I have a few friends that have begun to start buying more DVDs, say within the last six months, but are not really fanatic about it as I've seemed to become. I've infected them with the disease. However, their collections are far behind where I'm standing. Although, mine pales in comparison with others from this site. Not that I could care less either way about it. My point is, and one thing I've noticed since my constant DVDTalk perusals, is that my collection has definately taken off .. and I'm attempting to psychoanalyze the prospect. Could this be a competitive mentality logic chain or possibly it may just be due to the fact that reading and writing about it so much keeps the mind on DVDs? Therefore, the need increases? Or perhaps, could it be due to the array of opinions and topics on films that I would have otherwise not heard of or taken interest in if it weren't for the likes of YOU PEOPLE!!!!?

Really though .. am I losing it or has this idea come across others minds as well?

At least it's a healthy disease .. if that ain't an oxymoron.

I believe my real collection will be HD-DVD, when they arrive.

DVD Talk definitely feeds my addiction. I first came here a few years ago just to trade some unwanted DVDs, and I haven't left since. If not for DVD Talk, I wouldn't know about movies like The Third Man, Boondock Saints, and The Tenant. The DVD Bargains forum hasn't helped the addiction much either with posts of misprices and great deals on movies that I wouldn't have bought otherwise.

DVDTalk is the devil.

What Ginwen said. Advertisers should bend over backward to this place.

I bought my first DVD Player in '99, when I found DVDtalk I had 50 DVD's in my collection. Two years later I'm up to around 450 DVD's

I don't regret it for one second. Without DVDtalk I wouldn't have heard about some great movies like The Third Man, Amélie or Kingdom I and II. Plus I'd still be buying Pan & Scam.

DVDTalk has brought movies to my attention that I probably would not have heard of. Also I'll find out if a movie is going OOP and, if it's a movie I want, I'll get my rear in gear.

A good percentage of movies in my collection would've been there without DVDTalk but there's that other growing percentage that I can thank the contributors of this forum for.

Werd. I would have missed out on quite a few R2 DVDs if it weren't for this site.

I know my collection has grown a lot because of DVDTalk for a couple of reasons. First, the bargain board; there are a LOT of DVDs I'll pay $7-10 for that I would never consider for $20-$25. That alone has been responsible for a large number of DVDs in my collection.

The DVDTalk main board has alerted me to DVDs that I didn't know were coming out and reccomended titles that I've bought and loved.

The main reason I'm a DVD addict is because I have the collector mentality. I just like to collect stuff. I have a couple of freinds that like movies just as much as I do, but are not afflicted with this condition, and thier collections are much smaller. One buys almost no DVDs, just rents. The other buys a goodly amount of DVDs, watches them a couple of times, and then sells them on e-bay. I have sold and traded several DVDs, but my criteria for getting rid of something is much different than my friends. Here's the test I use: I imagine that someone is over at my house and says "Hey, let's watch this." If I can see myself saying "No, I'd rather not." then I run it past my wife. If it clears her, then it goes in the trade pile. (And she sometimes wants movies that I don't....that's why I stillhave a copy of "Magnolia.")

-Videophile

Which comes first? The chicken? Or the egg? People don't come to DVDTalk unless they are already smitten by the DVD collection bug... Once here, they may be driven deeper into their addiction, or, they may actually learn moderation (rarely, but possible).

Moderation would come from seeing some "thoughtful" discussions about movies and the quality of the transfer or extras.

But, I would assume most of us come here because we are shunned in polite company....

because of dvdtalk and it's members, I have a few titles I maybe would not have otherwise. I would always have alot of dvds...just as many if I were not a member. but films/dvds like Rififi, A Touch Of Zen and Dead Of Night/Queen Of Spades may not have been added....at least so soon to my library. but yes...it does help fuel the fire.

I don't think it feeds my addiction, since my collecting has been out-of-control since the VHS/LD days. It was fairly easy for my to pick up the DVD habit long before I found this site.

However I think this site deffinatly aids my collection. I'm aware of what's out there (or what's coming). It makes my decision making process a lot quicker.

This place definitely feeds my addiction. I've blindly bought countless DVDs just based on what I've read here at DVDtalk. I've bought movies I've never heard of, and never would have heard of if I hadn't read about them here.

I don't see my collecting as some sort of competition at all. I buy these things for myself and my own satisfaction. It's just that I wouldn't buy as many DVDs if I didn't read/write/think about them all day long.

