Anyone else feel like their own worst enemy when it comes to collecting?

[Neo Geo strong | 68]

I always go back and forth with my collection. For a long time I’ve been trying to cut my collection to just 4 consoles in order to be minimalistic.

I will sell off my Dreamcast or n64, then 6 months later I’m buying them back again. The high of playing the console  is there for a week or so and then I’m back to wanting to downsize. I think this is because wanting and longing for something is often  better then having it a lot of the time. 

I’m wondering if anyone else has multiple personalities ( not literally) when it comes to collecting? Selling then buying then selling... Whats the point of all the effort? 

Here are my 7 consoles currently and how I feel about them 
 

- (No way would I sell section ) snes, genesis, turbografx, and Neo geo...

-(Always on the Chopping block) n64 and Dreamcast... ps I just bought a smoke n64 four days ago  

-(Console I have no idea what to do with) my Atari Jaguar I bought myself for Xmas which I’m still really enjoying but i like the concept of just 4 consoles but technically the Neo geo is an arcade machine

How do you feel and what do you recommend? I could really use some advice!  

Edited January 16, 2020 by Neo Geo strong

[DeChief | 6]

Yes! I have a similar problem where I look at my collection and notice some games, consoles, computers, and other things that I really enjoy owning but don't use often, and I proceed to sell them... only to regret it not even a month later. I've come up with a system of identifying what I actually care about:

1. Look at your collection and identify the games, consoles, etc. that you find yourself not using very often.
2. Take them out of your collection room, off your shelf, whatever; the idea is to separate them from the rest of your collection.
3. Continue to play your games as normal for about a month. 
4. If you notice yourself wanting to use those things enough to go and dig out of wherever you put them, chances are you're going to regret selling it. If not, sell that stuff.

This usually works pretty well, but since I mostly collect vintage computers and their games, there are often machines that I don't use all that often but are extremely convenient to have when I do need them. Eg. I have an Apple Macintosh SE/30 and Macintosh Plus, and I mainly only use the SE/30 for its ability to read 1.4MB floppies. I can write a Mac 1.4MB floppy using an old Windows XP PC and use the SE/30 to read it, then write those files to an 800K disk that the Plus can read. The SE/30 can read and write 400K, 800K, and 1.4MB disks, but the Plus can only handle 400/800K, and you can't write those from a PC. It would be pretty much impossible for me to transfer data via floppy to the Plus without the SE/30 unless I buy a KryoFlux, which is significantly less fun to use.  So I'm stuck in a situation of owning something that I could easily get a few hundred bucks for just because I need it once a month.

Edited January 16, 2020 by DeChief

[a3quit4s | 4,093]

I just don’t sell anything anymore unless it’s a double and if I find myself looking at games for consoles I don’t collect I find a game of similar price to buy on the consoles I do play. Seems to work so far!

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

For pretty much my entire life I've been focusing on growing my collection with a couple minor exceptions (trading a few SNES games to get a discount on a launch PS, giving away a few games/systems when I moved to cramped apartments). Only now have I decided to trim down a bit and it's a great feeling for me. I have so much that I haven't played or even looked at in years. YEARS!

So I decided to take the Marie Kondo approach and get rid of everything that doesn't bring me joy. My first big step is getting rid of 42 PC Collector's Editions that took up a lot of space. Then I'm moving onto all my multiples of CIB NES games I've acquired in my hunt for a full set. Then all the ridiculously oversized console game Collector's Editions that I stupidly bought as they were released (holy depreciation Batman!). And finally, all the extra hardware (consoles, controllers, peripherals) that I don't need or use.

I want my collection to be usable, not just viewable. It's not a museum, it's my game room! So I plan on continuing to collect actual games, but the chaff has to go! I don't think I'll have any regrets about getting rid of stuff and I'll hopefully feel a sense of relief.

So to answer your question, yes I definitely am my own worst enemy in that I simply buy too much new stuff. Thankfully, as I've switched to buying more classic games, I really laid off the new games in 2019.

