I have to move from my town house in 6 months and my mom is starting to show off the house to potential buyers.

She tells me I have to pack up all my DVDs. Keep in mind, they are very nicely organized, some in racks, some in a wood bookcase. They are in the basement and only take up a small wall of space.

This is really upsetting me as my collection is my one hobby that I look forward to seeing and viewing on a daily basis and especially on weekends. the accessibility to get and watch a DVD is what I enjoy the most.

So is there a reason for my mom to think like this?

Personally I'd pack them up so people don't "liberate" some of them

Selling a house is a very tricky thing. You need to appeal to people's senses.

Some people will like the way it looks, others wont.

The people who like the way it looks wont walk into a house without a DVD collection displayed and think "where is the dvd collection?" or something like that.

If you turn off one potential buyer it isn't worth displaying.

We've moved three or four times in the past few years and I have always hidden the majority of our collection so none of my titles grow legs and walk off. We had a similar problem where a box of PS2 and SegaCD/Saturn games disappeared.

*Helpful hint: don't label your boxes of videogames as "videogames".

Label is at urine of the world collection.

It's always smart to avoid clutter, minimize crap and personal belongings on shelves (goes also for tons and tons of books, or cd's, whathaveyou).. it has the effect of making the house appear larger... which is what you want to portray to the prospective buyer... people need to be able to visualize the space with their own crap, not yours... so don't take it personally... pack up your shit, sell the house, and move on.

Clutter is clutter. You still own them, pack them away and get ready to move.

Yep. Pack those babies up.

If you're moving anyways, pack them up and get them out of the way.

Just wanted to say pack them up.

It's unanimous...pack them up!

The point is, I am not moving till October. Who could be without their prizes for that long?

Who the hell is not going to buy a house because they're into DVDs and don't see the previous owner/occupant's DVD collection?

I say, pack 'em up and start renting. Or maybe you can keep a small number around for your use, and rotate them if you're able.

It would help to know exactly how many DVDs we're talking about here. 100 or 1,000? A massive "collection" is not going to help someone who's viewing a house, whether they're into DVDs or not. They need to see the house for the house, and to help them get an idea and picture what they would do with it.

This is the correct answer.

I agree 100%. Sure, it might be inconvenient but it's really the best solution. An idea I had would be to buy one of those 208-dvd wallets, fill it up with what you think you'll be watching and pack up the empty cases and get them out of sight.

Again, I couldn't agree more. I'm not necessarily in the market for an apartment but I recently looked at one that a co-worker had for available for rental. The apartment was such a cluttered disaster that I immediately lost interest. Bottom line, what appeals to you might not appeal to someone else.

...not to mention, some people get turned off by the slightest thing... what if they are super religious, and find various R-rated movies as "too suggestive". Sounds silly, but it could happen. It's just not worth the risk.

If there's one thing I've learned from watching that A&E Sell This House show, it's "declutter and depersonalize." When a buyer is looking at your house, they want to imagine themselves and their stuff there, they don't want to be distracted by what kind of movies or games you play. Just like you should be taking down family pictures, you should also be removing DVDs, plain and simple.

Having dabled in real estate, it's amazing the reasons people won't like a home. I would go ahead and remove them if for no other reason than to make the room look more spacious.

As someone who is currently selling my home and viewing others..
I can say I would not be put off buy a large DVD collection, and other's who have had a viewing here have actually said how nice my collection looks.

If theres stacks of DVDs all over the place that's one thing.
If they are kept on shelves neatly.. I dont see a problem.

I don't know if anyone's suggested this yet or not, but I think you should probably pack them up.

Yes. Research has proved that the mere sight of one DVD can lower property values by as much as 35%. The only way to be certain is to burn them.

Well, I suppose the question is this: Is the townhouse yours? Or your moms?

If it's your mom's then definitely put them away. She's the one that has to deal with selling the house and if she wants them put away because she thinks it'll look more appealing to buyers then it sucks but you probably should.

Personally when my wife and i go to sell our townhouse i'd be packing my collection up. Just wouldn't want an open house with random people walking through and looking around. "Oh look! A 360, PS3, and 1,000 DVDs!"

DVD + strangers + portability = missing DVDs

Get them out of there!

ShaunoftheDead, don't listen to any of these nay sayers. If you are a true DVD collector you need to be proud of it. This is a form of media bigotry. Would people ask a Christian to hide their cross?

I say truly fight the power. Whenever you get wind that a potential buyer is in rout to the house, make sure you're naked, in the basement, eating a big bag of cheetos, and watching scat porn.

Pack those babies up.