To new collectors from an old collector... Don't do this.

[Red Baron]

This is a fascinating thread, especially as I can see vestiges of the problems people are having in myself, but on a much smaller scale. In my circle, people know me as someone who collects games, but compared to most of you, it's chump change.

I only started a little around five years ago(mostly because I noticed that I already had a fair collection from just buying games and then never selling them), mostly NES/Genesis/SNES/PSX/Various GB games, and mostly just games I might actually want to play. But then I began collecting a bit more as I found better deals in game shops, and would sometimes snag games that I'd probably have no interest in just because they were cheap and I was eager to pad out my collection. Which to this day, is still only around 270 games for every system.

After I lost my last job, however, I put an end to that for the most part, and probably will keep relenting until I get caught up financially. Although just as well, I've tragically found myself playing games a lot less, partially due to being busy with work and being a bit too bummed to drag them out, preferring to spend time socializing. I still have a terrible amount of games I haven't beaten or even played, and that's even more incentive to lay off hunting for a while.

Funnily enough, one of the reasons I recognized the growing problem so quickly was because I've done the exact same thing before, but worse.. With books. I loved books, so I collected them.. And then the local town book store closed down, and was selling books for 10-25 cents each. I literally bought around three hundred and fifty of them. I also bought a bunch of cheap used library books afterwards.. And a few dollar store novels. And as much as I had read in the past, I had slowed down, and then came to realize that many of the books I bought I hadn't even wanted that badly, or at all.. Some of them I might never read, I was just buying for the sake of a big collection. And now that I'm no longer living alone, storing them is a pain.

Fortunately my game collection is much less of a problem, just a few stacked boxes of games, no extraneous or duplicate systems, etc.. But at the same time, had I been less smart about it, it could have become the same issue, if not worse.

That being said.. ...Well, I'm not sure what my point was, other than "I'm glad I was forced to quit while I was ahead". Granted, once I get back on my feet financially, I plan to start collecting again, but I plan to do so tempered with the lesson this has all taught me. I don't have any desire to own every game for a system anyway, I just want a nice collection of games I can enjoy, so I guess I just plan on "collecting smarter, not harder". There's still plenty of used game shops where I live, so the thrill of the hunt is still awaiting my eventual return..

[gameofyou]

I've started scaling back myself. I think part of it is not having as much interest in games as you get older. But part of it is the clutter problem, also. In my opinion, the best thing is to keep 1 or 2 consoles, and the best games that you have for them. I'll be keeping Saturn and N64, and everything else can go. This will still leave me with more games than I can possibly play, and it will allow for a nice, clean, uncluttered basement.

[cyberfluxor]

I have been slowing down my game purchases for the last two years on the consoles and picked up the bad arcade and pinball habit. I have yet to sell my console stuff and I rarely play them, but they are nice to have on hand every now and then. For that last two years I have been going to public events and conventions usually hauling a box or two of games to setup for attendees to play and started up a local gaming event at the library where I pull out most of my collection. The new direction I'm taking my collection feels more fulfilling to share the experiences and talk to so many others than to see it sit on my shelf all year.

[Griking]

I think that its kind of natural to buy almost anything you run into when you first start collecting. I did the same thing. But over time as you start accumulating more and more stuff and run out of the room to store it I've learned that quality is always better than quantity.

[gepeto]

Yeah I am dreading how I am going to scale back I always dreamed of a big basement man cave but it is just a slow process. I could probably fill up a gamestore myself.

I think I am going to give some stuff away as well as sell off some stuff. The question is where do you begin? I wish there was a consignment shop for gamers.

[VACRMH]

Yeah I am dreading how I am going to scale back I always dreamed of a big basement man cave but it is just a slow process. I could probably fill up a gamestore myself.

I think I am going to give some stuff away as well as sell off some stuff. The question is where do you begin? I wish there was a consignment shop for gamers.

Try taking a trip to NAVA. Think of it as a big gaming swap meet, not only can you sell and trade to other members, but people who are visiting the store as well.

I also got rid of a bunch of commons a few years ago by paring them up with a system and putting them up for a decent BIN on eBay. Makes a good starter set for someone else out there.

[NaturalChemical]

I've been considering getting rid of some games that I know I'll never have any interest in playing, especially after having read this topic. However, a lot of it is stuff that really isn't good for much; old movie-based games in particular, as well as some downright awful titles. What's the best way to sell that kind of stuff?

[VACRMH]

I've been considering getting rid of some games that I know I'll never have any interest in playing, especially after having read this topic. However, a lot of it is stuff that really isn't good for much; old movie-based games in particular, as well as some downright awful titles. What's the best way to sell that kind of stuff?

