyle – 110000 NPs approx.

Quite a nice list to start off, huh? Hopefully, your Petpet collection will grow quickly- Remember, though, these prices are always subject to change due to numerous reasons.

How to get them?

There are definitely countless places to get a hold of Petpets around Neopia; therefore, we recommend you to look for them to the last corner since you might end up with a better deal out of it.

Shop Wizard, Auctions, and Trading Post: they are, without question, places where you can always find the best deals with lots of patience. Just don’t forget to keep refreshing A LOT in the Shop Wizard while you are looking for something- even if that takes up a few minutes. (You could always come across a very valuable item!)

The Marketplace: if you are fairly good at restocking, then it’s more likely you’ll get Petpets for cheaper than the above. Lots of practice and a good Internet connection are a must; however, you should also know where exactly to restock the Petpet you’re looking for (for instance, Krawks appear in Tyrannia, not in Krawk Island!)

Garage Sale: there’s a small probability to buy Petpets from Mika and Carassa in the Terror Mountain, so we shouldn’t ignore this place either: you can also choose from a wide range of items which are distinctly cheaper than Main Shops and Shop Wiz. That way, you’ll get some useful spare NPs to spend on more Petpets for your collection ^^

Advent Calendar: it’s a pity it only works once throughout the year, so every holiday does! Keep an eye in the Month of Celebrating (December) to every prize which is given away at the Advent Calendar: you may be lucky enough to get a hold of one special, unique Petpet for your collection (Snowbunny, White Ona, etc. just to name a few). In case you pass on the chance, there is no need to worry either, since there will be lots on sale in the Shop Wiz by that time of the year.

Random Contests: take Better than you, Mystery Pic, Art Gallery, Wheel of Excitement, Wheel of Mediocrity, Wheel of Monotony, Kitchen Quests, Fruit Machine as a few examples of this. It obviously isn’t the best way to obtain them but the few NPs which are spent on this every day are worth a shot. Remember: it might be the turn of Petpets to be given as a reward!

Safety Deposit Box: erm, who knows what this mysterious box might contain? A Petpet could be hidden among thousands of items o_O

When should I buy Petpets?

In case you’re running out of Neopoints or you’re simply looking to spend the less possible amount of money, then you should keep in mind a few factors before hurrying up to finish your Petpet collection:

- First off, don’t you EVER buy those Petpets which were recently released as nicer as they might be: take it for granted they’ll become cheaper in a matter of weeks (depending on their rarity and popularity). Same thing occurs to those Petpets which were just given a revamp or those which have new colours to be painted of.

- Furthermore, you won’t need to buy those Petpets which ‘became’ Avatar Petpets. It’s often difficult to say whether this will happen or not, but just in case you’re aware of something like this is coming, hurry up and buy it as quick as possible.

- So that cute Petpet which is left in your collection you can’t afford to buy, can you? Unfortunately, either you start collecting NPs off the Money Tree or try restocking it by yourself! If you have a good, reliable Internet connection then it’s definitely worth trying- you could save up thousands of NPs!

Basically, everything is a matter of patience when you decide to start off a collection on your own. Since Petpet collections/galleries are an activity which came to its very peak a long time ago, you might be discouraged when looking at those impressive, huge collections; but the same thing will happen to you now, since it’ll take you months before getting there so, why shouldn’t you just give it a try?