Long Term Strategies for the Serious Collector and Film Buff... (1 Viewer)

I'll buy whatever I want that I can afford.

Why don't you just buy dvds that you really want?

I usually will buy a DVD only if I plan to watch it again or view the extras multiple times.

When SE's come out of DVD's I already have, I'll probably re-sell those and use the money to upgrade.

Price is no object. If I want it bad enough, I'll put out the 30 bucks to get a Criterion. If it's a good bargain (Shrek: SE for only 19 bucks?!?! Casablanca for 14?!?) I'll usually get it even if I don't like it as much as some of my other favorites.

The only grounds for getting rid of a DVD in my collection is to upgrade, got tired of, or got a duplicate via a gift.

I only have 50 DVD's, so I try to stick to films I wouldn't mind seeing many times (Boy, has Monty Python and the Holy Grail: SE gotten a good viewing!)

I've found myself at that stage too, Gary. I used to buy pretty much any title. Now, alot of those titles sit for months unwatched or never watched again. I went to renting more than buying because of this. Why pay $20 for a movie I only watch once versus $4? There will always be collector films, there will always be films I want to rewatch. But, the vast majority have become a one and done deal for me. I don't know how much I'll cull my collection. I'm just cutting way back on the purchases, and definitely on the sight unseen stuff. If I rent it and it takes my breath away, I will buy it. If not, well, on to the next film
Of course, this is possible because rental chains still carry OAR titles for rent. If that changes, well...times might be tough.
Bruce

I buy a lot of movies sight-unseen... The biggest reason for this is that most of my DVD's come from the local flea market. Their price is $13 per DVD, regardless of title. They ask $16 for double-disc sets. They will buy single DVD's back for $8 and doubles for $10. As a result, I don't mind taking chances. Sometimes, those chances pay off (Almost Famous, Memento, Legally Blonde, Terminator SE, T2, Remember the Titans, etc.) and other times they do not (Monkey Bone, Dracula 2000, Antitrust, Gladiator, The Matrix, etc.).
Because the flea market buys them back, the total cost of choosing a bad DVD is $5. I look at it as if I paid $5 for a rental and I was able to keep the DVD as long as I wanted it... On the upside, I have been introduced to some fantastic films that I would not have seen if I had to pay $20+ per title...
When special editions of my favorite films come out, I always pick them up and re-sell their non-SE counterparts. Most recently, I sold back my copy of Almost Famous after I picked up the super-duper Bootleg Cut.

Now that I'm over 500 discs I find I've become more selective about what I get. I've also found myself getting more interested in obscure and foreign titles. I figure once I get to about 700 or so I'll go through it and cut out a bunch. I did this when I hit 350 and ended up dumping about 100 discs on eBay. At this point when deciding whether or not to buy a film I just ask myself whether or not I'll watch it more than twice, based on either having seen it or reading multiple reviews. I hate to rent and seldom do. The last time I was in a HV/BB was over a year ago. Everytime I go I come away shaking my head so I really don't do it anymore. That and a lot of titles I'm interested in now aren't usually available to rent. I tried NetFlix and didn't really care for that.

When we first had kids, DVD was starting to catch on, so it cost less to buy the DVD than to go to the movies, find a babysitter, etc. It's gotten to the point where I'm running out of room, and I can't continue to buy them left and right like I used to. My personal long-term strategy is to sell off what I haven't watched in a while, keep my favorites, and start renting more.

Mike

I've bought a lot of movies this year, as many of us have. However the collection continues to around around the three-hundred mark. I buy titles very easily, but those I'm not too keen on - or those that are unlikely to get watched again - go up on Ebay pretty quickly.

Every couple of months I'll have a clearout. Do I want to watch this again? Was there really anything about this title that makes me want to keep it? I no longer collect just for the sake of it. My money - and indeed time - is better spent elsewhere.

