Moving past "stuff"

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
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It happened to me some time ago staring at a big 5 shelf bookcase full of Neo Geo games taking up valuable space when I mostly just played Metal Slug or random stuff on emulation or the multicart. It made me reevaluate what I like about gaming. The "collecting" part of it, looking online to find games, storing it, sorting it, that was more like a crack addiction and wasn't bringing about any joy. The actual playing the games, that was what was fun to me.

That's not to say I don't still buy stuff, but it's a means to and end. If it doesn't bring me joy in some form it goes. Right now I'm buying junk Gameboys from Japan and fixing them up since it's fun for me. I'm not hounding ebay buying games at all since I have flash carts. Eventually I'll probably look and go "hey I don't really need a dozen slightly different Gameboys" and will sell or give them away.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
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I will add, while I have practically stopped buying all videogames and toys, I now have too many Records and Boardgames....
so sometimes I feel I just replaced one with another. I am also scaling these back as well. I need 1 hobby, not the 12 that I have now.
 

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
20 Year Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Posts
7,174
Shaolin shakin' for the sake of his soul
Everything must go
Lookin' mighty tired of all the things that you own
Everything must go

- "Easily", Red Hot Chili Peppers.
 

roker

DOOM
20 Year Member
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Apr 12, 2003
Posts
18,871
Every time I give up one hobby, I just jump on to another one. You just end up trading stuff. If you don't like this stuff then get this stuff.

I like stuff. Stuff makes me happy. I collect lots of stuff but stay away from bullshit (limited edition crap, cash grabs, etc.).

You just don't want to have too much stuff but don't be resentful of it. It's a hobby.

Shaolin shakin' for the sake of his soul
Everything must go
Lookin' mighty tired of all the things that you own
Everything must go

- "Easily", Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Have you ever had your stuff pushed in?
 

Dr Shroom

made it in japan
15 Year Member
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Posts
23,233
i mostly buy overpriced british plastic models now
videogames really are for homos, see this thread
 

Neo_Mike_81

King's Dry Cleaner
Joined
Mar 25, 2021
Posts
388
All I have left is my Dreamcast and Dreamcast fighters plus a fight stick and Im happy with that.
So I guess I'll start a small anime blu ray collection. Maybe start traveling aswell been wanting to do that.
 

norton9478

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Posts
34,074
I don't buy much for myself.
Most of the titles I bought for the PS2/PS3/Wii/xbox/360 were niche games, retro releases, fighters and shooters. Usually at budget prices.
Interestingly enough, most are worth more than I paid for them at retail.
I have prescient taste in games.

I run into a lot of collectors. They buy so much. I can't imagine what they do with it all.

I try to keep my vinyl collection at 1200 albums. I figure it would take me a year to listen to everything once over.
 

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
20 Year Member
Joined
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Posts
7,174
One of my female friends just shared this on FB and it's certainly relevant to this conversation:
1655916099717.jpg
Silliness aside, I think there is some merit to that line of thought in regards to useless clutter.
 

egg_sanwich

Windjammers Wonder
10 Year Member
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Posts
1,379
I've been slowly selling off the collection for years, I haven't missed any game since letting it go. I told myself I'd use the funds to buy everdrives and multicarts, but haven't even bothered to do that.
 

snes_collector

NAM-75 Vet
10 Year Member
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Posts
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Lots of really good replies and perspectives in this thread, I wanted to take some time before I responded. I took a break for a few weeks on basically all my hobbies and feel refreshed but I want to make some changes.

Around the start of the pandemic I started collecting Micro Machine toys pretty heavily- I've always collected them but until then it was never an online thing. I got into it, joined the FB communities and was having a ton of fun and it gave me something to do through the pandemic. I built up a good collection, but also amassed a lot of doubles which I'm still trying to trade or sell off. I think this constant "watch ebay, buy, sell, repeat" was a big part of my burnout- it has started to feel like a job and not fun. I felt like all my free time I was listing or checking ebay and not doing anything else. I stopped checking ebay/mercari every 30 mins and now only check once or twice a day. I still going to collect the new ones, but that will be mostly it.

With games, terry's post did hit home even if it wasn't specifically directed at me. I am guilty of buying all these limited Switch games because I know they'll go up in value in the future. I need to stop that and only buy games I know I will really enjoy and play a lot. This was the other part of my burnout.

I've felt like actually playing games again so I've decided to go through some systems and games and slim down. For instance:
-Games I own on multiple systems
-Games that are genres I do not like/ can't play (FPS and 3D Platformers make me motion sick- why do I own any?)
-Games that will take up so much time to complete that I'll never have the time to play them through
-Games I own just because I think they may be worth something one day or stop holding on to them because they may be worth more
-Games I forgot I even own


I have a lot of sealed games for systems like the DS and 3DS and am torn on what to do with these. I like those systems and planned to open them when I got around to playing them but with prices being so high it feels like a bad idea to open them. I am going to mod a 3DS and see how I feel about playing that way and go from there.

For my older systems I am not sure what I will do in the future. I do think I enjoyed collecting them, reading about them, and talking about them more than I do playing them. Even today I'd probably have more fun reading an early '90s issue of EGM than playing any of the hundreds of games featured. I did the near fullset deal with some of these, and I'd hate to break it up so if I sell I'd like it all to go together but that seems unlikely at a major price discount.

