Collect, sell, regret, start over "the cycle"

[MCF 76]

Just thinking last night how many damn times I have done this over the years and I'm still fucking doing it. I have owned so many systems, games and every time I have almost everything I want I get so burnt out of all of it and decide to sell it to either fund something else or just "think" I don't need it anymore. Some stuff I don't regret selling like my PCE collection I had every game i wanted but hardly played it at all. My MD/ Genesis collection I do miss a few but mostly I just sit there and never got played. My AES collection that was another story, I decided to sell it all in '16 to funny enough fund my PCE collection yeah I know I'm fucking stupid. I convinced myself I could sell it all and get PCE, MD/ Genesis collection going and still could get all the MVS carts I wanted it would be fine. All good till last September, I helped a buddy find Slug 3 AES and the regret hit me so hard it was a gut punch. So I thought about it for 3 weeks if I really wanted to try and get back most of my AES carts I had. I knew I would half to sell everything to even try to do this and the hassle going through this. So as of now I have every AES game I want back except 3 but I tell you the NES is the worst I have done this with. I have collected and sold off this system so many times it's crazy that is the one system I always come back to and want back. Just started getting a few carts again this week.

Most of us here do this and to those that purge it all and never look back I salute you. It's crazy nothing else does this to me, for 20+ years I have bought and restored old cars kept for a while and sold or traded them and never looked back. Fucking games man, sometimes I wish I had never got that NES back in Christmas '87 lol.

 

[prof]

"Neo-geo.com: You never should have sold your stuff"

~ Tarma

 

[kernow]

You could at least do it for a good system.

 

[MCF 76]

You could at least do it for a good system.

Yep, like I said it was dumb as fuck decision. After the new worn off playing the PC Engine I realized real quick how way overrated system is.

 

[Neo Alec]

I'll never understand these people constantly trading and shipping old gaming equipment everywhere. I still have my stuff from when I was a kid. I haven't done any sell-off since I was about 14, and I still regret that.

 

[SignOfGoob]

Yeah, for some reason there are a lot of you guys. I don’t understand a single thing about it. Usually it’s the dudes who go way too hardcore into collecting some expensive shit they don’t even have time to use. You’re always going to get bored with stuff you only bought to impress other people…

I’ve never owned 100 arcade boards or a legit Sapphire…but I’ve also never been without a PC Engine or a Saturn since they went on sale. It’s not complicated. Just don’t overdo it.

If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. If you do want it, don’t sell it.

 

[Niko]

I'll never understand these people constantly trading and shipping old gaming equipment everywhere. I still have my stuff from when I was a kid. I haven't done any sell-off since I was about 14, and I still regret that.

I've always wondered if people who still have their childhood games, just got new games, systems, toys, etc whenever they wanted? Because when I was a kid if I wanted a new game, my options were either wait until Christmas / Birthday or sell the old stuff. I feel like this strategy gets ingrained in a lot of us until we reach a certain level of disposable income.

 

[HornheaDD]

I'll never understand these people constantly trading and shipping old gaming equipment everywhere. I still have my stuff from when I was a kid. I haven't done any sell-off since I was about 14, and I still regret that.

I get it to a degree. Most game stuff from when I was a kid was sold off or traded as I finished those games. Very few were ever kept for any sentimental reason, like Chrono Trigger, Crystalis, Star Tropics, etc. And even then I don't have those anymore.

At the time there was no real collector market so selling a game like Final Fantasy III complete in box for $20 to your buddy was common. And buying another one for $20 from your buddy or a used game store was just as common. As we all know collectards have ruined that ecosystem.

The only real regret I have is selling my first Neo and games to get a Dreamcast. Was it a trade up? Sure. I love the Dreamcast. But I should have kept that first one because it was finally a realization of a grail. Never had a Neo as a kid, but at 21 I finally had the money to buy it ($200 with 2 games/sticks from a dude on Zophar) and it was pretty amazing to have accomplished that. Ive had tons of AES and MVS set ups over the years so I'm not too broken up about it. But just the whole 'my first Neo' is kinda regrettable.

But yeah, I was never a collector and needed room for new games, or money for that new guitar when I got into music, moving, getting married and consolidating stuff between me and the missus, etc.