Edited January 16, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[Sign Collector Guy | 334]

I feel your pain but I have known for a long time I have a blackhole collecting personality so I really have become a non-buyer of new things these days because of space. The new thing shinyness fades too quickly for me. At the end of the day there is never enough things to satisfy me. I have been very content with playing and displaying. 

[RH | 4,895]

3 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

I just don’t sell anything anymore unless it’s a double and if I find myself looking at games for consoles I don’t collect I find a game of similar price to buy on the consoles I do play. Seems to work so far!

This is largely true.  I sold off my childhood collection in college.  I regretted it when I graduated and was single, away from friends and had time and money to play.  I went kind of heavy in collecting at that time, got a girlfriend (and now wife) and then decided to pair down again.  I sold all of my PS1 stuff and most of my Game Cube stuff, and that was by choice. I regretted that too so I mainly focused on my PS2 for a long while, but even that wasn't collecting.  Years later, after having a couple of kids, I found myself with that same itch that never really went away and just told myself ,"that's it, I'm going to collect again."

I will sell my stuff, or trade it.  I do buy some stuff as a hobby-investment, meaning if I can find a rare and expensive title at a good deal, I'll buy and hold, but that's usually to leverage getting more money for the hobby or to use later as solid trade fodder.

The only purchases I've made that I'd not call regrettable but I'm consistently pulling away from was trying to get into Saturn collecting and I bought a TG-16.  I've learned that OG Saturn games are very fragile.  I didn't think about that.  Since I buy to collect and play, I don't like having a system I'm personally "afraid" to play.  Even still, there are titles I want to play at some point, but I just wish I hadn't jumped in head-first and bought 40 titles.

The TG-16 seems like an awesome system but, honestly, I'm not interested in getting into the Japanese imports, or the CD-attachment.  So, I have a really nice TG-16 with a nice copy of Keith Courage I'll eventually be moving.  Other than that, most of the stuff I trade or sale are duplicates, shovelware or games I'm not super motivated to play in less-than-desirable condition.

Edited January 16, 2020 by RH

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

Have you considered flash carts?  It might help you own multiple consoles, but still remain minimalistic.  If you don't want more than 4 consoles at a time, maybe you can keep the unused consoles boxed up in storage.  When you get the urge to play that console, you can set it up and play it for a few days or weeks before boxing it back up.  If you combine this with flash carts, you don't need a bunch of games around either.  You can still buy and collect your favorite games for each console, but if you limit yourself to x number of games per console, the flash cart will still allow you to play just about any game you don't have.  Every console you mentioned has some type of flash cart or SD card reader available on the market.  

Edited January 16, 2020 by TDIRunner

[Strange | 1,700]

I wanted a Commodore 64 for the longest time and I finally found one. But then I realized I didn’t like the long load times of the disc games and the cartridges are stuff I’ve mostly played on other consoles. So I sold it. And now I miss it.

I bought and sold a Genesis several times before it “clicked” with me and now I’ve been on a Sega kick for a few months.

On the contrary, Game Boy and N64 were my first systems I played as a kid but they haven’t “clicked” for me on a collecting level (yet). I bought my own N64 (played on my brother’s as a kid) and sold it, bought it back, etc. a few times that at this point I think it’s just going to stay. But it’s still teetering the edge of expendable. My Game Boys were my childhood consoles and aren’t going anywhere, but I’ve bought and sold back some cool titles that I thought I wanted but just didn’t have as much fun as I thought I would.
 

That serotonin kick I expected from those games, I’m getting it from my Genesis collection right now. Will it shift to another console in the future? Likely. Will I shave some of my Genesis collection after? Who knows.