Sell in a lot, or trade/sell them here. I'm sure someone could be interested in them.

So I don't bump the topic for no good reason, I'll try and add more to the discussion.

What methods does everyone use to thin their collection when needed? Do you get rid of the games you never think you'll play? Or do you give them a try before getting rid of them?

[Nico87]

I can still fit my entire collection along one wall in my small office.

And a few boxes in the closet.

Thanks for the advice.

Hah, same here!

[Aussie2B]

Interesting topic. Seems like it may explain the disappearance of some regulars of the past.

I think the most important thing is to not get caught up in the "I gotta leave with something" mentality. I know it can feel like a waste of time or gas or whatever to leave a place empty-handed, but you'll be glad in the long run for not weighing yourself down with items you wouldn't have purchased had you found something legitimately good. Same goes for eBay. Don't get yourself so wrapped up in the idea of purchasing something that when you lose the auctions you really wanted to win you just come up with something else to buy. When I make a purchase for the collection, it better be a good deal and something I legitimately want or something I intend to sell off within a few months tops. If it's a dupe that's not cheap/valuable enough to make a worthwhile profit but still a good deal, then I just think "I hope someone else who will appreciate and enjoy it will snap this up." No sense in hoarding duplicates for no reason at all.

And in terms of "obsessive" collecting, like when people go after full sets and variants and what not, I find I can still entertain some little fun obsessions without making a mess of things. I save my obsessions for very obscure stuff, like all merchandise related to particular imports that practically no one knows of. That way there probably isn't much to track down, and it's a good challenge to find those few things. So my "thrill of the hunt" stays thrilling with once-in-a-blue-moon finds, and I like that the obsession is my own special thing. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but if you're, say, tracking down every NES release, well, big whoop, tons of people have done that already, and there are so many games and many are so easy to find that you're just constantly amassing stuff without any real excitement unless you stumble across one of the really rare games. It may not be impressive to very many people, but I'm much more content tracking down Japan-only N64 games, stuff related to tri-Ace games, Wonder Project J merchandise, and my other little collecting projects. And unlike other collector's obsessions, I'm not squandering a ton of space or a lot of money on a regular basis on those.

[Goodwill Hunter]

I used to maintain 2 collections....my actual collection (5K+), and all of my trade material....games, magazines, hardware (3K+). I used to do a good amount of trading from it, but as the years went on, I did less trading, and more selling (which I didn't really care for).

3 years ago, I decided to try selling at the Midwest Gaming Classic, and had decent success doing so. But as I sold off my best stuff from 20 years of hunting, I wasn't able to restock sufficiently in just a year, and the law of diminishing returns started to bite...I was doing the same amount of work for less payback.

This year, after selling like usual at the show, I decided to spend the last 2 hours of the last day selling off whatever was left in box lots to the highest bidder. It ended up being fun, scary, unsettling, and liberating all at the same time. Some people got some great deals, but I can't say how relieved I was that I didn't have to pack all of those boxes back up, haul them home, and find space in the garage and basement for them. And coming home to a happy wife had some additional side benefits as well!

It has kind of put me in a clean-up mood, and I am currently reorganizing my actual collection, giving my basement workshop a thorough clean-up, and getting rid of a lot of misc stuff I will likely never use. My wife is stunned, as this is a bit of a 180 for me, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I have no plans to pare down or get rid of any part of my actual collection, as I still get a great deal of enjoyment from that, but through the benefits of getting rid of my trade stock, I can see why others would be tempted to do so.

Rich

[Shingetter]

I think the most important thing is to not get caught up in the "I gotta leave with something" mentality. I know it can feel like a waste of time or gas or whatever to leave a place empty-handed, but you'll be glad in the long run for not weighing yourself down with items you wouldn't have purchased had you found some legitimately good.

This all day. I have more stupid throwaway handhelds (Tiger and whatnot) than I want or know what to do with.

[RJ]

My collection never got as big as some members, but I decided a few yrs ago to cut back. I mainly had too many PS2 games. If I'd beat them twice, they went. 99% of my Mature games went. I ebayed them, traded them in, sold them to co-workers, the entire time unfocused on how much $$$ I'd get back: it didnt matter, I made myself get rid of them, but I bought a NES clone from 1 batch. Then I pared down my other systems & got them manageable, keeping games I really liked &/or had high replayability.

Then I got a DSi, that was the answer for me. I have tons of downtime at work & playing there made up for the freetime I lost at home when my kids were born. Family/domestic duty took over & there was minimal time for console gaming (or much else.) A handheld allows quick, easy, even covert sessions, or playing at night w/out disturbing anyone.

