How do you deal with FOMO?

[Strange 1,641]

Fear Of Missing Out

When you see something you want or need for your collection but for whatever reason you can’t pick it up at that time, does the FOMO hit you? How do you deal with it?

Personally, I just remind myself that this stuff is out there and that for 95% of it I’ll see it again sometime.

[drxandy 3,029]

You know what they say, patience is a virtue.

[Richardhead 2,234]

I miss out on a lot of stuff, both collection wise and socially. Kind of just used to it. I figure that when you wake up in the morning, expect the worst. That way, when the worst doesn’t happen, which varies person to person(mine is death) then you can chalk it up to a good day.

[DoctorEncore 3,600]

I used to have this issue and then I realized I will never see or do everything. It is literally impossible. So why get annoyed or upset, or sad when I miss out on something? I apply this thought process to games and my daily life and I've become a much more appreciative person.

I've made it a priority to just enjoy whatever I'm doing. I used to be a completionist when it comes to videogames and now I don't even look at achievements or guides. If something is fun or has an interesting or valuable reward, I do it. It's rare that I finish more than half of the optional content, but who cares? Most of the side shit in (insert open world action RPG here) is repetitive and boring.

So yeah, FUCK FOMO.

[Tanooki 4,692]

Ehh I haven't really had that happen in a long time, it's just a stupid and potentially damaging practice to take up.  When I worked out getting the Virtual Boy collection this year I sat for months waiting on specific stuff, others I took a take it or leave it approach and as such I saved a big pile of money not being stupid about it going 'well if I don't buy now it'll cost me a lot more later' mentality I know a lot of people fall for.

[Reed Rothchild 7,932]

Cherish what you have instead of coveting what you don't

[docile tapeworm 3,651]

2 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Cherish what you have instead of coveting what you don't

Check out sanda laying down the knowledge. 

[a3quit4s 3,351]

I just remind myself that if I buy it there is like a 95% chance it’s going to sit on the shelf for a few years before I even play it. Maybe the person buying it will play it right away

[zeppelin03 314]

I typically buy it so I don't regret not having it.  I have a multiyear backlog currently.  Shelves and closets loaded with stuff.  I've mostly stopped that practice and am reassessing my needs/interests. 

Now I ask my self if I will play the game/system/etc right now.  If not it will likely go to waste for years.  It's saved me from buying many items over the last 6 months or so.  It's even  caused me to sell a few things.  If anything I am making money on the practice.

[GPX 1,224]

I just remind myself “you have a shitload of games already”. Then I think “do I really?” Then I auto-reply with a “yeah, you F’en do!”

Also, as you mature as a collector, you tend to realize that most gaming items you can find or buy eventually. “Rare” is never really what it seems.

[hyrulevyse 151]

With all the wata/heritage hype I run into this dilemma daily.  What if this inorganic speculative bubble turns out to have legs and minty hang tab boxes are worth a fortune?  What if 2019 is my last chance to buy a nice Metroid for less than 4 figures?  Me weighing the pro's/cons is a struggle sometimes.  I've been around long enough to know that you'll always have another opportunity to grab something, but it's rare that the next opportunity is cheaper than the previous one.  So to answer the question I will let the FOMO win if I'm positive it's something I would grab further down the road whether I buy this one or not.  There aren't a ton of things that fit that description but I'd rather just have it now than hope it's cheaper the next chance I have to grab it.

[Tanooki 4,692]

13 hours ago, zeppelin03 said:

I typically buy it so I don't regret not having it.  I have a multiyear backlog currently.  Shelves and closets loaded with stuff.  I've mostly stopped that practice and am reassessing my needs/interests. 

Now I ask my self if I will play the game/system/etc right now.  If not it will likely go to waste for years.  It's saved me from buying many items over the last 6 months or so.  It's even  caused me to sell a few things.  If anything I am making money on the practice.

I just did one of those today earlier ago.  I don't exactly 'need' it, but if people recall me from years ago the one major console regret I never was really able to recover was the loss of my Turbo Duo, prices got asinine on the games and console, especially the US side, so 2 years back I got a core grafx instead.  I got a sweetheart of deal shipped price on a PCE Duo system, majorly modded/recapped in multiple ways and comes with a few games too.  Once that arrives I got back the loss basically, given I can run legit or burn discs, and I've got the everdrive (and one of the mods is for US/JP switch for cards too.)  I didn't really 'need' it, but I regretted for years now (about 15) losing the thing by no choice of my own, and yeah I have a backlog too like you, but screw it that wrong needed to be righted.

That said of worries on backlog, I've got what I think will be me getting rid of a PSP, 3DS and a few other things and their games fairly soon, or if I waffle on it, mothball them for later.

[zeppelin03 314]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I just did one of those today earlier ago.  I don't exactly 'need' it, but if people recall me from years ago the one major console regret I never was really able to recover was the loss of my Turbo Duo, prices got asinine on the games and console, especially the US side, so 2 years back I got a core grafx instead.  I got a sweetheart of deal shipped price on a PCE Duo system, majorly modded/recapped in multiple ways and comes with a few games too.  Once that arrives I got back the loss basically, given I can run legit or burn discs, and I've got the everdrive (and one of the mods is for US/JP switch for cards too.)  I didn't really 'need' it, but I regretted for years now (about 15) losing the thing by no choice of my own, and yeah I have a backlog too like you, but screw it that wrong needed to be righted.

That said of worries on backlog, I've got what I think will be me getting rid of a PSP, 3DS and a few other things and their games fairly soon, or if I waffle on it, mothball them for later.