Yes, DVD talk is the devil

A lot of good points were made about how dvdtalk influences more buying and I won't repeat them, but I will add add this: This place is populated with many (most?) of the DVD obsessed people on the planet. I don't know how many DVDs one must own to be in the 99th percentile of DVD owners, but I think a lot of that highest 1% are regulars here. By spending lots of time talking to the most DVD obsessed people in the world, it only adds fuel to the fire by renorming one's perception of average, turning one's perception of average from a guy who buys a DVD or two every month or so into someone who breathes, drinks, eats, and sleeps DVDs, buying several DVDs (or more) every week, with occasional splurges of 10 or more in one online outing. So one is famous and held in high regard with family, friends, and neighbors for their DVD obsession but here on DVDtalk doesn't even own half as many as the average poster does so the frenzy continues. And then you find yourself planning your day around buying Spy Kids 3-D the day it comes out and you realize you've hit rock bottom, and you're forced to take stock of your life, and whether or not this is a good way to spend the best years of your life, which to put in more vivid terms is rougly the equivalent for more people oriented people of waking up in a field, covered in manure, blood, and urine, and remembering something about drinking grain alcohol straight from the bottle and finding polaroids in his breast pocket of him "loving" a cow while wearing a 4' diameter sombrero and shame turns to horror as a digital video tape wrapper blows past his foot and the horror of his friends and family googling his name only to find an mpeg of him loving a cow. And two months later, just when he doesn't think it can get any worse, someone at Criterion finds it and releases it as #17A, "Some Anonym Loving Olga (the cow)," and he embarassingly come forward that the footage is real and was taken without his sober consent and he'll sue if they don't pull it so Criterion stops producing it, making it Criterion OOP #15, and before long it's going on ebay for $250 sealed, and then there's word that somebody in Hong Kong is bootlegging it, and then these forums are saturated with threads asking "Some Anonym Loving Olga on ebay for $8 sealed... good deal?" much to the ire of many a fan. Then, one day, in a rather convenient twist as far as this tale is concerned, he googles "Some Anonym Loving Olga (the cow)" to see how bad it is and there's 13,204 results, and by chance a link to DVDtalk is the top result, so he clicks on it and after a few hours of reading some of the threads he figures he can't go wrong selling his labor to McDonald's at 5.15 an hour (who else would hire a famous cow lover immortalized in Criterion #17A?) to buy DVDs at 7.79 through CH or 35.96 for Criterions, which would be a good start to putting his life back together and within 2 weeks flat the once cow-love shamed epitome of human excellence is the proud owner of 124 DVDs and is well on his way to becoming one of us.

Too funny.

Great responses all.. and very true in all respects

MOM!! I told you not to tell that story anymore!!

And get out of my command center!

I know it's the basement, just call it the command center, ok??

Oh, and Mom?? Can I borrow 10 dollars? I just found Scarface with DTS on eBay.

You get my vote for DVD Talk Post of the Year

Cloudnin, you simply rock!!!

Ok, nobody's betting cloudnin's post, that's just too funny

I think dvdtalk is a catch-22: you wouldn't be here if you weren't already bitten by the collector's bug and once you're here the addiction just grows. So basically, we'd all be addicts with or without this board but now we all have a place to let our freak flags fly.

On the good side, I hear about a lot of bargins which allows me to pick up more dvd's than I could otherwise. On the bad side, I'm still broke. The only thing that has saved me from joining a 12 step program is the fact that I don't do blind buys. I love the opinions of people on this board but blind buys would be the death of me.

You bet it does. I had about 13 DVDs before I became a member in January and since then I now have some 275. My collection is pretty much complete except for a few hereand theres that I am in no hurry to get. The only thing I buy any more is new arrivals. It's great.

My collection has grown from a dozen or so DVDs to over 400 since I've joined DVDTalk. I think there are several contributing factors to this increase:

1) People share their bargain purchases so consequently people can justify buying more because they buy them at cheaper price

2) Group mentality. People here have passion for DVDs so are passionate in their persuading others to join their hobby.

cloudnin, on the money...

I probably would not own half the DVDs I currently own without DVDTalk and sites like it.

I think it goes both ways. Yes, it fuels the fire. And yes, I've gotten great input on "blind buys" that I may or may not have picked up otherwise but did with a wealth of information gained here.

But it also works the other way too: There are DVDs I would have likely picked up had I not learned of their sucky picture quality/bad sound/upcoming ultra SE, so that helps in that regard. I also like knowing which place in town has it the cheapest without leaving my desk.

Overall, it may "feed the buying attitude" a little, but you can't blame McDonalds because you're fat. I mean, that'd be RIDICULOUS...Oh wait...

There are some days that I have to physically force myself not to come here. My wallet just about jumps out of my pocket and runs away when I click on this site!