Game genres also affect the habit. Im not an RPG fan so I didnt have to part w/ them. I stopped playing other lengthy story-based games w/ checkpoints, & play games where progress/getting ahead is guaranteed, so no gaming session is wasted time. Puzzle games are ideal for this, & that became my favorite genre. I also began to focus on multiplayer games for my boys to play when they're old enough. They already like Mario Party 8, & I cant wait to try Gauntlet w/ them.

Oh yeah, if physical space is the problem, consider digital downloads or emulation. I know there's an entire debate on this, & the argument of having something tangible or being at the mercy of the game companies, but virtual games or SD cards take up way less space than boxed carts or disc cases. Plus if you have kids, they cant physically ruin or damage them.

The important thing is I havent missed or regretted getting rid of anything, because I knew it had to be done & was the right thing to do. Beloved collection or not, they're just games, just THINGS, & in the long run there's more to life.

[Nature Boy]

I always dreamed of a big basement man cave but it is just a slow process.

I always find the journey more enjoyable than the destination. That goes for searching for a game I really want as well as the journey from nothing to games room. I find rushing through it by paying more than I have to leaves me less satisfied than waiting and intelligently acquiring what I need.

(I also decided, really early on, that although I loved the extreme collector's massive collection that I'd be happy with a much smaller target - sounds to me like the original poster didn't make that distinction early on and got caught trying to keep up with the Joneses

I've been in my current house, which came with a finished basement, for 3 years now, but it still took me 2 years to get the shelves and what-have-you together to where it is today. And it was worth the wait. If I had bailed because it was taking too long, I'd have regretted it I think.

Personally I'm going to worry about what I'll think about things when I'm 60 in 20 or so years (when I'm, you know, 60). Right now I'm loving it on my own and with my kids (there's nothing funnier than watching them play their way through Lego Star Wars but struggle with Combat because they can't figure out the controls...)

[Tempest]

I've sort of gone through this is the past 3 or 4 years. Back when I was single and in a large empty house I spent most of my disposable income on games for just about every system and computer (there were only a small few that I don't collect for). After awhile I had accumulated a large collection that I was very happy with (no buyers remorse) and for a good price (which was much easier to do 5-10 years ago). Then I met my future wife and my world changed. Games were still an important part of my life, but money got a bit tighter so I cut way back on my collecting. Interestingly I found that I didn’t really miss it. Sure there were times when I saw an auction for a really cool computer or game I had always wanted but couldn’t afford to spend a large amount of money on, but games were no longer my driving passion.

A few years later, money isn’t nearly as tight and I thought that I would instantly fall back into my massive collecting habit. Oddly this hasn’t happened. I’ve come to the conclusion that as much as I love games there’s only so many you can play and while that boxed copy of an ultra rare game looks great on the shelf, there are far better things to spend money on. So I really haven’t added much to my collection in a few years and I’ve even sold some expensive things like my massive Neo Geo MVS collection. Do I miss the mass collecting? A tiny bit, but all that money I haven’t spent has gone to much better things (IMHO). The handful of things I’ve sold really haven’t been missed because I guess I really didn’t love them in the first place. Now I’m in the process of mentally making notes on what I really want to keep and what can eventually go. My future plans involve a move across country into a smaller house, so some items aren’t going to make the trip.

This isn’t to say that I’ve gotten rid of everything (or most things actually). I still love my collection and try to toy around with everything now and then, but it’s not the driving force in my life anymore. It’s now sort of a hobby that I dabble in on the side, like it should have been all along. It’s easy to get caught up in the collecting habit, buying things you know you’ll never touch or even see again (banished to a tub on a shelf somewhere), just because you can and it’s thrilling to know that ‘you got another one’ (gotta catch ‘em all!). These days I collect stuff that I know I’ll actually play with or things for specific systems (like my VideoBrain) and I’m a much happier person for it.

I think my basement will always be a computer/gaming shrine, but it will be a smaller and more focused one. When it starts to look less like a museum and more like a junk pile it’s time to sit back and reassess the situation.

Tempest

[NayusDante]

I don't think my collection ever went past 800, but there came a time where I knew it was bigger than I wanted it to be.

At one point, I was hitting three different thrifts every week, usually afternoons after class. My rule was anything $1 that wasn't sports or licensed usually went home with me, and anything particularly neat for under $5 did as well. Even though I was extra picky on PC games, I still found myself with a lot of unwanted big boxes. I started doing the eBay thing when I actually found some expensive stuff I already had, like a loose copy of FF7 PC for $5, and complete Xenogears for $3.

