I agree with this. I'd rather give them to my brother than list something like Heartbreakers on ebay.

if I was buying all these dvds...and not paying bills...then thats a problem.

I currently have about 700 DVDs. a year ago I also had 500 CDs that I had been collecting over the last 20 yrs. A format came along that allowed me to get rid of those CDs. I ripped everything at 320bit and made a backup copy to another hard drive. This is a far more convenient format for me and I can access any of over 3000 songs that I want to listen to instantly over my home network and TiVo. I guess I have a tin ear because I cannot tell the difference between a CD and a high bitrate MP3.

When storage considerations come along that allow me to rip DVDs into a hard drive library, I will probably do that as well. It is coming eventually. It will be more convenient than getting up and going to ever expanding bookshelves that take up too much real estate. There is already a movie server available that uses hard drives. It won't be long before this is somewhat affordable and I can move all those DVDs to the garage.

Could you expand upon this please. I live about 20 miles away from a Wherehouse Music and am interested in this program. Im wondering if its strictly your store/region or a national thing.

Thanks.

No, Holly, it is not about my completing a certain part of my collection. I collect DVD's. Within DVD's, there are sub-categories which I collect. I also collect certain directors. This is all part of one collection.

I am always wary of people who fall back on dictionaries to bolster an argument. In the real world, collectors are obsessive to varying degrees. That is what makes them want to collect. The desire to possess objects is important to the definition. You clearly have no desire to possess if you can easily get rid of two hundred DVD's.

Collector's do not buy items for utilitarian purposes. They buy them to have them because they hold interest to the collector. If one collects Alfred Hitchcock films, one will buy all of his films eventually, even the lesser ones, because of the desire to possess.

Most people are not collectors. Most DVD purchasers, even those with huge amounts of DVD's are not necessarily collectors. Some are just people with a great deal of money. Some are just people who like movies. Some are just indulging in an activity which allows them greater social intercourse.

A collector buys only for himself and his personal enjoyment and interests. Try this analogy. A person who saves change and bundles the coins in rolls and stores them by the thousands is not a coin collector. This person eventually turns the coins in for paper currency at a bank. You are like the person who saves change. I am like a numismatist.

EPKJ is my new hero, especially after reading this depressing (by DVDTalk standards) thread.

I only buy when I know I'll watch the dvd multiple times, so my collection is small and I really don't have the desire to sell any, except maybe one or two

I'd say I am that way for many directors. I am so into what they have done and who they are...that I desire to have a complete film library of all or at least most of their work. if a few films suck....I still dont think I'm wasting $ or shelf-space. if I'm going to be a student of a director or genre, then I want everything to study...not just what they did right. again though, this is the case when it comes to what I really love. Argento, Mario Bava, Fulci and Jess Franco all have their share of slop....but I still love it all!!!! I'm now working on Franco and nunsploitation films. this will take all year but what a reward I'll have when completed.

so when you mentioned G. Anderson...I understand completley. actually...I really want that Space 1999 complete set. you bastard!!

I disagree and am wary of people who create their own definitions to bolster an argument. It is not necessary for a collector to be obsessive. Obviously there are people like that who will buy something just for the sake of their collection, but it's not a required quality of a collector. I collect Hitchcock films, but I don't have a desire to own them all. Does this mean that I'm not a collector? Like you said, collector's buy items that hold interest to them. If I have no interest in the movie Marnie, then should I still buy it just to go along with my other Hitchcock dvds? What you're describing is obsessive collecting, rather than just collecting in general. One doesn't have to collect things obsessively to be considered a collector.

if I may....

well thats up to you as an individual collector. I wouldnt say you are not a collector, just because you would not own Marnie. you still collect...your just not obsessive about Hitch. obsessive is just another word for passionate, and people experience different levels of this.

I agree with you. There are different levels collecting, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with collecting every title from a certain director or series even if you don't particularly enjoy one of the titles. I was just saying a person doesn't have to take it to that level to be considered a collector. But even if I'm not considered a collector by some standards then that's alright with me, too. I'm content with being labeled as a guy with movies.

thats what people think of me...the people that know me, anyway. just a dude with a bunch of dvds.