Gary, I'm so proud of you. Acknowledging that you have a problem is always the first step toward recovery.
I didn't realize that NetFlix service is confined to America. It has been a godsend to me, allowing me access to hundreds of foreign films that are simply unavailable in east Tennessee. As I've mentioned to you before, I only buy one or two discs a month now, mostly because my limited movie-watching time is devoted to NetFlix rentals. When I do buy a disc now, it's a great film with great presentation -- like the CC Cries& Whispers -- a film that I will likely watch often.
Why don't you start by shooting for a 500 disc collection? If I had a film library likes yours (and knew that I had built it without going into debt), I would be hesitant to do away with it entirely. What was Kaite Holmes's line in Wonder Boys? Going from 700+ to 500 will force you to make *choices*, both aesthetic and economic.
And, of course, as you weed out those 200 discs, you know that you have plenty of Internet friends. Did I mention that Christmas is in a week.

I've been using the same strategy that Mike and Rob are using. If I'm not gonna watch something again, I get rid of it. I'm also renting a lot more than I used to.

Inorder to control the quality of my collection, I've decided to limit myself to one DVD per week next year. We'll see how well it works out.

Well, right now I'm at the ~200 mark, so I may feel differently when I more than double that, but I can't see EVER getting rid of movies at this point. Like some people, I buy a lot sight unseen and am mostly interested in foreign and less popular titles and sometimes taking those chances doesn't always pay off (although it does more often than you'd think).

But take a title like Cradle Will Rock (the most recent Tim Robbins movie). I bought it over a year ago and only watched it once and was lukewarm (to be charitable) about it. I still don't wanna get rid of it. Who knows if 2, 5, 10, 20 years from now I won't regret it if I don't have it? Of course, things like storage space and kids aren't issues for me.

I have about 215 discs so far and my policy is mainly to buy titles which I have seen in the past and which I know I want to keep. My interest though, is in vintage/classic films. I have bought about 40 modern films sight unseen, based on good reviews, popularity etc, half of which I have disliked and quickly sold on. So I am wary about buying discs if I have not already seen the film. This is also an age thing. At 50+ I have seen so many films over the years that I have plenty to choose from that I know I will want to keep, even if only for nostalgic reasons (I bought My Fair Lady for example because it instantly brings back memories of the girl I dated when I first saw the film).

My film library consists of 3,800 titles of which about 1,200 titles are DVD and the rest on laser disc. No VHS!
I'd never sell any of them because Murphy's law being what it is, I know that as soon as I'd get rid of a title, I'd probably want to watch it 3 or 4 months later. Also, when friends come over they enjoy perusing the shelves and picking out a movie to watch and it's usually a movie I haven't seen in awhile and have minimal interest in.
My library also consists of some titles that I don't really care for but feel are essential to any serious film library. Films like Wizard of Oz and Lawrence of Arabia sit on the shelf gathering dust in the hope I'll give them a second look.
I have a keen instinct of what I'll like and what I won't like and I have about a 95% accuracy rate when buying films "sight unseen".

My buying has really slowed down in the last year. I have 190 DVD's and have been collecting for 3 years. I buy maybe 2-5 a month. There are so many movies that arent worth purchasing. Who cares if it has the best tranfer ever and the sound will blow you onto your neighbor's couch, if the movie sucks. I go for films i loved growing up that i have already watched and will continue to watch many times.

I have about 200 DVDs.

I only buy titles I dont tire of,and can watch over and over again.

Its rare I buy a DVD without seeing the movie first. I have done it a couple times but not often.

I go back and forth on the subject. Sometimes I want to limit myself and pare my collection, others, like right now, I'm ready to go wild and indulge. Some months I don't order things I really want, like Blood Simple or Holy Grail, other months, I seek out things I've never seen.

I do need to give up some discs, but I keep thinking "maybe someday I'll want to watch it", in the case of Devil's Advocate or Austin Powers 2, it's difficult to envision such a thing ever occurring but still they sit on my shelf.