The (in)sanity of collecting DVDs (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

I've got no issue regarding buying TV episodes (or series) on home video. But I am bothered by this type of behavior:

Although I have purchased things like JP2 and 3 because I had to have the whole set, not because I liked the movie

Bluntly, I think it's silly to buy something you don't like, won't use, and are only getting because of some "need" to collect. Consider: every movie you bought to be "complete" is a movie you could have bought that you would actually enjoy. Or 10 DVDs you don't want is a new DVD player.
I find it helpful to remember that Michael Crichton, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, etc. have a lot of more money than I do. There's no need for me to buy their movies unless I really like them.

 

[Todd Hochard]

the rule of thumb is trying to determine whether I will watch the movie at least 2-3 times a year.

Yeah, this was my rule of thumb, too. Now that I have 340 DVDs or so (been collecting since the BEGINNING), the chances of following that (since I work, have a 10 month-old daughter, etc.) are essentially nil.
Lately, I've been trying to watch ONE a WEEK.
I don't regret dropping over $6000 on the collection, though. For most people, more than that "evaporates" from first year depreciation on your new car, and most people trade up every few years. Now, compared to the futility of THAT, DVD collecting looks like retirement investing.
Todd

 

[Chad Gregory]

I don't understand why a person would buy a DVD for a film that they have never even seen.

If I took that advice I would never see such classic movies as Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Guns of Navarone, etc. As well as some of my favorite newer movies such as Memento, Snatch, O Brother, and so on.

Buying site unseen for me is a no brainer. Why did I invest in a 16x9 TV and a very nice sound system, only to buy movies I've seen before? It costs me about $17 to buy a movie and it cost at least $30 for my wife and I to go to the theater including popcorn and a drink.

I have over 370 discs and none of which I don't want to own (except a few of my wife's). I see no end in sight, if and when HD-DVD comes around, I'll buy those too.

-Chad

 

[Guy_K]

I too buy films sight unseen. 90% of the time, I end up really liking them. This is because I only recently got into 'film', and am now starting to watch all of the classics in cinema. If I buy something and end up not liking it, I don't regret the buy at all. I just sell it or trade for something I do like.

 

[Malcolm R]

We're your support group.

I'm not so sure about that. I think that this forum can also be part of the sickness.
In the month or so since I've discovered this forum, I've acquired far more DVD's faster than I ever did in the prior two years or so in which I've owned a DVD player.
Up until last month, I considered my main collecting hobby my music. Now it's like, "who cares what's in the music section, let's check out the DVD's."
Then there's the side effects: checking if it's anamorphic....checking if it's DTS....making sure you get the widescreen edition when they're separate....writing e-mails to Warner complaining about "South Park"....being introduced to the evil term "snapper case"....looking for edge enhancement and pixilization when I should just be watching the movie....
But I love it anyway!

 

[RobertCharlotte]

Yeah, but why buy it? Contrary to all the stuff I've read here, I've never had any trouble finding widescreen DVDs at Blockbuster. On top of which, many public libraries now carry DVDs.

With all due respect, I'll have to take the opposite position. I can't imagine spending my money on something I didn't already know I liked and wanted to have to keep.

 

[Anthony Thorne]

I'm at around 140/150 discs, with a lot of classics, Eurocult, some horror, Hitchcock, Ridley Scott, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron 'collections', Bond films and so on... a good mix for me personally. However, I've really slowed down my purchases recently.

Renting discs is a valuable thing to me now - I can rent recent titles like A.I or other hefty collector's sets and experience the commentaries and docos myself at a fraction of the cost. Discs that I suspect I will want to rewatch end up on my 'to buy' list - others can just be watched via the rental system and I don't need to ever buy them. I love my DVD collection but there are other things in life besides them and I'm glad I've calmed down a bit in buying titles.

There are still a good number of 'essential' purchases coming out this year on disc that I know I will enjoy owning and rewatching. With those already scheduled for purchase I'm happy to hold off (probably permanently) on other, less important titles. I have a friend who works in a comic shop and he also buys numerous discs just to 'complete the collection'. To each their own I guess but I think I've grown out of that particular fetish.

 

[Simon Massey]

Although I have purchased things like JP2 and 3 because I had to have the whole set, not because I liked the movie

Back in the days of me owning videos, I used to do things like this.... And then I saw Batman & Robin, and despite being a big fan of the first 2 Tim Burton Batman films, I could not lower myself to buying this film just to own the set.

I was cured (only got the first Planet of the Apes on DVD)

 

[John Stone]

Bluntly, I think it's silly to buy something you don't like, won't use, and are only getting because of some "need" to collect.

Why would another person--someone you don't even know--and that individual's DVD buying behavior "bother" you? I enjoy reading about all the diverse reasons that people buy DVDs and how they go about it. Don't you think that you could share your personal DVD collecting "philosophy" without passing judgement, and without dismissing other people's personal buying decisions as "silly"?

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Bluntly, I think it's silly to buy something you don't like, won't use, and are only getting because of some "need" to collect.

