the DVD Collectors' insanity... (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

Man oh man are we sick! Reading some of your posts is like listening to someone trying to quit smoking!
Maybe they COULD develope some kind of patch, or dvd free gum for us to chew, they could call it DiscControl!

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No Soup For You!

 

[LarryH]

What a pointed topic! I always suspected that I was not alone in my affliction and I'm glad somebody finally broached the subject.
Actually, I've never bought a DVD I didn't plan on watching and want to watch - it's just finding the time that trips me up - too many other things that cannot be done "later" like watching a DVD. Having it available to watch anytime unfortunately relieves me of the necessity of watching it "right now." Back when I rented laserdisks, I always watched them that night. I've still got lasers I bought and have never watched.
Of course in order to break an addiction, you have to recognize it as such and WANT to break it. I think I'm a lost cause.

 

[Mark-W]

Once I hit 400 DVDs, I told myself,
"I will not own more than 500. I will
FORCE myself to sell some on eBay."
The thought being, I would own a collection
that I constantly refine, not to the "best" films,
but simply films I actually WATCH.
Now as I have hit 530 or so, I am thinking,
"I will not own more than 600.".
I take them to eBay, and turn around and use
the money to buy more! I am SICK!
And Criterion: let's not even go there!
They get their own rack, and are NEVER parted with.
Having more than 500, I feel the opposite of "proud."
While I never buy films I don't like, I often buy
some thinking, "My father likes this film...Maybe
he will come over and then we can watch it together."
HELP ME!
There are medications for people like me.

Mark
[Edited last by Mark Walker on July 24, 2001 at 09:23 PM]
[Edited last by Mark Walker on July 24, 2001 at 09:24 PM]

 

[Maurice Verploegen]

Dick,
Best post on HTF ever. Wow, what a great topic. YES! I am not alone. When I first read your post I thought, "Hey, who wrote this story about me". Specially the "moving them on your shelves" is priceless. I think I have over 500. I stopped counting them a long time ago. The thing of it is, I am very proud of them. I don't use it to show off. I don't tell people about it to show off. And yes, the first thing when somebody new walkes into our house. It is "wow, you have more than a rental outfit". It makes me also very nervous when people start grabing them, and touching them. It is very cool to LOOK at, please don't touch. Also under no circumstances will I let people borrow them. No way. Buy, or rent your own.
Yes, there are movies in my collection that I haven't seen. Does that make me sick.....maybe. But so be it. Some people spend all their money on their car, or house. Or smoke, gamble, drink. Collect baseball cards. Or have a nice litte boat. I have none of that. I have a nice HT set up, and a nice collection to go with that. And again, am very proud of that.
Sometimes at night before I go to bed, I take a quick look at my collection, and a big smile comes on my face. Sometimes I spend some time, take the collector edition's out and open the tin, watch what my serial# is on them, and put them safely back in their place.
Again, great topic. And I am proud to be a part of it.
Maurice Verploegen

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Even with disgusting stacks of unwatched discs, I persist in buying new ones. Sometimes it's a good price, or it's something I've always wanted to see, but on the whole I don't think I've ever bought a disc I didn't INTEND to watch. But then other stuff inevitably gets in the way and they get added to the stack. Getting piles of discs to review doesn't help matters, since they tend to take up what free time I have and I have to sneak my own discs in here and there. But as addictions go, it's a pretty harmless one. I and my dog still have enough to eat and a roof over our heads. We still go outside. What's the problem? My father used to drive stock car, and he easily spent in a year on that hobby what my DVD collection since Jan. 1998 has cost me.
It is nice to have friends over and they name a movie, any movie, and odds are I've got it (luckily they never ask for Star Wars or Indy). Or if I read something about a movie, I can go to the stacks and pull it out, which fulfills a lifelong fantasy going back to the dark days of relying on television stations in the backwoods playing a classic movie--yeah right, you know how often that happened? Just about never.
Besides, I'm not much of a joiner, and it's nice to belong to the HTF community of like-minded folks.

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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

[Rob_C]

I've had my DVD player for about 2 years now. In the short time I've bought a new TV, new home theater system, and managed to buy 100 discs (not counting the 20 or so I've sold). Likewise I haven't watched all the discs either, I watch the movie at the theater, like it, pick it up when it comes out but never have time to watch it. My credit cards are starting to catch up with me now though. But it's too much fun. Argh!

 

[James Costin]

Just an extra thought on this discussion regarding DVD collecting (or in fact collecting in general).
To what extent is DVD collecting a male hobby? I ask this because out of everyone I know several of us guys collect a large number of DVDs and/or records.
However, the women I know aren't so into the collecting side of things. I think this often applies to records as well. Although it is unfair to label this stereotype with all women, I think that collecting of these types of products is primarily a male trait/flaw/obsession (take your pick!).
What does everyone else think?

 

[Maurice Verploegen]

James,
I could not agree with you more. I don't know why. But I have never met (yet) a woman with the same hobby as us. There will be a few out there. But harder to find, I think.