Since I've made this thread I've not bought anything online. I've also been selling some other toy things and it feels good to get them gone. I've held onto most of the boxes I've received from buying things and my goal is sell enough that every box and bubble mailer I kept to recycle is gone.
 

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
20 Year Member
Joined
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Posts
7,174
I forgot Micro Machines even existed! Mostly all anybody talks about, car-wise, in my toy circles are Hot Wheels. MM were pretty cool though. I remember the ones that hinged open and had even tinier cars hidden inside of them.
 

pixeljunkie

Whilst Drunk., I Found God., Booze = Bad.,
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7,107
Yep. I want to snap my fingers and have it all go away. At least 99% of it. As others have said, I think it's all a combination of age, media oversaturation and the crowd into this stuff is super annoying.
 

The Chief

U.N. Apologist,
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Posts
2,938
Yep. I want to snap my fingers and have it all go away. At least 99% of it. As others have said, I think it's all a combination of age, media oversaturation and the crowd into this stuff is super annoying.
What are you looking to get rid of, I may be able to help😁
 

Heinz

Parteizeit
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I sold all my neo stuff for a vewlix cab. So apart from a ps4 and a pc that's all I got. Emulation all the way now, I just can't be fucked dropping coin like I used to hunting down games just to masturbate over them and chuck them on a shelf.
 

snes_collector

NAM-75 Vet
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I forgot Micro Machines even existed! Mostly all anybody talks about, car-wise, in my toy circles are Hot Wheels. MM were pretty cool though. I remember the ones that hinged open and had even tinier cars hidden inside of them.
Yeah, they have a small but dedicated fanbase. They actually relaunched the line in 2020 and are making some really nice models. The problem is they are only available in store at Target and the sets are a major pain to find. Some I've never seen in store yet along with the fact Target is an hour one way makes it a pain.
 

skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
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Haven't bought very many games in the last few years at all, but I have revisited a lot of my other hobbies.

I tried to keep my record collection around 1200 or so as well but I've hit 1500. I think it's time to sell off a couple hundred of them.

I've always been a collector, my whole life, but I make sure that anything I keep around (especially electronics wise) works or is actually of some value.
 

Lets Gekiga In

Neon Night Rider
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Haven't bought very many games in the last few years at all, but I have revisited a lot of my other hobbies.

I tried to keep my record collection around 1200 or so as well but I've hit 1500. I think it's time to sell off a couple hundred of them.

I've always been a collector, my whole life, but I make sure that anything I keep around (especially electronics wise) works or is actually of some value.
I've bought a few vinyl in recent times, but not enough to even fill my small shelf I have below my turntable. I pretty much just use whatever is free on Amazon Prime Music (not Music Unlimited) or walk over to the library which still gets newer CDs.
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
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Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
Haven't bought very many games in the last few years at all, but I have revisited a lot of my other hobbies.

I tried to keep my record collection around 1200 or so as well but I've hit 1500. I think it's time to sell off a couple hundred of them.

I've always been a collector, my whole life, but I make sure that anything I keep around (especially electronics wise) works or is actually of some value.
Holy shit. You actually count your records?

I know exactly what Laserdiscs I have, a broad idea of what games, but I intentionally avoid cataloging records. I don’t even really sort them. I just have them in categories and very broad ones at that. Willie Nelson and Helloween are both “pop”, for example.

This gives some OCD people nightmares but I do it intentionally. If I have to tour half my shit to find a record that forces me to interact with the collection, which increases my understanding of it, and makes it more likely that I’ll play a larger variety of stuff.
 

skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
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Holy shit. You actually count your records?

I know exactly what Laserdiscs I have, a broad idea of what games, but I intentionally avoid cataloging records. I don’t even really sort them. I just have them in categories and very broad ones at that. Willie Nelson and Helloween are both “pop”, for example.

This gives some OCD people nightmares but I do it intentionally. If I have to tour half my shit to find a record that forces me to interact with the collection, which increases my understanding of it, and makes it more likely that I’ll play a larger variety of stuff.

I was a vinyl DJ for a long time, so my collection is everything from dollar bin to rare white labels. A large percentage are UK imports of 1000 or less piece pressings of dance music. The other huge chunk is mostly hip hop, and then maybe 10 percent is albums I listen to through. I track them on discogs for a few reasons, overall count isn't a main one but it's good to know.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
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records a fooking heavy. I hope your floor is reinforced.
 

skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
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records a fooking heavy. I hope your floor is reinforced.
100 year old house built in what was a lumber town at the time. "Good bones" as they say. So far so good.

Everyone always brings up the weight of records but 6 adults in a room would be 1200ish pounds, whereas 1500x180gm LPs is like 600lbs (plus sleeves, but also, a lot of records weigh less).

Also, look at the PSI put on a floor by high heels, which can be literally 1500PSI 😳
 

Fygee

Bewbs! Z'OMG, Teh BEWBS!,
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If you ever need motivation to sell, donate, or dispose of "stuff", binge watch episodes of Hoarders.

I just did and I'm ready to basically live in a bare house now.
 
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