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

3 hours ago, DeChief said:

Yes! I have a similar problem where I look at my collection and notice some games, consoles, computers, and other things that I really enjoy owning but don't use often, and I proceed to sell them... only to regret it not even a month later. I've come up with a system of identifying what I actually care about:

1. Look at your collection and identify the games, consoles, etc. that you find yourself not using very often.
2. Take them out of your collection room, off your shelf, whatever; the idea is to separate them from the rest of your collection.
3. Continue to play your games as normal for about a month. 
4. If you notice yourself wanting to use those things enough to go and dig out of wherever you put them, chances are you're going to regret selling it. If not, sell that stuff.

This is exactly what I do now. I sold off a ton of stuff and was left with a bunch of stuff that I could maybe get rid of but was a bit more apprehensive, so I stored it away. When I feel like selling it I will, if I feel like using it I will. For now they're in their box out of my way. Works great

[Sign Collector Guy | 334]

1 hour ago, TDIRunner said:

Have you considered flash carts?  It might help you own multiple consoles, but still remain minimalistic.  If you don't want more than 4 consoles at a time, maybe you can keep the unused consoles boxed up in storage.  When you get the urge to play that console, you can set it up and play it for a few days or weeks before boxing it back up.  If you combine this with flash carts, you don't need a bunch of games around either.  You can still buy and collect your favorite games for each console, but if you limit yourself to x number of games per console, the flash cart will still allow you to play just about any game you don't have.  Every console you mentioned has some type of flash cart or SD card reader available on the market.  

My go to is a modded wii. I have consoles and ED's and even alot of original carts but the Modded Wii experience has been so damn fine tuned by modders its a very nice experience coupled with a component cable output to a Sony CRT, I am pretty happy with it. So the shelves are simply for show which also feels good. lol

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

3 minutes ago, Sign Collector Guy said:

My go to is a modded wii. I have consoles and ED's and even alot of original carts but the Modded Wii experience has been so damn fine tuned by modders its a very nice experience coupled with a component cable output to a Sony CRT, I am pretty happy with it. So the shelves are simply for show which also feels good. lol

I was considering using that as a placeholder while I upgrade all my consoles to HDMI. Have you ever tried using it on an HDTV?

[Sign Collector Guy | 334]

2 hours ago, BortLicensePlate said:

I was considering using that as a placeholder while I upgrade all my consoles to HDMI. Have you ever tried using it on an HDTV?

I did briefly but I was getting some glitching when I would be bring up in game options menus and it would switch resolutions. Instantly drove me bonkers. On a SDTV it is fast and seamless. The save state options for example on GBA (I am currently playing Minish cap) is very nice for me. Really love snapshot saving. The snapshot saving on my Mega Everdrive doesnt work the best (known issue I believe) also the filtering video option on alot of the emulators makes it look really nice. I used to be anti-emulator but it has come such a long way.

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

5 minutes ago, Sign Collector Guy said:

I did briefly but I was getting some glitching when I would be bring up in game options menus and it would switch resolutions. Instantly drove me bonkers.

The resolutions would bug me too. Is there an option to display 4:3? I think it auto chooses 16:9 if that's what the tv is

[Neo Geo strong | 68]

Wow I thought I was the only one with this dilemma.. Thanks guys I will try the one month box trick and also consider putting them away in storage or my garage for awhile. i do have flash carts for genesis and turbografx and think they are wonderful.

the funny thing is the n64 was my second console ever. It definitely has games I like but mainly the ones I would miss are doom 64 and rampage world tour!  I just think I’m more into 2d games as a whole. ( plus I love space ship shoot em ups and the n64 only had one that was just ok) not counting Star Fox of course!

 

 

[Sign Collector Guy | 334]

53 minutes ago, BortLicensePlate said:

The resolutions would bug me too. Is there an option to display 4:3? I think it auto chooses 16:9 if that's what the tv is

You can choose. 

[MiamiSlice | 3,089]

11 hours ago, Neo Geo strong said:

I always go back and forth with my collection. For a long time I’ve been trying to cut my collection to just 4 consoles in order to be minimalistic.

