VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => General => Topic started by: Warmsignal on October 09, 2019, 01:14:43 pm
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Have you ever been addicted to game collecting to a point where it was unhealthy, or financially reckless? How overboard did you go, and how were you able to stop yourself?
Lately I've been on somewhat of a game collecting binge. I've been buying up games left and right without much restraint. Granted they are all games that I think I really want to have, but I'm simply buying so many of them so fast it's alarming. I've spent hundreds and hundreds in the past few weeks. Subconsciously I think I'm trying to make up for the year or so I didn't buy any games. I'm just so tired of not having certain titles, and just thinking "some day". I'd rather have them all now.
I think that if I keep rage-buying I'll actually reach an end goal and feel satisfied, but with collecting games I don't think that's truly possible. There's just too many, and interests shift and change over time. You want to be done, but you never really want to be done. Then there's always the fear that what's affordable today might not be affordable tomorrow. Sometimes you will come to your senses and realize how silly all of this actually is. It's just pieces of plastic with names printed on them. Every single one of them could be downloaded onto a hard drive or multi-cart and played for free if playing the game is actually the end goal. Games aren't even something unique or exclusive to collect. They can be had elsewhere for less, or no money at all. It's just plastic with stickers on them. What's the big deal?
But I digress. Has your game collecting ever gotten completely out of hand? How bad did it get? What made you snap back to reality?
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No.
I think you need professional help.
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For sure. Never to the point of financial ruin, but I've had months where I spent so much I had to dip a lot into savings because I was reckless in my purchases. I was downright stupid in 2014-2015. I had just found out about Facebook groups and I had a job that paid well and 0 expenses. I literally dumped every pay check into buying games. THOUSANDS of dollars a month on games. I managed to still save up enough money at the time to buy a house putting in at least 20% equity up front in 2015, so it wasn't ALL of my money, but I definitely should've had more than that 20% saved up with how much I was making.
In July 2017 I started tracking my online purchases, this didn't and never has included local purchases like flea markets, thrift stores, gamestops, local game shops, etc. First month I tracked, I spent $1,200... again not including local purchases. I've only had 3 months like that since, so 4 months with over $1k in purchases since June 2017. Mind you I track sales too, so I know I've had months where I spent over $1k, but I sold enough that my out of pocket was under $1k... and I've had a lot of months near that.
Limited print games ruin my wallet a lot of months.
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I've probably spent a couple thousand on empty boxes the past year or two... not games... boxes. Got a little out of control a few months ago, bought a couple of lots off eBay, which of course had a few boxes for games I didn't already own so I had to buy those too. Ended up spending about $2000 in 60 days.
I can't speak for anyone else here but I know why I did it. I was pretty heavily depressed, so I spent a shit ton of money trying to find happiness in my game collection. So to try and avoid this I play mental games with myself. In the past few months, I've tried to restrict my spending to a specific amount per week to keep myself from letting it get out of hand. Not just on eBay, on everything, food, gas, games, all of it. Once in awhile, I'll splurge on a new console or a game I've been wanting to add. But for the most part, I find it easy if I'm close to my weekly limit to tell myself "2 more days and if it's still there I'll get it."
That said, I am not disappointed with how my NES collection looks today. I'm completing 3-5 games a week as the boxes I need become available.
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No, it's never gotten out of hand. In fact, it's gotten more tame over this last year. Hell, I cancelled a few pre-orders.
Other than Spirit Hunters: NG, I haven't spent money on anything game related in a couple of months. I've traded in a bunch of stuff (which was therapeutic in its own right) and used the credit to get a couple of things that slipped my radar over the years, but my wallet didn't suffer for it.
I've resigned myself to the idea that there will always be stuff in my backlog to not only play, but to replay. Doing a replay of something sounds more appealing than scooping up the next big thing. Speaking of, the next game I plan on buying is the Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection. That doesn't come out until January.
If by chance I miss out on a game from something like LRG or just a small print run, then oh well. I'll play and enjoy something else.
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Have you ever been addicted to game collecting to a point where it was unhealthy, or financially reckless? How overboard did you go, and how were you able to stop yourself?