But now I only regret selling some stuff because it shot up in price and now I can't get WindJammers or Magician Lord MVS for $85 anymore. Hell, I sold off a bunch of MVS carts like last year or two years ago here. Got some cash from it, but nowhere near what I'd get if I sold them now. The games went to actual neo fans her so its not a huge deal. But yeah, kinda wish I'd kept em.

 

[pixeljunkie]

I've sold off most of the gems of my collection I've had since I was in high school, and even longer than that. Stuff that has doubled in value just since I sold it. I had an immense arcade and cab collection - sold that. I had full Cave kits, super rare PCBs - sold. My AES collection, giant PCE collection...ALL OF IT

I regret none of it. So glad it's gone. Would NEVER go back to it. I still love the games and play them on Mister or 100 other methods/hardware available.

 

[neo_mao]

Same here - no regerts!

I fucking hate clutter and I hate CRTs even more.

 

[kernow]

Yeah, fuck crts

 

[Neodogg]

Same here - no regerts!

I fucking hate clutter and I hate CRTs even more.

who hurt you?

 

[terry.330]

Buying back old stuff just to have it is the mistake and will always be a mistake every time you do it.

I love the AES, MD, SFC, Shmups etc. but you don't need a bunch of stuff just sitting on shelves not getting used. What's the point of owning games that are hundreds or thousands of dollars each if you never play them? Or any games for that matter regardless of the cost, just because of some weird nostalgia trip or need to own things?

The same thing that happened before is going to happen again and the only way to break that cycle is to play stuff instead of just collecting for the sake of it. You want to play Slug 3 well there's a great port and it's $3 on the PSN, buy that and actually play it. If you can't even be bothered to do that then why dump hundreds or thousands of dollars on the AES version? Then you don't actually want to play Slug 3, you just want to own it for no real reason. You're not going to play that anymore than you would the $3 version. Better yet play something new, there's literally an endless supply of awesome games to actually play.

Stop spending your time thinking about and hunting for old stuff to collect and use that time to actually be playing something new (or old) and awesome. Then the cycle fixes itself.

@MCF 76 you mention restoring old cars, that hobby isn't about owning as many old cars as possible and then hardly ever driving any of them. It's to restore one, enjoy it for a little bit and move on to the next car project. There's satisfaction in that. Treat gaming like that and it will 1000% more enjoyable and you won't be thinking about old stuff you used to have. Plus with games if you want to go back there are more ways than ever to play old rare shit conveniently.

 

[Neo Alec]

I've always wondered if people who still have their childhood games, just got new games, systems, toys, etc whenever they wanted? Because when I was a kid if I wanted a new game, my options were either wait until Christmas / Birthday or sell the old stuff. I feel like this strategy gets ingrained in a lot of us until we reach a certain level of disposable income.

Yeah, same. That's what happened to a lot of stuff until I was a teenager. There was always something bigger and better coming, so it was tempting to cash in the old for the new. I remember multiple schemes for my brother and I to sell off our stuff to get our first Neo Geo (I finally got a used one later when I got a part time job). My biggest regret is selling all my SMS and Game Gear stuff for a Jaguar.

The childhood stuff I do have is the stuff that survived.

 

[smokey]

Same here - no regerts!

I fucking hate clutter and I hate CRTs even more.

You are dead to me. How can you hate a crt ? That warm glow, those beautiful pixels. I would rather sell all my games and go mister or pi before I would sell my last CRT. I dread the day that my last crt stops working.

 

[sirlynxalot]

I've heard some refer to the joy in acquiring old games to be less about playing them and more about the hunt - driving around trying to find good stuff at good prices IRL at fleamarkets and second hand stores and garage sales. Or you can even take it online, spend hours and hours for an online opportunity (ebay? yahoo auctions? forum-based sales?) to buy something rare or interesting at a good price. That makes some sense in this buy, hold, purge cycle. Once you have completed the "hunt" and acquired everything you wanted, the joy is gone because you're no longer hunting. The joy was never from owning or playing the games in the first place, only hunting to achieve the pretend goal. And then once you purge and some time passes, you get the itch to use those video game hunting "skills" again...