Eventually though, collecting just gets to you. Am I ever going to play through Milon's Secret Castle? Probably not. This was when I started using Amazon, which is a lot easier to list on. I maintain my Backloggery list and keep most of my selling inventory on Goozex, and everything's been getting better since. I've gotten some neat stuff from Goozex and I'm probably getting an average of 90% investment returns by selling on Amazon. The stuff that isn't worth selling on there is slowly getting sorted into eBay lots.

If you're making the decision to pare down your collection, I really think Backloggery helps. Eventually, you get tired of seeing a game on your list and you know it's time to put it in the selling pile.

In the odd chance that I might want to play something I sell, it's probably not too expensive to reacquire. In most cases, you'll lose about the cost of renting a game. Once you realize this, it's a lot easier to let go.

[Emperor Megas]

These last few posts are really good advice for those collectors here who may need a little reality check.

[RJ]

Yep, if you really want to decrease your collection, you must set limits & goals- sometimes STRICT ones. Reduce your (system)'s games to half. Then, half again. Then maybe again. Sell those you never play. Maybe even give some to your gamer neighbor. I gave a few PS2 games to a kid across the street last summer (asked his parents first), thinking about doing it again. I gave Goodwill my NES Zapper & all the Zapper games I had. I dont miss it, I have Wild West Guns on Wii that does the job & takes up NO physical room.

Also I note a common theme is when someone goes from being single to getting married/raising family/etc etc. Real life DOES intervene but also helps serve a reality check. If you have a separate/spare room for this stuff, thats great but people need space to live, & money goes for more important things.

[MachineGex]

My brother went through something like this only he went majorly overboard. He read somewhere how most people could/should get their belongings down to 100 items. I am talking about every object he owns(excluding food and drinks). He counts a pair of socks as one item and every other clothes item is counted as well. Everything else counts, like furniture, clocks, nick-nacks, etc. He has given away almost everything in his place. He is finally under a 100 items.

Is he any happier? Who knows. I do know that my Dad use to say "Moderation is the Key to Happiness". The older I get, the more this advice comes into play in almost every aspect of my life.

Moderation in Collecting, moderation is clearing out old items, moderation, moderation moderation!

Side note:
I did get my Grandfathers old pocket watch from him. It was something I always admired. As kids, my brother was 3 years older and he got the watch. It sat on our dresser as young kids until we moved out as adults. He never got it fixed so he gave it to me. I had it repaired($150) and now my son will get it. That watch would definitely be one of my 100 items and maybe my Harmony Cart!

[tubeway]

My brother went through something like this only he went majorly overboard. He read somewhere how most people could/should get their belongings down to 100 items. I am talking about every object he owns(excluding food and drinks). He counts a pair of socks as one item and every other clothes item is counted as well. Everything else counts, like furniture, clocks, nick-nacks, etc. He has given away almost everything in his place. He is finally under a 100 items.

Is he any happier? Who knows. I do know that my Dad use to say "Moderation is the Key to Happiness". The older I get, the more this advice comes into play in almost every aspect of my life.

Moderation in Collecting, moderation is clearing out old items, moderation, moderation moderation!

Side note:
I did get my Grandfathers old pocket watch from him. It was something I always admired. As kids, my brother was 3 years older and he got the watch. It sat on our dresser as young kids until we moved out as adults. He never got it fixed so he gave it to me. I had it repaired($150) and now my son will get it. That watch would definitely be one of my 100 items and maybe my Harmony Cart!

I remember when the yuppie knowledge worker couple started that 100 item fad; everyone loves simple rules for structuring their lives and feeling like they're in control. It takes a lot of work to use critical thinking and not everyone wants to.

However, I can't imagine giving up all of my actually productive or creative hobbies (photography, stenciling, circuit bending, etc) just to fit my life into some hard and fast rule. I also can't imagine standing in the store trying to figure out if getting sunblock will push me over the 100 item mark or debating on whether having a three piece suit or extra shoes is more important.

At any rate, the common issue with people that burn out on collecting seems to be that they invest way too much of themselves in a single hobby and aspect of their life. While not everyone necessarily needs to be in a relationship, it does bum me out when I watch youtube pickup videos of what seem to be some genuinely good guys that also lead what appear to be pretty lonely lives centered around collecting. Eventually they seem to realize they never gain a longstanding sense of fulfillment from what they're doing and just abandon the hobby one day.

I just think of what these people could have accomplished if they put that time, mental energy and money into something like getting a degree or striving to master an art form. I try to learn from them, though. I do still collect games, but never want my life to reach such disarray and they serve as an example of what not to do.