Lately I've been on somewhat of a game collecting binge. I've been buying up games left and right without much restraint. Granted they are all games that I think I really want to have, but I'm simply buying so many of them so fast it's alarming. I've spent hundreds and hundreds in the past few weeks. Subconsciously I think I'm trying to make up for the year or so I didn't buy any games. I'm just so tired of not having certain titles, and just thinking "some day". I'd rather have them all now.
Like most things in life, it's never that clean cut. I've never gone so far as to collect in an unhealthy way, but there have been periods when I've been buying up titles which are cheap because the older generation of consoles is getting shown the door at retailers, or when a system's old enough for all of its prices to drop before they inevitable shoot back up within a year or two.
Your priorities in collecting and taste in games can change, dramatically, the reality of what is available now and what was available five years ago are different.
I bought a lot of games in the .. whichever generation it was that contained the PS2/XBOX/GC. Anything that was non-sport/racing for the GC, over time, since it was a system I prioritized collecting for, anything PS2 exclusive that was Japanese/quirky/obscure, over time, as well as any non-racing/sports for the OG XBOX since they were pence when the game shops were clearing them (GC was already dried up at that point, PS2 games remained relevant for years afterwards). Did something very similar for the 360 (main console of that era) and picked up PS3 exclusives (much smaller collection, PS3 was garbage for exclusives in comparison with the PS1/PS2). I thought that was 'it', the 360 would be my mainstay. I was wrong.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 didn't have a lot of variety in games, so many 'wander around 3D landscapes hitting/shooting things and opening doors' kind of games. This became extremely apparent when the PS4 picked up steam - so many different quirky and niche titles. The 360/PS3 do what they do well, but there's no need to keep loads of identikit games, so I've cleared stacks of them out and just kept the cream, ditto with the previous generation. Over the past day or two it's dawned that I'm really not bothered about the Vita (nice system, not enough exclusives, of those too many of them are 2/5 in quality) or the PSP (some nice exclusives, but also a lot of blocky garbage which has been done better on the PS2). So they're going altogether.
I'm not buying half as many games now, haven't the cash with a little one to feed and clothe, but I'm actually playing the good ones that I've kept from previous generations, bottoming my PS4 collection in terms of beating the games and enjoying the cheap-as-chips PC games from the past couple of decades floating around charity shops etc. My priorities have changed, but my interest in maintaining my games collection has not, just different types of games and more focus on the best of each type.
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I have felt that I have crossed a line in the past with my spending and I'll get buyers remorse. Not often but it has happened so I'll stop buying for awhile.
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No.
I think you need professional help.
I think you do too, for other reasons.
On topic though, yes, I have been in similar shoes as you, in 2017 I was buying left and right, spending probably half of my income on games. Two years ago, (I believe I even made a post here about it) I pretty much took everything I had, put it in storage, and didn't come back to this site for I think three months or so. It pretty much reached a head for me when I was buying for no reason other than "ooh, this is rare or ooh, this is cool" and I was about to pull the trigger on The Croods for Wii U. Thankfully, I didn't. I sort of went into a funk after that, not even wanted to look at the stuff I had amassed for no reason other than to just have more stuff. Since I returned to the hobby, I've been buying less and less. Hell, I just canceled my Luigi's Mansion preorder because it's not something I intend to play day one, and maybe down the line when I do want to play it, I can get it nice and cheap. Also, I've been slowly selling things I don't want or will never use. My goal was to never come back to the hobby, but when I found that I could do it in moderation, it became fun for me again. Also, not buying every Limited Run Games release has helped a lot too.
Honestly though, if I had the mindset that I could actually quit this hobby and sell everything off without remorse, I'd likely do it, but for now, I guess there are truly worse vices to have.
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No its a hobby that pays for itself.
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No.
I think you need professional help.
I think you do too, for other reasons.
On topic though, yes, I have been in similar shoes as you, in 2017 I was buying left and right, spending probably half of my income on games. Two years ago, (I believe I even made a post here about it) I pretty much took everything I had, put it in storage, and didn't come back to this site for I think three months or so. It pretty much reached a head for me when I was buying for no reason other than "ooh, this is rare or ooh, this is cool" and I was about to pull the trigger on The Croods for Wii U. Thankfully, I didn't. I sort of went into a funk after that, not even wanted to look at the stuff I had amassed for no reason other than to just have more stuff. Since I returned to the hobby, I've been buying less and less. Hell, I just canceled my Luigi's Mansion preorder because it's not something I intend to play day one, and maybe down the line when I do want to play it, I can get it nice and cheap. Also, I've been slowly selling things I don't want or will never use. My goal was to never come back to the hobby, but when I found that I could do it in moderation, it became fun for me again. Also, not buying every Limited Run Games release has helped a lot too.
