Odd collecting habits - AKA I'm bored at work

[Rev. Link]

I'm stuck at work all day on a boring saturday, and I thought to pass the time maybe I'd start a topic about one of my odd collecting habits.

There are a lot of things I'm looking for, so when I go out looking (or to eBay) it's real easy to become overwhelmed by all my options. Before you know it I'me considering well over $100 in games, which I just can't afford to do very often. That, or my eBay watching page is full.

It was starting to become annoying, so I devised a method to help give my collecting some focus. I took a little notepad and wrote down the titles of a bunch of games I want (mostly classic stuff), each on its own little sheet of paper. Then I folded them all in half and put them in a top hat (remnant of a Slash costume I wore for Halloween once :) ).

I pull a name out of the hat, and that's the game I concentrate on hunting down next. Off course, I still buy other things if I find deals I just can't pass up. Only problem with this method is that it requires self control, which I sometimes lack. So far I've only managed to buy one game that I've pulled from the hat, despite the fact that my collection has grown considerably since I first pulled that name out.

So, does anyone else do something similar to this? Or have any other odd collecting habits they'd like to share?

[CYRiX]

I must say that is pretty odd.

[Rockman Neo]

Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'm gonna start doing that now.

[c0ldb33r]

That's an ... interesting method. But hey, whatever works.

It's better than my system. I'll go to pawn shops and buy whatever I see. Doesn't really matter if it's what I'm looking for, or even if it's a particularly good deal. It's kind of like, hey I don't have that, and it's not a football/baseball/hockey game, so I "need" it. Need, yeah right :D

My best method of controlling myself is my wife. She's not a bitch or anything, but she's not into collecting stuff as much as I am. So for instance, yesterday I was convinced I wanted a GB Micro. We already have a Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Player, and Nintendo DS. Why on Earth do I need a Micro? I don't. So she said that since it's kind of an expensive purchase, why don't you wait a couple of days and see if you still want it, if you do we'll get it then.

Great idea, because today I don't really want one anymore. Unless I see one cheap, then I'll get it just for completeness sake.

[drwily008]

Your habit is totally normal in my mind...including the Slash hat.
G'N'F'in'R :band:

[zektor]

That's an ... interesting method. But hey, whatever works.

It's better than my system. I'll go to pawn shops and buy whatever I see. Doesn't really matter if it's what I'm looking for, or even if it's a particularly good deal. It's kind of like, hey I don't have that, and it's not a football/baseball/hockey game, so I "need" it. Need, yeah right :D

My best method of controlling myself is my wife. She's not a bitch or anything, but she's not into collecting stuff as much as I am. So for instance, yesterday I was convinced I wanted a GB Micro. We already have a Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Player, and Nintendo DS. Why on Earth do I need a Micro? I don't. So she said that since it's kind of an expensive purchase, why don't you wait a couple of days and see if you still want it, if you do we'll get it then.

Great idea, because today I don't really want one anymore. Unless I see one cheap, then I'll get it just for completeness sake.

I think if she saw the screen and sexiness of the unit she would change her mind pretty quickly :)

[InsaneDavid]

So she said that since it's kind of an expensive purchase, why don't you wait a couple of days and see if you still want it, if you do we'll get it then.

:whip:

[Rev. Link]

Your habit is totally normal in my mind...including the Slash hat.
G'N'F'in'R :band:

Here, check it out. I know it's not the best quality picture.

http://www.geocities.com/basilicalink/images/link6.jpg

The hair is real, and I painted the back of the jacket myself.

[drwily008]

Your habit is totally normal in my mind...including the Slash hat.
G'N'F'in'R :band:

Here, check it out. I know it's not the best quality picture.

http://www.geocities.com/basilicalink/images/link6.jpg

The hair is real, and I painted the back of the jacket myself.

Great costume! And you live in Ohio to boot....that's my old stomping grounds. Is your hair still that long? What year was that?

[Rev. Link]

That would have been 1996. My hair's quite a bit longer, now. And I actually live in Indiana, just across the border from Cincinnati.

Oh man, I just realized that was 10 years ago... I'm feeling old! X_x

[Candycab]

Well im presumed to be odd bye many peoples standards since I like to collect weird Silicon Graphics Machines.

Usually fitting PC's in them but still retaining the SGI factory look, which isnt always easy.


Some find collecting Japanese MVS stuff a little off aswell ,but I love it :D

[Mark III]

I collect only complete games. No loose carts, no missing manuals, only complete games. I'm not really that picky, I just find that buying only complete limits how much I spend and keeps my collection at a manageable level. It's amazing how much money I don't spend by passing up loose carts of games I'm after.

[dcescott]

my method is the wife who knows I am impulsive with games. I justify by selling garage sale stuff on ebay, creating a cash flow for the addiction. She used to work at a bank so finances is her department. Still she says why on earth do I need another copy of " ". I tell her its not on this system, it's different, better graphics, gameplay is different, its rare, or whatever. My latest is a neo geo mvs cab. I'm getting bust a move in a couple days. Paid for by ebay sales, and rightly justified because she digs bubble bobble. And the cab was bought with extra money from sidework, not my salary.
When you are married, both are affected by spending on stuff.

[GameSlaveGaz]

That is actually a good idea. Because I have must-have lists, but I don't want to go overboard buying games (especially since I have little time to play and little room to store). I usually focus on games I really really want before games I heard of and wanna get and games to get just for the sake of collecting. I also try to keep it less than $15-20 for one game unless it's worth more. If there's a game I have to have the day it comes out, I reserve it at GameStop so I can put money down little by little over time so I don't blow $40-50 all at once. I also try to avoid ebay unless I can't find it elsewhere because I'm tired of my dad going "What did you order THIS time?!" and to avoid arguments of "That's not what your credit card is for!"
Y'know, I've been pretty good about ordering games on eBay. I think I should reward myself after the latest payment goes through :)