 

[JerryW]

It is nice to have friends over and they name a movie, any movie, and odds are I've got it (luckily they never ask for Star Wars or Indy).

That's why you have to buy a LD player... plus BTTF, music LDs that will never be on DVD, RKO and similar classics that won't be on DVD, etc. Plus, I love those large gatefold LD jackets.

Well, I now own 315 DVDs (not counting those on preorder), and 65 movies/events on LD (I've accumulated that many in just 3 weeks). And there doesn't seem to be any sign of slowing down... damn, I love this hobby!
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"But you have to remember that a worm, with very few exceptions, is not a human being." - Freddy

 

[Jason Smalley]

I am currently 20 years old and in my third year of college. I was fortunate to start collecting DVD back in 1997 when it was first released. Since that time, I have put over $22,000 into my habit ($35,000 retail value). When I look over the numbers, it is sad to think that I could have purchased a car (Ford Mustang GT, non-convertible) or payed off a major portion of my school loans. But you know what? I would not have been as happy. And that is key. Movies are just about my favorite thing in this world. I don't spend my money on alcohol and I don't smoke (two very expensive habits), I drive a Tempo (good gas mileage) and that is about it. When my grandparents (with whom I live) ask me if I wished I had spent my money differently all I have to do is look at my 823 DVDs, My DTS/DD set-up, and Projector and smile while giveing a resounding "Absolutely not!" My collector's mentality makes me happy and that is what it is all about!

 

[JasonK]

I remember thinking back in 1997 that I would be very stict on my purchases. That lasted all of 3 days. Since then I have accumulated around 400 DVD's. I have a seperate rack for all of the unwatched ones. I have never sold any of them, except for ones that I re-bought (2001, Terminator 2, etc.) And many of the movies I buy are thanks to the reviews here at the HTF. It's fun when my friends come over to watch them, because it takes around 10 minutes to look thru them all, and another 20 to agree on one to watch!

 

[wally]

I too am somewhat a newbee. 30 DVDs total, purchased Player January '01. I love the ceremony involved when introducing a new disc to the “family”. The frantic rip of the shrink-wrap. The gentle, loving tug required to remove the security and title plastic strips while not distorting the clear plastic cover. Oh God, don’t leave any adhesive if so, remove with tender taps from a lighter fluid soaked paper towel. The anticipation of entering the UPC # into DVDProfiler. The deft touch necessary to turn the booklet on the inside backward to make the chapter listing more accessible while not dog earring any pages. Just talking about it makes me want to stop on the way home to feed the crave.
And loaning a DVD? I’m less nervous when my kids are out. They can stand up for themselves, my DVDs are defenseless.
I like looking at other members Profiler listings and seeing that first purchase, (assuming date of purchase sorting). I bought my first DVD 10 months prior to buying a player. I attended the concert in St. Louis and it sure beat a T-Shirt! What are some of your “First Purchase” stories?
I only buy movies that I like, still I've many discs to buy/horde/collect before I sleep.
My Collection
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[RAF]

I'm sorry, but I can't believe this thread. Do people actually exist as described here

I don't think so.

Seriously, you know you've got it bad when you buy the same title more than once without realizing it until you catalog it.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
Link Removed

 

[Kami]

I bought my first DVD in 1999. Alien Legacy box set...my next few purchases were The Matrix, Contact, and SPR. I was really slow at first (hell, i only owned a dvd-rom!) maybe purchasing one every 1 or 2 months. Then at the end of 2000 I started buying more and more and spent a wad (at least a wad at my age, 18) on a full HT setup:
Yamaha RX-V496 Receiver
Panasonic RV31 DVD
Panasonic 27D11 TV
Speakers:
Paradigm Titans (main)
Paradigm cc-150 (center)
Paradigm Atoms (rear)
Paradigm PDR-10 (sub)
(can you tell I'm canadian?)
yeah it's pretty crappy compared to some of the setups that i see in here, but it's all I can afford and it sure is better than those two little TV speakers with "simulated surround" I already have a wish list for stuff to get when i'm out of college though

I now have about 80 DVDs and it keeps climbing. I only buy movies that I know I'll watch more than once though. I don't have the funds to just buy anything I see. I also trade off (not sell) one's I know that I'll never touch again. For example...
I traded off Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection from my box set because I only really enjoyed the first two.
About a month or two ago, it seemed like a LOT of good titles were all being released at once...now it's slowing down for the summer I think. For a while I was buying 2 or 3 titles per week which really hurt the wallet. Now I don't buy as much (but I did just blow some on a nice universal remote...got sick of fumbling with 4 seperate ones!) and just get dvds I am really looking forward to. I have to...got college bills to pay. Doh!
I expect my collection to be over 100 by the end of the year.
The only downside is having another friend wanting to come over every day to watch something

