0rac

WHy do I buy DVDs that I know I do not watch. I love the movies and I want them but I know 90% of time that I'll never find time to watch them, or if I do it will be a long time. Like I got Saving Private Ryan and haven't even put it in the player. Even know with my money low I still get things. If I had more time maybe but I like having them just in case, or to let others see it that never have, or just to have them in my collection.

Is it just me?

Al Padrino

No. This place is full of people will collections full of things they probably won't ever watch more than once. We've all got our favorite films and shows, but a lot of people buy just for the sake of it.

There's nothing wrong with big collections or only watching any given title once every couple of years, but some people dump thousands into a collection full of titles that they don't truly want. It's fun picking up new titles and building your personal library, but it's asinine to buy anything you don't really want.

If you know you'll never have time to watch most of them, then get into a different hobby. We're all pressed for time, but if it's so bad that you KNOW you'll never get to watch some titles, then you're just wasting a ton of cash.

Think before you buy. It's not always the fun way, but it's more cost efficient in the end, and you'll wind up with only what you truly want.

natevines

I agree, I do this alot. Both with movies that I've never seen and ones that I have seen and liked, but will probably never watch on DVD.

Snowmaker

I've got several I've never watched (yet). I've had The Godfather DVD for at least 6 months now and have still never even seen the movie itself.

Bricks II

I think Al nailed it. There's a difference between movies you like and movies you'll watch again. There are many movies each year that, for me, I like but wouldn't watch enough for them to be worth owning. Monster is a good example; I thought the film was very good but I wouldn't find myself watching it very often or even having the urge to watch it. I'm glad I saw it, but it's not the kind of movie one revisits a whole lot.

I try to make my collection of movies ones I'll watch at least twice a year. If not, I don't buy it. Sometimes I find myself selling DVD's I don't watch, but not to often. I always evaluate before I buy.

lisadoris

My goal is to only buy movies that I'll watch. I'm currently on a buying moratorium until I get through the last 10 or so DVDs I've bought. Some people have tons of movies that are still in the plastic so I wouldn't worry - it's all about having viewing options.

Dazed

I only have a few I havent seen (just not in the mood to see them). I find when my unviewed pile gets too big I have to stop buying new ones till it goes doewn a bit (an incentive to watch them )

DavidH

If you only buy DVDs that you actually re-watch, you might only end up with 200 DVDs or so in five years of buying like me.

Al Padrino

That's another thing. Some people are under the impression that if they bought something, they shouldn't ever part with it, even if they know they'll probably never watch it again or watch it in the first place.

I know that if you bought something at one point, you probably had a good reason for doing so, and thus, you justify letting it occupy precious space in your home. That's crazy. I don't think you have to watch any titles a certain amount of times to justify owning them, but I do think it's silly to hang onto titles you know you probably won't have the desire to watch again.

For several years, I perished the thought of ever getting rid of any of my DVDs. But then I realized I had several that I had purchased at one time and knew that for whatever reason, it was unlikely I'd ever watch them again. Some were impulse buys that I later regreted, and others were discs that just didn't need to be seen a second or third time in my eyes. That's my fault for buying something I didn't really think through, but hanging onto them seemed to serve no other purpose than to remind me that I had made a foolish purchase.

This very forum has a great trading area and I've found that it's much more satisfying to take titles I no longer wish to own and trade them for something I actually do want. That's why I can only tell you what my first DVD purchase was and not what my 100th or 200th purchase was. As time has gone by, I've thined out the library here and there, and thus, it's impossible to say such and such title was my X title added to it.

Fok

DVD addiction my friend, we all have it in some form or matter

QuiGonJosh

Used to be like that, wised up and sold about 75% of my collection because I just wasn't going to watch those again or at all. Just a waste of space. Down to about 200 now, from a little over 900.

Shagrath

I have a large catalog of unwatched films, and to prevent it from getting any larger, I decided to make a resolution to watch everything I buy within a week, with the possible execption of TV Series (not enough time in a week), and certain times of the year like my birthday and Xmas, where I may get 15-20 titles. I've watched every movie I've gotten this year (except for the new ones from today). So that's 20 new titles bought and watched so far this month. Also, I've knocked out 12 from my back catalog. I plan to keep this up throughout the year, and further, as long as time will allow me to.

ctyankee

Three years ago I posted a thread called You Just Might Have a DVD problem ....

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...ght=Eisenstein

Some of the quips are showing their age ...

but I still like this one ...

If you bought Eisenstein - The Sound Years – and you don’t even know what The Sound Years are let alone who the heck Eisenstein was … you might have a DVD problem.

Shagrath

Isn't he that EMC guy? j/k

gutwrencher

Christ....here we go, again. we need at least one of these threads a month, and by God, were gettin' it.

