Collectors & Compulsions

[AmigaRevolution]

Though I have a lovely A4000....... Which is brite and white!

Never let greed stand in the way of appreciation and friends..

If a hobby becomes a compulsion it is not a hobby but another form of gambling.

Let's all appreciate what we have, rather than hoarding. That's the problem with Apple Collectors, Toy Collectors and most collectors. They hoard with greed. We should hoard to spread the seed! The more people that join us. The More this hobby grows, the greater chances for new innovations, preservation exist. Keeping it all alive should be everyones focus.


Not directed towards anyone. All respect my friend..

A Hobby can consume someone. People hoard, I've been involved in so many.

It can be like gambling sometimes. An addiction so to speak. Besides my rant was frustration I didn't grab those first.. lol...

Would rather see someone who really needs them get them. I have an A4000 what would be the purpose? I'm no different than any collector here.
So I include myself, when I am not perfect. Sorry if you thought that was about you sir, it surely was not. < respect> Lou

 

[Zetr0]

Hiyas Lou,

I have pulled your query/statement/rant from a sales thread and placed it here.

Its an interesting topic and I am sure will be quite interesting for us members to disucss.

I ask that everyone approach this topic in a broad minded manner.


cheers

Z.

---------- Post added at 14:52 ---------- Previous post was at 14:47 ----------

So, what drives one's collection

In my case my collection is driven by the want to have the definitive's of a system or brand. however where I differ is that these systems must be played - so I am heavily into the retro, I bring as many systems as I can for people to play with and enjoy =)

have a look in the photo-booth for the retro-R3play in blackpool last year - it was pretty damn awesome!

So we are going to be doing it again this year - just bigger and better with lots of tables =)

 

[AmigaRevolution]

Thank you sir,

It's hard to find my way around. My appreciation for you keeping it organized. It gets hard to find things here. Possibly this could strike some interest.

Though I do not want to be a computer preacher at a CAA ( Computer Abuser Anonymous (group)!

The fact that people whom are new should really start this hobby slow. Rather than over spending for countless accellerators and cards they will never use. Collectors are in some cases addicted, like gamblers. It's never about what you need. Sometimes, how much one can hoard!

At 40 years of age, after collecting everything from vintage toys to arcade machines..

A quick thing I learned is to approach this hobby slowly. What I did was start with an Amiga 3000 ( one year) . After I learned the in's and outs. Though to all advice given not to purchase an A4000, I did! Thank God, it's quite a bit better. As far as people saying A3000 is the best built. Well that's just bunk.

It's a real challenge for some of the best minds, this hobby. Amiga was way ahead of it's time. " Slowly " but surely all whom are new need to realize
what compulsion, addiction and the mini gambling problem this hobby can cause someone or any hobby.

With that said, my hopes are people do not take offense to that post. Rather slow down learn from it. Just a base system as mine can give you hours and hours, years and years of joy! My goal is to build up, slow!

My hopes is that newer people to the hobby start , " Slow " as well.
With 25 years under my belt, I am finding some really brilliant people here.
Syntax is still a major issue. Like learning to speak a new language for me.
:help: << I offer both respect and help to all. In return hoping to receieve the same.

 

[Zetr0]

I find that if you are open and honest, people here respond to that in kind =)

my collection has taken over.... erm... 22 years =)

 

[AndyLandy]

It's a point I sympathise with, actually. I've filled my house with Amigas that I don't use or have any need for. In fact, I really think I should shift some of the surplus. I don't need four A500s and two A1200s. I don't use the A2000, since I've got an A3000 and two A4000s. I'll keep the A4000 tower for sure, and one wedge A1200, (and maybe the A3000 as well) but I really don't need the rest!

 

[chiark]

I know where you're all coming from here. Exactly where you're coming from!

The point is that no-one 'needs' an Amiga at all. If you have data you need to use on an Amiga, your most reliable mechanism of using it is WinUAE.

For me, this is escapism to a degree. The collection has been growing since my first Amiga, in 1987 so I'm nearly 25 years in, which is quite a thought... Naturally, it was a 500 and, naturally I sold it to move onto bigger things... The oldest Amiga that has stayed with me is my 3000, which I bought in 1993, although my wife's Amiga 500+ from 1991 is now in the 'collection'. Strange thing is that I sold that to her family when I was working part time in an Amiga retailer...

People get larger incomes, Amiga kit becomes cheaper, and the collection starts. I avoid the insanely priced stuff as I'm just not interested, but I enjoy tinkering with hardware now as I did back then.

All my Amigas have been used within the last week, except my 2000 which is languishing in a cupboard. All are set up with monitor, etc, except the 2000 and 600...

