So You Want To Be A Collector?

     A favourite and loved by many Neopians, collecting avatars is an excellent pastime. There are many avatars to collect, all in different categories. The difficulty range for avatars is also vast, and many are very time bound. This will help keep your interest and have you checking your userlookup to see your avatar count over and over again.

     There are avatars known as "clickable," which you can add to your collection by simply clicking on specific pages. There are also avatars that you can earn by owning certain Pets, Petpets, and even a Petpetpet one, too! There are game avatars, many of which would fall into the bucket of very difficult for many Neopians. Stamp avatars are highly coveted among players, as they show dedication and drive to collect 25 stamps to complete an album. We are also still cruising towards new stamp avatars being released, which makes an exciting long game as well! A favourite category of mine is creative contest avatars, such as the Caption Contest, Neopian Times, and Beauty Contest avatars. Show off those skills and work towards an avatar that you can be proud of! Avatars are loved on Neopets, and it's something you should absolutely be collecting, if you're not already.

     Though they can fall into a sub-list under avatars, stamps deserve their own callout. Stamps are fun to collect, and there are many that would be known as "buyable." Tire out that Shop Wizard and get that stamp count up. You can also hang out at the Neopian Post Office to add new stamps to your album! To show off your collection of stamps, you can add new stamp avatars to your collection, but you can also earn a trophy for having the highest number of stamps in Neopia! I'd say that's even more coveted than the avatars. If you're starting the stamp collecting journey, be prepared - it's not a cheap one. So start saving, and have fun "albuming!"

     Pro-tip: Keep an eye on the Quest Log prize pool, as rare stamps get released in there often!

     Another trophy that you can earn is by collecting Neodeck cards. There aren't any avatars associated with collecting Neodeck cards other than adding the "Fire Paw" card into your Neodeck, so this makes the competition a little less fierce for buying them. The trophy, however, is still a status symbol for a collector. You earn the trophy similar to the way you earn the stamp trophy, by having the highest number of cards in your Neodeck! Unlike stamps, once you get the trophy, you have the added benefit of selling all the cards you collected to other hopeful collectors. Win, win!

     Do you not want to be boxed into a specific type of item? Or maybe you just want to collect a different kind of item? Perfect - a gallery is for you. There are thousands of options for galleries, and you can be as literal or as creative as you want to be with the theme. There are gallery themes such as all items with stars in them, food items that look like Neopets, and so many more. If you're looking for inspiration, I recommend looking through the winners of the gallery spotlight, and you'll see some incredible themes and galleries created by awesome Neopians! How do you show your success with your gallery? Another trophy, the Gallery Spotlight, which is a high honor.

     Pro-tip: Pick a theme you're passionate about and can accumulate many items! You want something unique and different, but something you can also be excited about when buying and sorting new items.

     There's a common theme through all of these collections, and that's a trophy. Every one of these collections can lead to the ultimate collector piece: a full trophy cabinet. If you didn't know, trophies you earn show on your userlookup. Ever been to someone's userlookup and had to scroll a long way to get to the bottom? That's because they've worked hard to earn a lot of trophies! You, too, can be that person!

     Like avatars, there are different categories of trophies. The first you will see on someone's userlookup are site event trophies. These are trophies for events that you can participate in across Neopia, like the Altador Cup and plots, such as The Void Within! You'll also see other trophies that people have, like the number of Kadoaties fed at the Kadoatery and their Defenders of Neopia status. You'll then get into the earned trophies, the first of which will be creative contests and other contests like those. Some creative contests show the number you've won, such as how many Neopian Times entries you've had accepted or Art Gallery wins you have. These are very exciting to many Neopians! And the final list of trophies: games. You earn game trophies by being in the top 17 players when trophies are awarded every morning. So even if you're a gamer, you can still be a collector by collecting trophies!

     Pro-tip: Earning trophies is easiest at the beginning of the month, as the trophy scores for every game reset on the first of the month. Practice during the month and play first thing in the morning on the first!

     While there are other collections, these are the common ones and the easiest to dive into. Being a collector in anything is fun, but being a collector on Neopets is the most fun. One of the best parts of being a collector on Neopets is collaborating and celebrating with other collectors on the Neoboards. Encouraging others and celebrating wins with each other makes it even better. So good luck choosing your adventure into collecting, and have fun! It's an added bonus to your already favourite slice of joy.