Honestly though, if I had the mindset that I could actually quit this hobby and sell everything off without remorse, I'd likely do it, but for now, I guess there are truly worse vices to have.
Ah yes, the complete collection Wii U fever. I caught that too, once. I pulled through. Realized how dumb it was that I wanted all the trash and the Hello Kitty games, and then I removed most of that junk from my Wii U collection. No sane person needs that. It was the fever talking.
I think I'm just going through a withdraw period. Haven't had my fix in a while.
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Buy whatever makes you the most happy, currently,
I am not into collecting retro video games to gain more money than what I paid for them.
I do have buyer remorse when I spend a lot on games. But I'll admit to being paranoid that someday some rich person is going to buy up all my local stores, and driving up all the prices for high amounts. I buy video games to hopefully play them in the future when retro games become a rich mans only hobby.
It makes me mad when I hear stories of people buying the same game more then once unless they are trying to get a better copy in order to play it.
I saw one of my favorite games going for $2 USD but I passed because I left the game for someone else to enjoy since I already have 2 copies.
and I think the world will have more robberies targeted on collectors when everything goes digital so,
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Back when I had my first full time job and still lived at home, I spent thousands on just about anything I could get my hands on. I would look forward to out of town work, so I could hit up new stores. A few times my luggage was so stuffed, I needed a backback for carry on. My coworkers were going out for drinks and I was heading to Toys r us, KB and Target lol.
I don’t feel like I missed out. I did have some “what the hell am I doing” moments, like when I came home with Brats or Miss Spiders Tea Party.
The games will always be there though. No need to try and buy them all at once. You may even save a lot by waiting.
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I understand the feeling of game collection addiction, I often use collecting as a stress release and sometimes my buying will get out of hand. I've had a very stressful last three years in law school, and even got a part time job during school partially so I could keep game collecting. The rush I get from a good deal or winning a bid on eBay is better than any drug I've ever tried. I've been collecting off and on since I was 12 years old, but I really ramped up my collecting habits starting in 2014-2015. I've had a lot of recent life changes, and while I would love to continue the massive growth of my game collection, I also need to come to terms with reality. I am now married, and so I also cannot just think about spending money on myself and my interests as well. We want to buy a house in the next few years and also have children. I don't see myself selling off the collection anytime soon, but I will definitely be reducing the amount of games I buy. Got the Portland expo coming up though, and I still plan to go hard for that!
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Only once, and that was way back in 2004, after I got my first job. Having a non-allowance cash flow coming in for the first time in my life made me a bit too spend happy, and I'd be blowing the entire paycheck on games and other stuff. Accidentally overdrafting my account a couple times was what got me to reel back.
Now, I've found a better balance and control (though part of me suspects that's just because I make so much more than the me of 15 years ago), and while I keep adding to my collections, I'm pretty much where I should be financially.
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Things work in cycles. Extreme collectors become extreme sellers/purgers I noticed quite often. No restraint in buying and no restrain in throwing it away almost as rapidly, or "giving up the hobby" a more conservative wording.
Maybe there's solace in that people collect or get addicted to worse things out there.
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I can see this being a very serious problem, I must admit there is a thrill of receiving bundles of games throughout the post throughout the week - especially after a lousy day at work.
I found most recently that I impulsively bought an Xbox One S & immediately regretted the decision 7 got a refund before they sent it - While the appeal of backwards compatible titles upscales is very appealing, I can't justify having another console around just for that, I really don't need an Xbox One.
Most recently I have put a lot into the Shenmue III release - I've bought 7 various copies of the game from my original KickStarter copies to retail/online releases. It's the 1st time I've ever gone so wild over a single release but I love everything this game stands for and the fact that it has made a comeback is something I want to support and get involved in.
Beyond that, I am getting better at not buying games Day One, especially if Season Passes are involved, if there is any indication of an incoming Complete Edition, I will wait the game out a year or so. Fighting Games are the worst for this - But even today I snagged a copy of Dead or Alive 6 for £10, but from what I have seen the Season Pass offers very little to the game really.