It is a compulsion: this is stuff we probably wanted when we were younger but couldn't justify/afford/whatever. It's nice to live out those little wants, however you're absolutely right that it needs to be recognised that it's a hobby, and on the scale of importance is really not important at all .

That doesn't stop me enjoying it though!

 

[Harrison]

So true, we all collect the stuff we couldn't afford back in the day. The stuff we could only dream about. It's as much about finally ticking a wish list after years than anything else.

Hobbies do indeed consume people and can get very addictive, to the point of taking over your life if not careful. You have to find a good balance between collecting and enjoying your hobby, and yet still taking time out to do other stuff.

I've been collecting vintage hardware and software for as long as I remember. And like chiark, I started when the systems were new and I've never sold any of them. Plus I collect RPGs for all systems. I'm also a big Star Wars collector and also been collecting that since it first came out in the late 70's with the first film. I mainly collect vintage 70's and 80's stuff, but also quite a lot of more recent releases.

However, like Andy, I do know I have too many Amigas. I don't really need multiple A500's and A500+ as I don't ever use any of them. So I'm considering selling some of those. And if I'm honest I only really use my main A1200 setup for WHDLoad games and not any of the other systems. The A4000 only gets booted for some ADF conversions, or to access an Amiga CD for someone. I think it got booted a dozen times at most last year. And I can't remember the last time I used the CD32, although I'm keeping that as I've a few games I still want to play.

I also know I have too much software. I'm probably never going to play most of the boxed PC games from the 90's because there are better versions released since. I've also got a huge Amiga boxed games collection, plus loads of ST, SNES, N64 etc games. Over 200 PSX games and over 140 Dreamcast games. It all takes up a lot of space. And for more recent systems over 100 original PS2 games, over 80 Xbox and over 40 gamecube. Not so many on current systems...

Don't don't get me started with my retro rom collecting. I've currently got 10TB of HDD space being used for that collection, plus a lot more on backups.

 

[Hell_Labs]

Spread the weath!

I have an atari, an amiga, a few consoles (all different). It's not noah's ark, you're not breeding them!

Having more than one of each is greedy, and it's hurting the market by artificially making stuff rare - thus harder to get, and higher priced. Look at the state of amiga stuff now, PPC boards touch four digits!

Maybe I understand having one of each model. But why more than one?

 

[Buzzfuzz]

So true, we all collect the stuff we couldn't afford back in the day. The stuff we could only dream about. It's as much about finally ticking a wish list after years than anything else.

Exactamundo
In the 80's and 90's I could only dream of an Amiga 2000/3000, 4000/1200.
And then not even to mention the Cyberstorm PPC and Blizzard 2060 I have.

For me it's also about having every model.
Also I have had many Amiga's that were not working and with some easy fixes came back to life again.

Having many Amiga's is also about having extra machines as I like to have them serviced by professionals for new caps, sockted chips and whatever needs to be done.
And then this can be done over a larger time frame, as I have enough machines.

Having more than one of each is greedy, and it's hurting the market by artificially making stuff rare - thus harder to get, and higher priced. Look at the state of amiga stuff now, PPC boards touch four digits!

You think that was anyway different back in the days when they came out ?
I can tell you, no, if you look at boxed Cyberstorms you will find out what they cost in German Marks or DM.
The figure was also 4 digits and for that time was about 3 months of salary for my dad, it would take me 2 or 3 years to save up for it, which is just not done when you are in college.

 

[DonAmiga]

Its been good reading though this thread and for the first time, I've started paying a bit more attention to the small print under members posts. Which in the past I have just glanced over but when you start adding up, there's a bigger picture. One has 48 systems, I had to double check that one Well addictions come easy, its just the back-up story to explain your self to your other half usually the bill :readit: But if you don't spend it on what you want then you'll just spend it on something else anyway. Suppose its just getting the right balance.

 

[Hell_Labs]

You think that was anyway different back in the days when they came out ?
I can tell you, no, if you look at boxed Cyberstorms you will find out what they cost in German Marks or DM.
The figure was also 4 digits and for that time was about 3 months of salary for my dad, it would take me 2 or 3 years to save up for it, which is just not done when you are in college.

Err actually the price when new has no bearing on the current worth (which is about a tenth of the going rate at most), unless the product is genuinely rare.

Amiga stuff generally isn't rare.

PPC cards aren't rare. CDTV-II is rare. A3000++ is rare.

Everyone sell all your hoard. Watch the cost of these items plummet back down to a reasonable rate.

 

[Buzzfuzz]

PPC cards aren't rare. CDTV-II is rare. A3000++ is rare.

Everyone sell all your hoard. Watch the cost of these items plummet back down to a reasonable rate.

No, PPC cards are not rare, but when compared to the amount of active Amiga users and some 5000 cards, it gets rare to find one.