I've reduced my collection so far.

It wasn't hard to build up a huge collection for little money in 97 when all those crazy discounts and coupons were coming out all the time. Places like Reel.com built my collection. Then last year I was looking over my collection and wondering why I owned the Major League movies or all those shitty Adam Sandler movies and blockbuster action flicks that were barely tolerable in the theater. I got rid of them.

At one time I was convinced that a large library of movies was a positive thing and I think that was true at one time. Now that the DVD has become another link in the profit chain instead of something to be treated as a unique piece of art, it's much more difficult to discern the worthy from the useless fluff.

I'm now nearly militantly against Hollywood fluff in relation to DVD. We are now just another marketable target for Hollywood greeheads.

Bill Hicks said it best: "If you're in Marketing or Advertising, kill yourself. I'm not kidding. This is not a joke."

I noticed I buy less and less now. The deals just are not there like the late 90s. I recently looked around my apartment and realized I needed to get organized and rid myself of some stuff.

I admit I collect sometimes just to collect. Have a bad habit of doing this because of deals. I am a deal shopper and if it is a good deal I may buy it even if my desire to see it is a little low.

I have around 500 dvds if you count sets a one. I plan to take a few out. I could never lose 200 like some others, but I know there are probably a few titles I could live without, I just have a hard time making the distinction between, it may be anoter year or so or never going to watch again.

I really need to hit the games hard as well. There are tons I am never going to play again. I seldom get to play and need to sell off all the old clutter that no longer interest me.

As for Laserdisc, and DVD being replaced, I bought a Laserdisc player yesterday with a substanial collection (40+ including Star Wars trilogy). They are better than VHS and there are movies on Laserdisc I would like and can pick up very cheap. Many of these moves have yet to make it to DVD, so why on earth would they make it to the next format? Even when a new format comes out I will not abandon my DVDs, they are high quality and I just don't see a way there could be a big enough change that I would need to replace all of them. I will probably buy new versions of favorites like T2 and Matrix, but my DVD copy of Maximum Overdrive should be fine.

I gotta agree with Holly here. She may not be collecting every DVD that's ever been released, but she is collecting DVDs that she wants. I think I realized what my collection means to me when I was playing with the function of DVDAficionado where you can click on the director's name and it brings up all the DVDs they've directed. Say I'm looking at The Day the Earth Stood Still and I click on Robert Wise. I get The Andromeda Strain, Star Trek The Motion Picture, stuff like that, I'd think I could do a Robert Wise collection. Then I see The Sound of Music and West Side Story, both which make me want to hide in the linen closet and cry. So I don't get all of Mr. Wise's movies, but I certainly give ones with his name a little more consideration.

It's my same approach to the Criterion Collection. I have a few of them, but certainly not for the spine number.

And by the same token, I also collect Magic the Gathering cards. I know, like Holly, there are many of the older rare cards that I'll probably never be able to acquire. That's fine, I just collect what I can, and I still call it my collection, and I call myself a collector.

I just had the weirdest memory from years ago. On an episode of Andy Griffith or something, there was a scene where Gomer showed Opie his comic book collection. It looked like maybe 15-20 comics max, my pathetic handful of Spider-man and GIJoe comics at the time certainly blew it away. But Opie was impressed, and I'm sure the first time viewers were impressed too, because comics were not always about collecting. You got it read, passed it around to friends, that was it. But Gomer's 20 comics were something he had made a concious effort to assemble, and he was proud of them, and looking back, I am proud of him too. We are both collectors.

A few months ago, I wouldn't have thought that I would reduce my collection as every DVD that I bought was one that I was certain to watch again, some more than others, but all had some level of replay value.

I've always sold to upgrade certain DVDs, but I became overwhelmed by the sheer number of DVDs that I owned. It became difficult to choose and I really had to think, why did I have so many? I didn't rent, which was the primary reason for having a larger collection to choose from.