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I was never addicted, but it certainly was something I spent a lot of time and money on for many years. In the early days I spent most of my free time visiting thrift stores, flea markets, and Craigslist to find deals on games I wanted, and it was something I really, really enjoyed. From about 2010 until 2013 were amazing years, and even after that the hobby still had its high points, and I still continued to look for cheap games in the wild and online, albeit less often gradually since I stoped finding good deals as often. Despite all this I never spent so much money on games that I wasn't able to pay my bills and I certainly never ruined any relationships I had as a result of my interest in collecting. As of now I guess I'm still technically a collector, but I do not actively collect anymore, but rather just pick games up that I want to play right after buying them, and on rare occasions find a game that has sentimental value and will buy it if the price is right.
I've certainly seen what game collecting addiction looks like in this hobby however. There are two collectors specifically that come to mind when I think of addiction in this hobby. The first guy was actually a friend of mine for a while and his intense, obsessive personality made him ripe for becoming addicted to video games. He used to hunt for games at all waking hours that he wasn't at work, and even then he would look for games on the way to service calls or on his breaks. I belonged to a facebook group that he belonged to as well and nearly everyday he'd post pickups on the level of what the flea posts here every other week or so in the pickups thread. His collection was massive as well as a result of this. I later found out the darker side of his collecting addiction. At one point he was spending $5000 to $12,000 a month on video games, and even with flipping doubles he got severely into debt because of his collecting habit. He was actually forced to sell big chunks of his collections to get out of this debt several times, but of course all he did was buy more and more games after that debt was resolved. The other guy I know who was definitely a collecting addict was pretty similar, but his story is a lot more sad. He is a trust fund kid, but also works full time which is respectable. But what's sad is his collecting is more a symptom of hoarding I think than of being genuinely interested in collecting. He had several local collectors over a while back and his house looks like a giant storage unit with video games, toys, odd collectibles, and all kinds of other stuff literally literally litered in every room in his house. Essentially his house looks like an episode of hoarders, but with fun stuff everywhere. He also has like 6 cars, half of them don't run. He has some serious, serious problems and you can tell that video game collecting is not just an addiction, but a compulsion for him that he doesn't recognize.
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It’s never been a problem for me.
When I was a teen I probably spent a little too much on card games, but I still lived at home and had no other expenses.
Once I was out on my own I spent several years living paycheck to paycheck, which gave me an appreciation for when I was able to spend a little extra - that I’ve made it a point to never over do.
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Addicted? Nah, never really had an issue with the "need" of wanting to buy a games.
Spending more than I should have? Sure. I think a lot of people on here have spent a decent amount of cash for games. But nothing to the point of making it a financial burden for myself. These days I just get my games on sale, no point of getting Day 1 anymore since prices drop quite fast.
Having an urge or need of wanting to get games on a daily basis just to build up a collection is a bit excessive in my book.
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Not addicting but I did have a moment a few months back where I felt I needed to snap out of it. I looked at my collection and took a look at a fair amount of games I didnt want or at the very least would want to play but was okay with not having at the moment. As a result, I took said games out of my shelf and put them in boxes for selling or trading in to a local game shop. Since then, I have significantly slowed down the games I bought in store which honestly is a nice change of pace. Granted, I will say I have bought more PC games due to having obtained a gaming laptop that can run decently compared to what I had before but the very least they arent taking up physical space which is fine with me. Point is that I am more calculated with what I want and urge to splurge if you will isnt in the back of my mind especially with cheaper games for the sake of being cheap.
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Not really, at least I don't think so- I'm pretty sure I have a much higher threshold for top pricing on games than a lot of folks here (I've gone up to $300 in the past), but it's never cut into important things (or much into other hobbies either). When I get paid, my money goes as follows: Bills, savings, needs (think bus fare & shampoo), other wants, then videogames. With the exception of desireable LRG games, it's probably gonna be around later anyway, so no rush. If I do buy one of those crazy-expensive games, one of two things has happened: either I just sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay, or I've set aside bits of extra spending money that didn't get spent to go towards a big splurge in the future.