CDTV II was a prototype, that's not rare because you won't find it, probably Dave has got it.

A3000++ ? You mean the 3500, I know where 1 is at, Amiga-Digital has one and I have seen it, 6 were made, he has one, and one has been destroyed, so 4 left.

Commodore 4000T, those are rare.

 

[r0jaws]

.....No, PPC cards are not rare....

That's true enough, Fitzsteve has 2 of the things!

 

[fitzsteve]

.....No, PPC cards are not rare....

That's true enough, Fitzsteve has 2 of the things!

:shhh: I was hoping to avoid being mentioned in this thread oh:

 

[salaxi54]

This is a very interesting thread, and i'm sure that oppinions are as many as there's users. Meaning, each one of us has a different point of view for this matter.
Generally speaking, i consider computers as just tools, or hobby items. But when we talk of Amiga, it becomes a bit different. I may have started with a rubber-Speccy back in 83, but my first "real" computer was the A1000 in 86. Ever since, it has (and still is) served me proudly!
This has made me feel i got a sort of a relation with the machine. I may have 1 piece -or maybe even half- of every other model i could collect, but the A1000, in my eyes, has a soul. I ended up having 3 of them till now, and wouldn't say no to more if i can! But there's a reason behind this; i don't consider my self greedy, a simple example will make you understand. The last (third) one i got from a local friend, who intended on modding the poor thing by gutting it, and sticking a pc inside the case! So, i preffered to save the miggie, and payed far more than i'd do if i was to follow an ad/auction. But it felt good! I wish i had enough money to start the "Save every A1000 in the world" movement. But of course that's impossible... Now, would you consider that greediness?

 

[Hell_Labs]

PPC cards aren't rare. CDTV-II is rare. A3000++ is rare.

Everyone sell all your hoard. Watch the cost of these items plummet back down to a reasonable rate.

No, PPC cards are not rare, but when compared to the amount of active Amiga users and some 5000 cards, it gets rare to find one.

CDTV II was a prototype, that's not rare because you won't find it, probably Dave has got it.

A3000++ ? You mean the 3500, I know where 1 is at, Amiga-Digital has one and I have seen it, 6 were made, he has one, and one has been destroyed, so 4 left.

Commodore 4000T, those are rare.

The amount of active amiga users probably is under 5000. So one each? sounds about right.

CDTV II is rare, because it's only a prototype. that's why it's rare. Because there aren't that many of them. (shall I go slower?)

No, I mean the A3000+ look it up.

 

[jvdbossc]

The amount of active amiga users probably is under 5000. So one each? sounds about right.

Something like that..

:run:

 

[User1301]

Nice topic.

I originally started buying retro computers to a) replace the ones I bloody sold thinking I would never look back (the fool that I am!) and b) to get my paws on the machines and equipment that neither I or my parents could afford at the time (thinking of my QL specifically here). I love getting to grips with machines I longed for back in the day.

Only one I don't have yet, that I still fancy is a Tosh MSX but it has to have the external FM music keyboard controller. Pure nostalgia - nothing more than that.

What I have found in doing this is that I've made lots of friends over the years and even attended a retro event (R3PLAY) which forced me completely out of my comfort zone and I met a lot of ace folks from here - which can only be good for me as a person

I guess it's also fun to be part of a virtual "club" which wasn't a side of retro collecting I was expecting

John

 

[NovaCoder]

Yeah this ticks me off as well, I think classic computers should be played and not hoarded to gather dust and leak battery acid. To think of all those great 1260 boards that are sitting around unused is really sad.
They could be put to good use by us few remaining *active* retro hobby nuts, not to mention this obviously pushes the price up of components because there are less of them in circulation.

I've never seen the point of having more than one Amiga/retro-box myself, ok maybe 2 tops :roll:

 

[AmiNeo]

Though I have a lovely A4000....... Which is brite and white!

Never let greed stand in the way of appreciation and friends..

If a hobby becomes a compulsion it is not a hobby but another form of gambling.

Let's all appreciate what we have, rather than hoarding. That's the problem with Apple Collectors, Toy Collectors and most collectors. They hoard with greed. We should hoard to spread the seed! The more people that join us. The More this hobby grows, the greater chances for new innovations, preservation exist. Keeping it all alive should be everyones focus.


Not directed towards anyone. All respect my friend..

A Hobby can consume someone. People hoard, I've been involved in so many.

It can be like gambling sometimes. An addiction so to speak. Besides my rant was frustration I didn't grab those first.. lol...

Would rather see someone who really needs them get them. I have an A4000 what would be the purpose? I'm no different than any collector here.
So I include myself, when I am not perfect. Sorry if you thought that was about you sir, it surely was not. < respect> Lou

...And in those bold words coloured in red, lies the true spirit of that which is AMIBAY.