Bluntly, why is it any concern of yours what others do with their money, and what right do you have to tell them its silly? I'm single, no kids, no debt and if I want to spend my money on all the Star Trek TOS DVDs, why is that silly? Would you rather I went out and spent it all on alcohol or something else that I would have nothing to show for it afterwards? At least with DVDs I have a collection of movies that I know will last a good long while.

 

[Craig S]

enabling[/I]]Quote:

I also buy a lot of movies sight unseen. If I don't like it, it goes up on EBay. My net cost after selling it is usually between a rental & a full-price movie ticket. If I rented first, and liked it enough to buy, I'd be OUT the cost of the rental. My method seems more cost-effective to me.
I admit it - I'm a collector. I have close to 2400 CDs, and I'm going to hit the 1000 mark in DVDs this month. There's no way to justify this rationally, so I've just accepted this is my "vice". My mother, bless her soul, has probably smoked away more money in her lifetime than I've spent on my collection, so I don't feel too guilty.
I imagine Robert Fowkes will peek into this thread soon. He's got Link Removed (written by Douglas Pratt) which explains the lure of movie collecting much more eloquently than I could ever hope to. Hope you don't mind me posting the link, RAF!!

 

[Marvin Richardson]

I just did the math, and according to my estimates, I've bought about 8 DVDs a month since I started collecting in August 1998. 328 DVDs (not discs, since The Godfather trilogy is considered one) isn't so bad I guess. Still, figuring I have about 500 discs at $15 a pop (roughly) that's $7500 total, or about $70 a month since I started.

 

[Jeremiah W]

great topic
Like the rest of you I'm hooked
DVDs are really the first things I've ever really collected,(well I used to collect baseball cards when I much younger but no as serious as DVDs)
I hate to even think about all the money I've spent,but at least I know the discs won't wear out like VHS tapes. and yes I enjoy most of them, a few are of poor quality(bad a/v)but I do enjoy all the titles
I have about 20 movies on DVD and I wouldn't get rid of any of them
I bet at the rate I'm going I'll have 300 by the end of this year(I have about 150 right now, including pre-orderes)Of course if more movies I want are released then my rate of purchases may increase even more.I sure hope that's the case even though I'm kinda broke right now

 

[Brian_Anderson]

I have the bug, but with the limited spending budget it leaves me wanting every time I go. "Oh look there's one i want, and there is another and another."

Just collecting slowly until finaces alow me to buy more, and I'm in luck with my s/o in that she thinks my DVD buying is "cute" and such.

In order to curb my progress I told myself I wasn't going to buy any in Febuary (a DVD fast or something) and ended up buying two, and then on March first bought two more and have bought another 2 since. Damn. It just doesn't go away. Not that I'm complaining.

 

[StevenW]

I know exactly where you are coming from. I was up to about 250 DVD's, and was just buying them for the sake of getting something new in my collection. I then finally had the balls and looked in my quicken report and needless to say have cut down considerably, infact Ive only bought a handfull this year total. What has really helped my with this addiction, and yes it is an addiction, was NETFLIX. I am sooo unbelievably happy with this company. Titles that I would have for sure bought just a few months ago I can rent now and see if the movie is actually worth me owning. Needless to say I havent bought many of the DVD's I've rented....which has saved me an ass load of money. Well thats my story

 

[Jeff Swindoll]

About the time I start thinking about curtailing my DVD purchases, the studios announce the next round of title releases and those thoughts go out the window.
If anything the price points on DVD are most welcome. LD was killing me!!

 

[Kenneth Cummings]

Well I tend to get three DVD per two weeks, yet still have a problem. I thought my old card hobby was bad, this is serious. Oh well, I loved most of the movies I bought on DVD(except Shrek).

 

[Christopher Collins]

I am not alone! This is great. At first I thought I was crazy. Then I started to realize that I was actually feeding an addiction. Am I a collector? I don’t feel that I am. In my mind collectors have some explicit taste they need to fulfill. Like collecting coins, saltshakers, baseball cards etc. While each of the trinkets may have history and stories behind them, they don’t really evoke emotional responses from me. Movies do, and they are an experience, like a roller coaster ride.
I am amassing the ultimate box set. My ultimate box set is not just a few related movies by some director, or a series that is no longer on air. My set is the ultimate menagerie of experiences. Since I cant afford roller coasters and theme parks… DVD's will have to do! The only down side is that my box set will never be complete.
I also buy movies I have never seen before. If I don’t like it I keep it. You may think that is a silly thing to do, but I like to share the experience with friends. My most hated movie could be another’s favorite. I understand that not everyone enjoys the same hobby as I and they have alternate tastes. I would much rather be able to offer my friends the ability to have the experience with a movie that they enjoy. Then again some movies that I did not particularly like last year are my favorites this year.
OR maybe im just too lazy to go to the video store and rent…

 

[David Lambert]

You guys just don't want to know from my stats! They would frighten you...
...my wife threatens to kill me every few weeks. Then I sit down and watch a DVD with her, and she's as re-addicted as I am!

 

[Jim Reynolds]

Chad,I've been collecting for 3 years myself and I have over 600 DVDs, so you have to pick up the pace. I'm actually looking at building my third DVD case that will probably hold 1000.My wife suggested I slow down and then one week later we were at BB and she walked up with 4 she wanted.