Hazel Motes

I'm speaking of course to those who consider themselves "collectors."

I don't think I could, its not the biggest part of my life, but its definitely a part of my life. I would have trouble not buying a movie I really love, or a great new special edition with a new transfer and extras of a movie I already own on dvd.

Its a part of my daily life, coming to this board and blu-ray.com, searching deals, searching new releases from smaller collector labels. Doing the annual Barnes & Noble Criterion sale, trying to find the best deal possible.

It would take a real concerted effort to stop this cycle of collecting. Its a lot of fun. And probably the only thing in my life that would be classified truly as a "hobby".

DVD's/Blu Rays/wrestling vhs and to a lesser extent records and books.

The reason I pose this question is because in my lifetime at some point I'm probably going to have to make the decision to stop collecting for a number of reasons. I'm not looking forward to it.

Alan Smithee

If I HAD to, but then I'd be watching what I had a lot more!

JeffTheAlpaca

If they stopped making all physical media yes

I think I have several plastic crates full of dvds and the one big one I got in 2015 is almost filled now

Jaymole

No I could not. It is my one addiction in life (besides the hookers, gambling & heroin).

And that reminds me, I would love to see the film Cold Turkey on Blu-ray. One of the funniest films ever.

E Unit

If they stopped selling it, then yes. But since physical media will more than likely never go away, then I'll probably keep collecting on some level.

Spiderbite

Same here.

I go through stages where I buy less and then suddenly start buying more. Usually a new speaker, projector, player, etc. triggers it. It also depends on what is being released and the quality.

My buying jumped up recently with acquiring not only a Region Free player but also a 3D projector.

Shagrath

I could probably stop collecting blu-rays if I wanted. I've slowed down my buying quite a bit, but still am in deep with my Criterion obsession with 380 blu-rays and 400+ on dvd).

However, I couldn't stop collecting something entirely. It's part of my personality, and I've always collected things since I was a kid. From comics to baseball cards to music cds to laserdiscs to dvds to blu-rays, there's always been something. If blu-rays drop off, I'd just end up moving on to something else.

reverie

I agree with those who say if physical media went away, I'd be done. Also, I kind of did quit once for a time (I guess it's not quitting if you come back).. haha. When your health is on the line, collecting stuff isn't really top of mind!

Cardsfan111

I believe that I could. I'm also hopeful that will never be put to the test.

MScottM

If I were to die, I think that I could then stop collecting, cold turkey. Barring that event, its not likely.

bunkaroo

Only if I stopped seeing new movies. There will always be new movies each year I want to own. And there are also a handful of DVD's which haven't made it to Blu-ray yet. But my spending on movies is way down from a few years ago.

clckworang

If I had to do it, I know I could. There have been a few times that I have been looking for a job and money was scarce. The movie collection was the first thing to be dropped.

Come to think of it, there was a time before Blu-ray that my DVD collecting had pretty much come to a stop. Blu-ray sort of brought me back into it.

milo bloom

I didn't do cold turkey, but in the past couple of years I've reached a level where my wishlist is no longer as extensive as it was. It's also more refined, which means when I go into a used DVD store, the odds of me finding a title I'm looking for are way down. More often than not, I'm walking out of the shops empty handed these days. I used to force myself to buy something so it wasn't a wasted trip, but I've come to enjoy just browsing so I no longer feel bad about not getting something.

jjcool

That sums up my take on collecting movies on disc very well. I ahve cut my buying way down from the days of dvd. If I buy 2 blue ray titles a month now that is a lot. Back in the days of DVD, there were a lot more titles that were a lot cheaper than the titles nowadays.
I have stopped actively collecting other items in the past. But I am always in the process of collecting something, it seems.

Mike86

If I wanted to I could for sure but I enjoy collecting. I like going to the stores to look at the new releases every week and to see if there's any interesting titles or deals to be had. Also just like owning movies and having them displayed on my shelves and stuff.

davidh777

Probably not. I like to watch things when I want rather than relying on streaming, and I have made some digital purchases.

I've dialed back on my collecting a lot, but have gotten somewhat sucked back in by superlow prices on recent releases, cheap four-packs, and boutique labels.

fumanstan

Anyone else not believe this?

As for me, I've slowed down buying physical media considerably so at this point I could quit pretty easily.

BobO'Link

No.

I'm a collector at heart and come from a long line of collectors - it's genetic.

I currently collect movies, music, comics, books, and a small group of specific toys. Other than comics, which are a weekly, and currently shrinking, habit, I may go for weeks without making a purchase and then stumble upon a sale and pick up dozens of items in a day. I'm always on the lookout for that "rare" or "hard-to-find" title my collection "needs." Every time I get my various wishlists down to "manageable" lengths and think I'm about "done" with one of those areas someone will introduce a "new" film, artist, and/or author and the lists grow again.

orangerunner

No, I wouldn't stop. If I did, it would require an intensive 12-Step program.

Just kidding.

Even if they quit producing physical media there will always be a vibrant used market which is much more interesting, as a collector, than buying new from a store.

It is also a relatively inexpensive hobby (unless you are a gotta-have-it-on-day-1 collector) as you can pick up DVDs for as little as $.50 a piece.

milo bloom

The more I think about it, the more I say "no".

I'm a lifelong collector like some of the others here. Trading cards, comic books, video games, Magic: The Gathering, DVDs, toys, books, laserdiscs, vinyl.

As I got older, I realized most of the things weren't giving me satisfaction. As a kid I collected baseball cards because I found the hobby interesting but I found the actual game of baseball to be one of the most torturous events ever created (second only in excruciating boredom to American football). But I collected them because it was a neat hobby.

In the past years I've cut down my hobbies, I got rid of my vinyl and laserdisc collection because they were so bulky and just not worth the trouble. I got rid of most of my comic books (re-bought some in nicer looking TPBs). I've cut down my book collection since my wife and I both own Kindles.

My two main collecting venues now are DVD/Blurays and Magic: The Gathering, and I've been buying less and less of each. DVDs (as noted earlier) because I'm reaching a point where I've got most of what I want and Magic because I don't get as many opportunities to play anymore. I buy a few of each new set and add them to the collection.

But I don't think I could give up either. My wife pushes me to go digital for TV/Movies, and we have for a lot of things, but some things just need to be collected. I have almost every MST3K title released on DVD (I just need the two latest sets). I have almost every Classic Doctor Who DVD, plus most of the Godzilla and Gamera titles.

I'm a collector, I couldn't totally quit, it's just not my nature.

Trevor

Collecting movies/TV media? Easy! But I'd just substitute it with more focus on my other collecting hobbies.

Whiskey Warfield

I just did. I ran out of room so I started selling a few of my rarer ones on Ebay and they went for a lot. So I sold my not-so-rare. Then my commons. And they kept buying them. THEY KEPT BUYING THEM. Then I figured I could burn Netflix DVDs and the next thing I know I've sold all 500+ and I've got over 2 grand in the bank.

Spiderbite

How much did you spend to get the 2 grand?

dom56

No I won't stop buying it if it came out.

JeffTheAlpaca

Maybe if the ones I order online always arrive in bad condition or have a bad streak of blu-rays in messed up condition it would be easier to stop.