The closest I ever came was summer 2016, when I bought a Switch, Xbox One, and New 3DS XL (with accessories & games) all in the same week. But- I'd saved up enough money to buy all of that, specifically. It was more a coincidence of sales & availability that landed it all so close together. Sure felt odd though- easily the most I've spent on games in such a short period.
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I've never been addicted to collecting because i've never had the money to be addicted in the first place lol
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Space kills me. I feel like every time I come home from work with a bag full of cartridges or cases my wife gives me a dirty look. Not because I'm spending money mind you, but because I'm filling our tiny apartment with more stuff.
I do have to be mindful at times. I tend to blow my game budget at the beginning of the month, then find myself at the local vintage stores later in the month dropping a 20$ here and there only to find at the end of the month I was way over budget, but on paper I should have been fine. But honestly it's never been bad enough to be upset or worried about.
I'm more worried about the student loan debt... they should never give 18 year olds that much money...
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I have extremely compulsive collector tendencies. That runs in my family. My grandfather used to collect everything from cars, to toys, to guns to airplanes to hotwheels. And although I have been going light on games recently, I 100 percent put the foot on the gas with Funko Pops toys and Corgi WW2 airplane diecasts that I collect earlier in the year. I also have taken up two new hobbies, baseball and archery.
So with the confines of space, my game room is getting filled extremely fast. I collect so many things that I try to keep it neat, organized and clean to make sure it's collecting and not hoarding. But space is making it to the point where the line is starting to get blurred.
I have a small collection of games but I wouldn't say I was ever full blown addicted to buying them. I got bad for a moment with Amiibos. But have since calmed down a bit. I think I got unhealthily addicted to collecting pops. I was just buying any random one I saw. And it was getting out of hand. I bought about 150 pops in a 2 week span and had I not planned a trip to texas that took most of my funds. I probably would have went overboard.
I think the key i'm using now is planning big events. It helps me take a step back and ease up on buying so much. Because I have no choice if I want to save up enough for said event.
If something catches my eye that I love, like say a Babe Ruth statue that I want really bad. I will most likely end up buying it. And it's a unhealthy trait I suppose. But I think it's extremely fun and I love all of what I have. :D. So long as it doesn't interfer with your basic essential functions like eating, sleeping, staying clean or having money for obligations like your children, wife and bills. Than I think having some treats here and there keeps a puppy happy :)
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I still have some idea that $50 is a lot of money. So there are many things I will not buy simply because of the price. I'd say that the average price that I buy something for is $2. You don't need to have a lot of money to have a collecting habit.
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I still have some idea that $50 is a lot of money. So there are many things I will not buy simply because of the price. I'd say that the average price that I buy something for is $2. You don't need to have a lot of money to have a collecting habit.
i absolutely agree with that for pretty much all systems I have seen plenty of collectors with walls of trash.
couple hundred ps2 games or pretty much the cheaper genesis snes games nothing notable at all maybe a mario world and some sonic games. the ps2 games could have been bought for only a couple of tenners for everything and not much more for the filler titles on snes or genesis as lose carts or with sega at least with them boxes.
you can get a very sizable collection with little cash that should not be an issue if where talking about needing allot of money to become addicted to collecting.
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I still have some idea that $50 is a lot of money. So there are many things I will not buy simply because of the price. I'd say that the average price that I buy something for is $2. You don't need to have a lot of money to have a collecting habit.
i absolutely agree with that for pretty much all systems I have seen plenty of collectors with walls of trash.
couple hundred ps2 games or pretty much the cheaper genesis snes games nothing notable at all maybe a mario world and some sonic games. the ps2 games could have been bought for only a couple of tenners for everything and not much more for the filler titles on snes or genesis as lose carts or with sega at least with them boxes.
you can get a very sizable collection with little cash that should not be an issue if where talking about needing allot of money to become addicted to collecting.
I'm glad I didn't start this way, otherwise I might really have a problem. I'm trying to slowly get big ticket items I like and know I will play (along with all my original stuff from childhood). I just simply don't have the space to buy like that, though I honestly look forward to the day when I can grab big lots and start the "trade-up" strategy. I just don't have the space to put the extras and doubles, and shelves/storage for all the games I know I won't play.
EDIT: Does that make me a collector then, or just a gamer? 300+ physical games is not the average amount, but certainly small potatoes compared to folks on here.
