Some Thoughts on Collecting
I got into collecting sort of on accident. About two years ago, I realized that I still had all of the systems that I got when I was younger, with the exception of a few that broke. I got curious about how difficult it would be for me to get one Game Boy from each generation. It quickly turned from one system to several systems of each generation. It can get easy to feel overwhelmed and feel like you need to buy everything. Especially in today's "collect them all" market where people have collections that take up entire rooms in their house. There's nothing (NOTHING) wrong with having a large collection or wanting a large collection. I'm just saying that I felt like I needed to have one even though it wasn't practical for me and I was getting overwhelmed.
Collecting began not to be fun for me anymore. I was constantly checking Ebay, Etsy, and other online stores in addition to spending a lot of my time and money driving to various local game stores in my city. I was buying things I never intended on playing just because they were harder to come by and I didn't want to feel like I missed out on something. What was the point of having a collection that I wasn't getting any value from? So I set out to find some more effective ways for me to collect without losing my mind. I hope this advice can be helpful for you.
Pick a focus. This one is super obvious, but super important. You know what you like and what you don't. For instance, I've found that I don't enjoy collecting boxed games. I have a few, but I almost never play them out of fear of damaging the boxes, but some people love collecting boxed games. It just depends on your taste. Some people are all about Amiibo. Focus on collecting what you enjoy. You don't have to just pick one thing either. If you want to collect a few things, you can do that too. Focusing on one or a few items can keep you from spending you life's savings.
Set a budget. Setting a budget helps you to be a lot more deliberate with your purchases. That way if you want some exclusive figure or some limited edition merchandise, you can set aside money for that. Or if something happens and you need a bit of emergency money, you have some. Or if you have some left over, you can just save it.
Trade. Be willing to let things go. Stuff is just stuff. Your memories are inside of you, not your stuff. I learned that from The Minimalists*. This attitude has helped me learn to let go and trade things that I don't want and get no value from, for things that I do want and will get value from.
Peace and fuzzy pickles.
-unNESS
Collecting began not to be fun for me anymore. I was constantly checking Ebay, Etsy, and other online stores in addition to spending a lot of my time and money driving to various local game stores in my city. I was buying things I never intended on playing just because they were harder to come by and I didn't want to feel like I missed out on something. What was the point of having a collection that I wasn't getting any value from? So I set out to find some more effective ways for me to collect without losing my mind. I hope this advice can be helpful for you.
Pick a focus. This one is super obvious, but super important. You know what you like and what you don't. For instance, I've found that I don't enjoy collecting boxed games. I have a few, but I almost never play them out of fear of damaging the boxes, but some people love collecting boxed games. It just depends on your taste. Some people are all about Amiibo. Focus on collecting what you enjoy. You don't have to just pick one thing either. If you want to collect a few things, you can do that too. Focusing on one or a few items can keep you from spending you life's savings.
Set a budget. Setting a budget helps you to be a lot more deliberate with your purchases. That way if you want some exclusive figure or some limited edition merchandise, you can set aside money for that. Or if something happens and you need a bit of emergency money, you have some. Or if you have some left over, you can just save it.
Trade. Be willing to let things go. Stuff is just stuff. Your memories are inside of you, not your stuff. I learned that from The Minimalists*. This attitude has helped me learn to let go and trade things that I don't want and get no value from, for things that I do want and will get value from.
Peace and fuzzy pickles.
-unNESS
*Note: I'm not being paid or anything to talk about the Minimalists and don't really call myself a minimalist. I just respect what they do. I've included a link to their website if you were interested to know more about them and what they're about.