I will sell off my Dreamcast or n64, then 6 months later I’m buying them back again. The high of playing the console  is there for a week or so and then I’m back to wanting to downsize. I think this is because wanting and longing for something is often  better then having it a lot of the time. 

...

ps I just bought a smoke n64 four days ago  

You have to be burning money doing this. If you are paying market value for something and then selling it 4 months later at market value, you are losing out with shipping and fees. What a waste of time and money. 

If you think of these things as holding value then you can always sell them down the line without losing money. But selling so quickly after buying, you are losing money. I don't recommend thinking of these as an investment but if that helps you hold onto things longer then maybe you should think of them this way. 

I also think you must be having buyer's remorse. Maybe slow down your buying? Have you tried limiting how much you buy each month? Maybe not a dollar value but a number of items, like only buy 3 games or consoles each month. That way it's more based on how much you can use in a reasonable amount of time rather than you buying on impulse. 

Hope it helps. 

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

4 hours ago, The Strangest said:

I wanted a Commodore 64 for the longest time and I finally found one. But then I realized I didn’t like the long load times of the disc games and the cartridges are stuff I’ve mostly played on other consoles. So I sold it. And now I miss it.

They make a Commodore 64 flash cart.   I really need to invest in one.

[MuNKeY | 241]

Yes

[Strange | 1,700]

10 hours ago, captmorgandrinker said:

They make a Commodore 64 flash cart.   I really need to invest in one.

I’ve been contemplating getting either that or the new full size C64 and adding games onto that unit.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

9 hours ago, The Strangest said:

I’ve been contemplating getting either that or the new full size C64 and adding games onto that unit.

The mini's controller was complete garbage.    Which sucks, because it was great otherwise.

[Mogg | 4]

Once I got into my head that I was not going to be a set collector it has not been that difficult to sell off something I don't like when I try the game out for the first time. If a game doesn't click then it doesn't click, I'm not going to keep stuff that I don't like playing.

One big game that I ended up selling was metal gear solid, I was a total nintendo fanboy growing up so I didn't have a playstation and played it for the first time, a few missions and just couldn't get into it. I had no issue at all selling it to a friend that I knew would like that game and actually play it.

[Splain | 2,560]

I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to old electronics and video games. I hate getting rid of something, then having to buy it again in 4 years when I need/want it. My wife, on the other hand, is gleefully happy to buy something back after even just a few months if it means she doesn't have to store/look at the thing in the meantime.

I'm a sucker for fullsets, especially handheld fullsets, because space is such a small issue. I've started collecting basically every portable console from the 4th/5th generation era. But you guys, I picked up some R-Zone games like a year ago, and that garbage does not spark joy.

[Strange | 1,700]

3 hours ago, Splain said:

But you guys, I picked up some R-Zone games like a year ago, and that garbage does not spark joy.

That’s like how one of my local game stores has a bunch of sealed Tiger Game.com games and I could totally take out a huge chunk of that set but why the hell would I?

Edited January 17, 2020 by The Strangest

[Neo Geo strong | 68]

Do you guys find yourself more passionate about the first couple of consoles you had a kid or do you find you like consoles you never experienced as a child? That way it’s an all new experience..

 

i find myself really obsessed with the turbografx and I never even knew it existed as a kid.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

26 minutes ago, Neo Geo strong said:

Do you guys find yourself more passionate about the first couple of consoles you had a kid or do you find you like consoles you never experienced as a child? That way it’s an all new experience..

 

i find myself really obsessed with the turbografx and I never even knew it existed as a kid.

My collecting is definitely driven by my first memorable console experience, the NES. I'm going for a full set for that and only very casually collect for other consoles. But after so many years of constant eBay checking and price researching, I am seriously burned out on NES and can't wait to move to something new and exciting. I'm thinking Master System since I had a Genesis as a kid, so it's familiar, yet novel.

Edited January 17, 2020 by DoctorEncore