Oddly anything I've sold I haven't regretted. I've kept most childhood stuff so that probably helps.  Now anything being sold I purchased as an adult which helps.  Far less nostalgia.

I know my PSP sat on a shelf.  That stuff went early. Modded my Vita in the event I ever feel like I am missing out.

[Sumez 2,292]

On 12/15/2019 at 2:14 AM, drxandy said:

You know what they say, patience is a virtue.

Patience has helped me miss out on a lot of great prices for a lot of games I'll now never own.

[drxandy 3,029]

34 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Patience has helped me miss out on a lot of great prices for a lot of games I'll now never own.

What if you walk into a store and find them for half the price you expected?

What if someone finds a shipping crate loaded with sealed cases?

Etc

Today is yesterday's tomorrow, but no one knows what the future holds.

What if the bubble bursts?

[Sumez 2,292]

10 minutes ago, drxandy said:

What if you walk into a store and find them for half the price you expected?
What if someone finds a shipping crate loaded with sealed cases?

I'm reserving my patience for stuff that actually realistically happens.

I've said $20 is too much for games that now sell for $200. I've said $150 is too much for games that now sell for $1000. I've been wrong about way too many predictions, to make any assumption like your examples. Sure, if you want to save a few bucks on a boxed Zelda you might be lucky. But you're not gonna go into a store and find someone selling a Guwange PCB that they don't realize what is worth. It just doesn't happen.

The only time I've been wrong about the opposite (expecting a game to stay expensive, but it ended up cheaper), it's only been in relation to other games taking a larger hike. Like Radiant Silvergun used to be the most expensive Saturn shooter, and now it's among the cheapest ones. But it's still no cheaper than it used to be - it just didn't go up.

[PineappleLawnchair 88]

A few PS1 games, namely Tales of Destiny because it doubled in price the last time i saw it. Aside from that, no. I've generally been lucky enough to get what i want before it goes completely insane.

 

As for getting burned, personally i'm having a bit of a panic about Super Nintendo. I wouldn't say i bought every game at full ebay value, but a few i did and now a few months after they've dipped significantly.

19 minutes ago, Sumez said:

But you're not gonna go into a store and find someone selling a Guwange PCB that they don't realize what is worth. It just doesn't happen.

In America anyways, i bet it's a different story in Moon World.

Edited December 16, 2019 by PineappleLawnchair

[Sumez 2,292]

Oh you can get better prices "locally". But that's a "smart approach" thing, not a patience thing.
When you need to rely on eBay, patience very very very very very rarely pays off.

[DoctorEncore 3,600]

1 hour ago, drxandy said:

What if you walk into a store and find them for half the price you expected?

What if someone finds a shipping crate loaded with sealed cases?

Etc

Today is yesterday's tomorrow, but no one knows what the future holds.

What if the bubble bursts?

I don't think of this as too much of a problem. For one, both of those things are unlikely to happen. And two, unless the market suffers a catastrophic implosion, you can usually resell the one you bought at full price without much of a loss.

[DefaultGen 4,524]

Buy buy buy. Oh, was I supposed to give a healthy answer?

[jonebone 1,261]

I never had the FOMO feeling myself.  It's a hobby that is supposed to give you enjoyment, just treat it as such.  If you have some money spend it, if you don't then wait.  There's plenty of games out there and you'll always find something worth playing or collecting in your budget when you have one.

[RH 4,211]

The only time I feel this is when I want something and, unexpectedly, 6-12 months after I put it on my want list, it shoots up in value.  A little over a years ago, IIRC, I asked around for a first run SMB3 in excellent shape.  I didn't look to hard, and no one PMed me so I dropped it. After that, the SMB1 had that big sale and all "first runs" started to sky rocket, including SMB3.  Ugh... I really don't want to pay those prices now.

But, that happens.  Some times you find a rare item that not many people want, and one seller (who's a fool) has one on eBay for $199!  You wait patiently and then someone lists their copy for a starting bid of $10, and you end up winning the auction for $17!  It's the flip side and it helps the feelings of missing something you want but is now worth more than you want to pay.

[Gloves 10,337]

I have a personal rule that whenever I'm at a party I never turn down any food, no matter what. One time I was at a house party and they were serving candied lamb shoulder and I passed cuz I was worried it would upset my (admittedly weak) stomach, and I was far from home. I'll always wonder what that lamb tasted like until the day I die, and for this I never pass up new food.

[B.A. 1,124]

12 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I have a personal rule that whenever I'm at a party I never turn down any food, no matter what. One time I was at a house party and they were serving candied lamb shoulder and I passed cuz I was worried it would upset my (admittedly weak) stomach, and I was far from home. I'll always wonder what that lamb tasted like until the day I die, and for this I never pass up new food.

You also get to wonder how much fun having a huge stinky shit blowout at a party would be.  Spoiler, it wouldn't be fun.  You made the right call. 

[RH 4,211]

26 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I have a personal rule that whenever I'm at a party I never turn down any food, no matter what. One time I was at a house party and they were serving candied lamb shoulder and I passed cuz I was worried it would upset my (admittedly weak) stomach, and I was far from home. I'll always wonder what that lamb tasted like until the day I die, and for this I never pass up new food.

I agree with @B.A. and not only that, I'm very careful when selecting what I eat at holiday parties.  100% of the time that either I, or my family, has ever gotten sick at the holidays has come from eating something at a party.

That lamb might have been served right out of the oven but, I don't know what the deal is, but with some foods that were cooked earlier in the day but kept warm, even those can cause problems.

No. Thank. You.