Well...I rent now, have gotten rid of the once high replay value DVDs (now considered marginal for whatever reason) and I feel that my collection is a bit more manageable, more selective and contains what I really want to keep (mostly).

I have been able to resist impulse purchases now that I'm a bit more selective and very aware that the marginal titles now will only frustrate me later (I call it cluttering my collection).

I won't mention how many I have now, but I've sold off close to 250 DVDs. I feel much better now. I only collect those that I really want (now, these may be marginal at a later date). Who knows.....

ha ha ha.......this has to be one of the posts of the year!! O, man I love your passion.....

by the way....I am curious what the "reward" would be ....

probably more twisted sex with my wife?

As some have alluded, some people confuse the term "completionist" with the term "collector". They are not the same thing. I'd say a completionist is a subset of collectors, though.

A collector, I'd say, is someone who takes an active interest in the items he is collecting and makes an active effort to keep this collection suitable to their tastes. They do not have to have 100, 200, or 300+ movies.

The difference between a collector and just a movie watcher with DVDs is that a movie watcher doesn't take constant note of how their DVD collection is going, doesn't take any particular steps to do anything with it. They just happen to like a movie and pick it up.

The kind of person that actually makes an active effort to remove those films that they feel are not as suited to their collection is exactly what a collector is: someone who is taking an active interest in how their collection is going. This person is doing something to, in their eyes, raise the net quality of their collection.

This particular person is more interested in a smaller, more elite collection than a larger, more complete collection.

I raised the quality of MY library from day one...no need to wait. no need to buy a bunch of garbage that you know, deep down inside, you wont care for later. I make the active, proper decision when I choose the dvd. my collection is large and in my eyes, and pound for pound...very elite. you can have 1,400 titles and have complete control. it's really not needing a tune-up like a car. maintain as you go...avoid wasting time and $.

my man, my man

Gut-
You are officially my favorite DVDtalk fella !!!!!

...and 3 cheering bananaheads? I'm so special!

"I disagree and am wary of people who create their own definitions to bolster an argument. It is not necessary for a collector to be obsessive. Obviously there are people like that who will buy something just for the sake of their collection, but it's not a required quality of a collector. I collect Hitchcock films, but I don't have a desire to own them all. Does this mean that I'm not a collector? Like you said, collector's buy items that hold interest to them. If I have no interest in the movie Marnie, then should I still buy it just to go along with my other Hitchcock dvds? What you're describing is obsessive collecting, rather than just collecting in general. One doesn't have to collect things obsessively to be considered a collector."

First, all collectors are to some degree obsessive. Otherwise they would not be collectors. You are not a collector of Hitchcock as you don't care to own all his films. You may be a collector in another context. Second, while dictionary definitions are useful, they are hardly definitive. Just look up the definitions of regardless and irregardless to see just how stupid the people who write dictionaries can be. I prefer to rely on the real world use of a word. Aquisition is not the same as collection. If one does not buy solely for the sake of one's collection, one cannot be a collector.

"As some have alluded, some people confuse the term "completionist" with the term "collector". They are not the same thing. I'd say a completionist is a subset of collectors, though."

No, no one confuses these terms. No one has ever heard completionist before you posted it. How long did it take you to dig up such an obscure term?

It's really as straightforward as I described it. You take any three used DVD movies with you to WM, go up to the cash register and tell them you have three used movies to trade in on their 3 used for 1 new deal, give them the DVDs and go get your new DVD priced at $27.99 or less and take it to the same clerk. She will then pull out a sheet which tells her how to do this transaction (it is a little complex) and she will enter your used titles so that the price for each adds up to the price of the DVD you selected with tax (which is nice).

I am not sure whether this deal is national or not. The fact that they have a typed up and laminated sheet which walks them through this 3 for 1 transaction makes me think it could go beyond Birmingham. Just ask them the next time you're there or call and ask to speak to the manager and ask them if they have this program. I've benefitted greatly from it. Trading in used copies of Bound, American Pie and Scary Movie (which I all bought used in the first place) for a Criterion Collection Seven Samurai is a pretty sweet deal. They would have given me about $15 for those titles on a straight trade (if I was lucky).