Oh, and thank god I will have a private room at school. I can bring all my stuff. Sadly, I won't be able to play it at the levels I'm used to...ah well.
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-Adam
(a.k.a. kami)
My budding DVD collection

Download a new Jurassic Park DVD cover

 

[Tom Ryan]

I counted up what I spent for my DVDs last night, it amounted to about $550. I thought that seemed like a lot (I'm 20, without much money), but then I remembered my $1000+ American Deluxe Fat Strat and $1000+ Seagull Rosewood Duet, as well as an amp, effects pedals, cords, slide, capo, cases, etc.....and realized, THAT'S why I don't obsess over DVD like you guys do; because I do something else! I imagine if the only thing I was really interested in hobbywise was home theater, maybe I'd be more like the 500-plus DVD owner guys. So I suppose I understand you more, but still don't condone that .
-JeTmAn

 

[Jodee]

As far as the male thing, I'll chime in here as a proud female who owns 725 DVDs as well as about 3000 cds.
I have always been into collecting, but I think movies & music do tend to me more of a "male" thing. I have only female friend to speak of who is like me in this regard. I have heard of some women that like to collect but it's usually dolls or beanie babies
I am pretty fanatical with my DVD obsession. I check the DVD sites every morning for the latest release announcements. I also maintain a detailed spreadsheet with a page devoted to DVDs owned (including director, special features) as well as a page devoted to pre-orders, and a running of list of films I want that are not yet available on the format.
I pre-order all the DVDs I view as "must-haves" (which can often be a lot of titles in a given week). Anything else is moved to a running "Catalog Wanted" list that I might pick up if I ever find a deal. Right now, though I'd say a good 99% of my DVD buying goes to new releases/pre-orders. I've had my player since 12/98, and I have pretty much bought all the catalog titles I want on the format (I really took advantage of online deals in the glory days.)
I also am fanatical about having the latest, greatest version and will "upgrade" a new release and sell off the old one (except Spinal Tap--I kept both copies of that one due to different features and Criterion collectibility nerdiness.)
I usually have about 40-50 unwatched DVDs at any given time. My husband & I try to watch a movie per night. He has taken over the music/CD maintenance and I do all the movie buying.
Sometimes I wonder how I can afford this habit and then I realize I make more money now with my current job than I did when I was pre-DVD, but other than DVDs I live the same way! So all my extra money goes to DVDs. I also do not drink or smoke and unlike a lot of women, I can't remember the last time i went clothes shopping. I pay my credit cards off in full for every month so as long as I'm not in debt and I'm living within my means I figure I'm doing ok!
[Edited last by Jodee on July 25, 2001 at 03:32 PM]

 

[Lane Denson]

Ah - I feel quite sane in comparison I've been collecting DVDs for 3+ years, but currently only own about 130. I have sold a lot as well - I periodically take stock, and anything that I haven't watched, or am not particularly thrilled with gets half.com'ed.
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I am funkier than you

 

[PhilipW]

I also "collect" DVD's but I'll probably avoid buying duplicates or re-releases.
The way I avoid this is from my past experiences with comics.
circa '95. X-Men #1 came out with 5 different covers. Now you might understand buying all 5 different covers to complete a set, but can you understand buying 3 sets of the 5 covers. This is what my logic was at the time. 1 set for reading. 1 set for selling at a later date. 1 set to pass on to the next generation to sell.
Now, if that isn't insane I don't know what is.
The way I broke this habit you ask?
The future better half told me that comics were childish and she wouldn't marry a child.

She didn't follow through but it did wake me up.
I would definitely be in trouble though if she ever went through those boxes.
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[Edited last by PhilipW on July 25, 2001 at 05:53 PM]

 

[RicP]

American Deluxe Fat Strat and $1000+ Seagull Rosewood Duet, as well as an amp, effects pedals, cords, slide, capo, cases, etc.....and realized, THAT'S why I don't obsess over DVD like you guys do; because I do something else

I guess I'm WAY over the top then...I have 600 DVD's AND 6 Guitars!! 2 Ovation Acoustics, 1 Martin Acoustic, 1 Ibanez RG570 Custom, 1 Gibson Les Paul Studio, and 1 Custom Made Strat Copy.

I think I need to make an appointment....
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http://www.ricperrott.com
Ric Perrott

 

[Patrick McCart]

I first got my DVD player last September (20th) for my birthday...and I have 30 "single" movie DVD's and 2 box sets.
I'll usually go no more than 2 weeks without getting a new DVD (with the upcoming DVD's, I might not go without new ones for DAYS! )
Sometimes, I'll get a bunch at a time (I got Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles at a Wal-Mart and got Jurrasic Park, All The World's A Stooge, and It Happened One Night in one purchase at a Media Play)
Only about half of my DVD collection is my own purchases, since I get a lot of titles from relatives.
It's actually quite funny how I earn money for DVD's...I work at a drive-in theater, so I work for movies to get movies! On that note, visithttp://www.swan-drive-in.com
http://cztoondb.tripod.com