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I bought about 150 pops in a 2 week span
No you didn’t
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I've never been addicted to collecting because i've never had the money to be addicted in the first place lol
I encourage you and others if you can't afford the big name popular titles at least try to get a couple of cheap games to keep you busy if you want.
My strategy for my game buying is buy the cheaper stuff first. Like for example instead of Mario Kart 64 try getting something like "Diddy Kong Racing" or "Mickey Speedway USA" for the Nintendo 64 or maybe Crash Team Racing for the Original PlayStation.
But if you rather do other things with your're free time then, like I always say buy what makes you happy today. :)
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I must admit I have an addiction. I call it a fever. It comes and goes in phases.
What usually happens is when I get off from work, I'm tired and and want to relax. Going on video game sites and Ebay are my ways of decompressing after a hard day's work.
This is mostly when I start buying stuff. A few bucks here and there and next thing you know, I've spent more than I thought I did.
I spent almost $1,800 in September and more than $2,000 in August. It's like I can't help myself and it's difficult to determine what I should do.
Maybe thinking about my priorities like paying off debt and building a future with my girlfriend would help.
I do need to implement a monthly spending cap on my video game budget for sure. In the past, I did not put a cap on this area of my spending.
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I usually only buy locally, including local auctions. I feel like this scarcity keeps me from buying too much and it also makes it so that finds are more fun because they are more difficult to come by. This will sometimes have me spending more than I should, given my income. It has only affected me for a pay afterward usually.
I have a similar issue to a few other people here, with space. Me and my girlfriends apartment used to be a church that got turned into 4 crappy apartments and they are small. I used to have my stuff at my parents house but they started renovations recently and that got me to finally catalog my collection and make some harsh decisions. Which is why I started using this site. My conclusion in the end of this is that I will likely need to give up my old computer collection. It was only OK to begin with.
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I was actually going to address your comment over here (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,1942.msg170254.html#msg170254), so I might as well redirect it here.
You’re just being excessive... Instead of fixating yourself in getting more games, play the ones you have to try and satiate your impulses. Hobbies are meant to be fun and help you relax and burn off the stress of your everyday life. If it’s doing the opposite, then you should take a breather from it. You don’t need to have those 30 video games by tomorrow – that’s just you being compulsive and unable to control yourself. You need oxygen to breathe, food for sustenance, a roof under your head, good health, water, you get the gist. Just think of it that way. You could also immerse yourself in another hobby to try and offset this one a little bit. It's all about self-control.
Regarding your question, no; regarding the topic of going on a “game collecting binge”, yes. However, these binges were done using gift cards I was either given/gifted by a family member or won. The only few times I spent more than I normally do, or should, was during college with leftover money from my scholarship. I was already set up for the semerster and had the extra cash, so I treated myself.
On topic though, yes, I have been in similar shoes as you, in 2017 I was buying left and right, spending probably half of my income on games. Two years ago, (I believe I even made a post here about it) I pretty much took everything I had, put it in storage, and didn't come back to this site for I think three months or so. It pretty much reached a head for me when I was buying for no reason other than "ooh, this is rare or ooh, this is cool" and I was about to pull the trigger on The Croods for Wii U. Thankfully, I didn't. I sort of went into a funk after that, not even wanted to look at the stuff I had amassed for no reason other than to just have more stuff. Since I returned to the hobby, I've been buying less and less. Hell, I just canceled my Luigi's Mansion preorder because it's not something I intend to play day one, and maybe down the line when I do want to play it, I can get it nice and cheap. Also, I've been slowly selling things I don't want or will never use. My goal was to never come back to the hobby, but when I found that I could do it in moderation, it became fun for me again. Also, not buying every Limited Run Games release has helped a lot too.
I remember that, and I'm glad you managed to pull through. It's all about knowing what's in front of you and having self-control.
I still have some idea that $50 is a lot of money. So there are many things I will not buy simply because of the price. I'd say that the average price that I buy something for is $2. You don't need to have a lot of money to have a collecting habit.
To me $20 is a lot. I'm a penny-pincher, so I often second guess myself whenever I'm buying stuff. Unless it's food or other necessities, I tend to be a cheapskate. I don't hoard money, though, so don't get me wrong.