 

[kernow]

I've heard some refer to the joy in acquiring old games to be less about playing them and more about the hunt - driving around trying to find good stuff at good prices IRL at fleamarkets and second hand stores and garage sales. Or you can even take it online, spend hours and hours for an online opportunity (ebay? yahoo auctions? forum-based sales?) to buy something rare or interesting at a good price. That makes some sense in this buy, hold, purge cycle. Once you have completed the "hunt" and acquired everything you wanted, the joy is gone because you're no longer hunting. The joy was never from owning or playing the games in the first place, only hunting to achieve the pretend goal. And then once you purge and some time passes, you get the itch to use those video game hunting "skills" again...

And this is why I have a 32x system and a lynx

 

[SignOfGoob]

I've always wondered if people who still have their childhood games, just got new games, systems, toys, etc whenever they wanted? Because when I was a kid if I wanted a new game, my options were either wait until Christmas / Birthday or sell the old stuff. I feel like this strategy gets ingrained in a lot of us until we reach a certain level of disposable income.

As a kid, yeah, obviously. But we’re taking about 53 year old dudes who are on their seventh Super Nintendo. And they lost money on it all seven times. It’s gamer bulimia.

 

[Ajax]

If you think PC Engine is overrated, it's probably about time to duck out of the hobby.

 

[NeoSneth]

the fact that you are able to sell a lot of stuff is a good sign. Most people can never sell it, and the problem is worse than your endless rotation.
All you need to do is break the cycle, or find something else to fund. Sell off a big portion of games, and go buy some gold Krugerrands instead. Or find a hobby you actually enjoy more frequently.

I had a nice purge this week, and it felt really good. But I have a similar problem in that is goes directly into other hobbies. But at least I dont have junk sitting htere.

 

[terry.330]

Sorry for a couple of longish posts but I just had a lengthy conversation about this with a buddy yesterday.

You say to yourself "I'm just going to rebuild my MD collection and keep it nice and simple with the best games etc." then you do and it still doesn't feel great after a certain point. That's because you wanted the idea of the perfect little collection more than the actual stuff. Once you have it then what?

Then there's the law of diminishing returns. Your 2nd or 3rd time owning something isn't ever going to feel as good as it originally did.

Also stop making lists of shit to buy and let it happen more naturally. That keeps it from becoming just checking things off the list and moving on to the next item. How many times have you got something that took quite a bit of searching and you were really excited to get only to immediately move on to the next thing on the list you need to check off?

Don't sell off one collection for money only to start a new one. Use the money to do something that involves more than just finding things to accumulate.

Learn to be happy with what you have. How many times have you had a ton of games and only focused on what you did't have instead of actually appreciating what you do?

Bottom line is spending money on stuff for the sake of just owning it is never going to give you the same amount of satisfaction as actively doing or using something. There are a million reasons people use to justify collecting things they don't use and don't actually bring them any real happiness. They tend to think that if they just find the right thing or do it the right way it's magically going to be different this time. It's not.

 

[Ajax]

It seems like not many people in this hobby actually play games. It's kinda funny. Once I started seriously playing games with the goal of clearing them, I largely stopped caring about owning them.

 

[blakeb8111]

It’s good to sell stuff, especially if it’s just collecting dust. It’s easy to figure out what you really don’t want/need.. Most of us have sold stuff that we probably regret at some point, but if you buy it back hopefully it’s stuff you actually will play, which I know MCF will for sure. I’m sure i have too many hobbies, but i only use money from sold hobby items to fund the other hobby items. I’ve gotten rid of a lot over the years and realized the things I actually use and enjoy. Haven’t bought much gaming wise in awhile. Less overall items = more enjoyment. Plus things change as you get older, get married, have kids, etc. My gameroom is set up for other people to enjoy as much as I do. We need to set you up with a MAME rig or a mister, Marty.

 

[kernow]

I've never owned more than 50 games total pretty much. Having a retro room with thousands of games is sad af

 

[SignOfGoob]

There’s nothing wrong with selling it no. The mistake is buying shit you don’t even want and letting it collect dust…then buying it back for more than you sold it for when you could have just kept it and letting it collect dust again.

Not knowing WTF you want, buying too much stuff to the point where it drives you crazy to even own it and then preaching to others about how they need to do the same thing to be as sane as happy as you…that’s some bullshit from a crazy person.

It’s like listening to someone tell you that if you go vegan you won’t have those nightmares anymore and you’re all like, “…but I don’t have nightmares, that’s you, ya crazy fuck.”