Like
@Rusty Crab said, It's difficult to differentiate between a CONSOOMER and a hobbyist/collector. A consoomer collects funko pops but what differentiates that from say, a coin collector? (very boomer, I know)
I took a shower and here's what I came up with. If what you're buying has all 3 qualities listed it counts as consooming.
1. No meaningful interaction: The product cannot be played with or interacted with even if marketed as a toy.
2. No "Hunt": There is no sort of way to procure said item outside of merely buying one outright either from someone that has it or directly from the producer.
3. No substantial return on investment: The product is either not a meaningful upgrade over past installments or not a meaningful addition to the current collection.
The first category eliminates most hobbyists such as Warhammer players who despite paying hundreds for cheap plastic they do get meaningful interaction with said product. The second category rules out "rare thing" collectors such as card and coin collectors as their hobby does involve hunting down things that are rare. The third criteria simply excludes people who buy expansions to their hobby and includes people who buy every new phone every year with minimal difference.
Funko pop collectors check all three boxes. Firstly, you can't really play with a Funko so strike one. Every rare Funko pop's value comes solely from a limited release at either events or as fucking Hot Topic employee gifts so there's not a "hunt" outside of finding an Ebay seller that happens to have one so strike two. Finally, buying more Funkos doesn't actually improve your collection. You just have another same-face funko whose price is a bit higher than the others. The more you buy, the quicker they lose value until they lose all their individuality and simply become another brick in "the wall."