I have over 1,800 titles. I buy only what I have a passion for. I buy only what I would watch. I watch everything I buy within a few days of adding to the...uhh...library. I've seen a few things just once, so far, and many titles...multiple times. titles are there to serve a purpose, other than jamming down my throat on some kind of rampent viddey schedule. I watch them when I'm ready and jazzed to watch them. I research them as well, as my library is not just for enjoyment while watching....but for education. it's like a personal historical archive....just for me. it's also not a huge collection of dvds as to provide some kind of wow-factor. I really don't care what others think of my library and when someone comes to my home...the library is out-o-sight and locked away. I post a library link on-line....but thats just for film/collecting conversation between film lovers. to share knowledge about what you have and why can be fun. some forums have lost sight of this, with members jumping ship and running to the next format or maybe others just can't understand why someone would want to own 1,000 dvds. all this in a dvd forum.

crazy kids.

you may be wasting your time and $.....but I'm not.

nightshadebooks

I buy in a library sense. When I bought the Warner Noir collection, I didn't buy it to watch it then. I bought it knowing that I'd want to watch it sooner or later. I acquired about 40 noir films over the years, and hadn't watched most of them. In the past two weeks, I've been on a noir kick, and have watched about 20 of them, and will watch the rest in the next couple of weeks.

I hate the feeling of being in the mood to watch something but it being 3:30 in the morning on a Sundany and not being able to go rent it or something. Things that won't be watched a second time go to the ebay pile.

OldBoy

Amen! I never watch ones that I own because I own them and know they aren't going anywhere, thus all the time in the world mentality. Of course I will still buy them (the ones i am passionate about) and look forward to watching them, but that might not be for a year or so, just knowing it is there makes me sleep better. The only, ONLY DVD's I ever watch is ones I rent.

I too simply just like to gaze at them all and relish the fact that I have most, if not all the movies I love in the world!

Al Padrino

I know what you mean when you say you just like the feeling of knowing you've got what you love, but what's the point if you don't ever watch them? I've got titles I've seen many times and others that I've only watched once, but I wouldn't ever keep buying if I never watched the ones I owned. That just seems like a waste of money.

TNAJason

I own 900 DVDs. 87 I haven't watched ever. I buy because they are recommended,or look like a good DVD. I've never seen a single minute of a Godfather movie,but I own the trilogy. I plan on watching sometime soon. Same thing with Scarface,Goodfellas,all the way to Hills Have Eyes,Crazies,Suspiria,and Videodrome. I am a DVD addict that needs to watch these titles,and if I like them,keep them,if I don't Selling/Trading time. I'm a sad pathetic DVD addict. Can you forgive me?

TNAJason

May I add that all those DVDs are in my "DVDs to watch soon" shelf.

Al Padrino

It's funny I've seen a few people mention the Godfather trilogy. I felt I was the only one who had never seen any of the films a while back. I got the trilogy back in September, but it wasn't until last night and today that I watched Parts II & III.

I know for me, it was the running time of each film that kept me from sitting down and watching them, since I prefer to watch a movie all the way through in one sitting. Part II is so brilliant that I had no trouble sitting through the first three or so hours. But I was so damn tired that I had to watch the last bit this morning. Part III is pretty disjointed, but I was still able to watch it with no real problem.

I don't know where you guys live, but here in Michigan, we've been slammed with snow since last night, so all my DVD watching is justified since driving anywhere is out of the question.

phr33k

sometimes i buy dvds i wont watch for months because they will look good on my shelf. Am i weird?

Dabaomb

this is true for me.

I've always been a collector. Used to be sports cards, comics, CDs, clothes, etc. Now it's DVDs. Been collecting for 2.5+ years now.

I buy a movie cuz I like it and have a desire to own and watch it. Sometimes (a lot of times) I don't.

I'm a bargain hunter and it's also the thrill of the hunt as well. I like searching for good deals. To me that's almost as big a part of the DVD hobby as watching the movies themselves. Is that wise? Probably not since DVDs for the most part aren't good investments. But hey, that's who I am and it's my money so I can spend it however I want.

fliggil

I've been buying DVDs for about 3 years now, and I like some, buy only movies that I will rewatch (I could probably estimate a combined 75 viewings between Bottle Rocket, Death to Smoochy, Best in Show, and The Birdcage). If it's not something that I'm in dire need for I'll usually hold it in my hands for about 5 minutes at a store and talk some sense into myself. I find I definately have saved hundreds by getting about 1/3 of my 175 DVD's used through eBay. Lately what I do is scour 'upcoming releases' lists, find movies I really want and know I'll watch and make my own list, I try to stick to it and not venture out of it, I've even pretty much given up on the 2 for $15 deals and such. I realized that by spending less on movies I 'like' as opposed to 'love' I have some extra cash to buy some Criterion's that, besides being great films, have been a help several times in writing papers for my film classes.

sracer

I said it before and I'll say it again... heck, I say it every time one of these threads gets started...

Having a decent percentage (upwards of 50%) of unwatched discs in a collection is a healthy thing!

When you feel like watching a movie, if you have some that are unwatched, then you have the opportunity to watch it. But if you've seen all of your discs at least once and are in the mood to watch something you haven't seen in a while, then you'll be forced to go out to a video place to rent. I have at least 33% of my collection that I haven't watched yet, and I like having the option of grabbing a disc off the shelf I haven't seen yet.

But then again I march to a different tune.... and don't wig out that I have unwatched discs.