Owners of 1000+ DVD's & Videos: Is This Normal? Movie Addiction

[Ash]

Being a regular on here for 3 years now, I've noticed that a few people tend to have DVD & VHS collections of over 1000 titles.
The facts & figures on a collection that large are mind boggling and I question whether it is "normal" or not.
Owning that many films isn't the same as owning that many baseball cards or anything similar.  
I personally know ALOT of people and I do not know ANYONE who owns over 1000 movie titles or even close to that.  
If I were to take an opinion poll of everyone that I know or even across the entire U.S. for that matter, I would bet that most of them would consider owning such an excessive amount of titles or even considering spending the exorbitant amount of money on all of them abnormal & very obsessive.

Do the math....consider that the average DVD costs at least $20 U.S. or more with some as low as $4.99.(which are rare)  
If a person has over 1000 titles (give or take a few hundred) with most costing the average $20...that adds up to nearly $20,000 or more!!!
Now to me, a person spending that kind of cash on DVD's is obsessive & compulsive.
In my opinion, unless you're filthy rich, which I doubt most of us are, it is NOT normal.
Consider the space that 1000+ DVD's would take up!  One would almost have to have an entire room totally devoted to their films which I'd bet they probably do.  In my opinion, having such space totally allocated for DVD's is just a tad abnormal.

Now for a person like Andrew who runs this site, having that many films is somewhat to be expected...since it is his site, he is expected to be an expert on movies & therefore such a large collection is usually not questioned because he has a reason for owning that many movies....this website.

But for others who do not own such a site as this...

I hesitate to use your name & single you out Burgomaster (this is not a personal attack on you) but after reading your previous post about TV DVD's, I was prompted to speak up and wonder whether or not owning that many DVD's is normal or not.  I've read countless posts of yours about buying DVD's from this website or that store and, even though I'm no psychologist and do not presume to be even an amateur one, I feel you do have an obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to buying movies.  It doesn't take a genius to notice it.  From reading what you've typed, I venture to guess that you simply cannot stop yourself and must buy buy buy...buying DVD's is a drug for you.  
You said , "I can't keep up with this, and I suspect that it's only going to get worse. And the thing that really bugs me is that I probably wouldn't spend much time watching these shows on television, but I don't even think twice about buying them.
Please, PLEASE stop me before I shell out my hard-earned money on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND . . ."

You come across as a serious addict and no matter what the cost, you must have your fix.
While most of us are self proclaimed movie addicts, I feel your addiction goes much deeper.  
The definition of addiction is: "Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance"...."The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something."

See what I'm getting at?

Some here may counter my words & say, "Who cares how many movies a person owns?!  I'd love to own that many films!  Just leave him be!"  
But I don't look at it that way....I read what some type here and see it as a serious obsession to them.  
Hey, I'd love to own all the movies in the world but thinking about it and actually attempting it are two seperate things.  

The movie world has many facets to it, most of which are positive.  
There is a negative side to it as well and what I'm writing about now is one of them.
I'm simply exploring the negative aspect of it.  

I'm only going by what I've read here on this board and making an observation.  
Burgomaster, you were extremely supportive in the days after my brother was killed and I thank you again for that but your recent posts have caused me to take notice of your "movie buying obsession" and why someone would want to spend the $$$ & buy so many DVD's.  

Many of you will look at this post of mine as negative bulls**t and if you do, I understand.  
You must also admit to yourself that it is however, a very valid, intelligent & open ended question that does deserve looking into.  

This can't have gone unnoticed by others here.  

I have the courage to ask difficult things like this that no one else would....you regulars here know me and know that I'm not afraid to push the envelope when something's on my mind.  I expect that this post will receive many responses...some agreeing with me but mostly many will hate me for it.  It is not my intention to make you dislike me.  
You cannot deny that I do have a point.

Do those of you who own astronomically enormous movie collections like I previously described think you have an obsessive compulsive disorder?  
If yes or no....please describe why.
Believe me when I say that I debated for a long time whether or not to write this thread.   I'm sure many of you have wondered the same thing about what I've asked.

I must know what deep rooted "thing" is behind your movie buying obsession and why.  Why do you spend this kind of money?  
Is it to fill some kind of "void" in your life or to make up for something?



Post Edited (11-19-03 17:24)

[Ken Begg]

Hey, everybody's got a hobby, right?

[The Burgomaster]

ASH:

This is NOT normal.  Therefore, I am reaching out for help.

Last week, my wife said, "Do you realize that 15 DVDs came in the mail over the past 2 days?"  The next day, another 4 arrived.  Then, over the weekend, I went to Best Buy and bought 3 more.  I must have at least 60 DVDs that I bought and have not had time to watch yet.

I started this madness with VHS tapes.  I think I had about 600 when I switched over to DVD.  I have sold many tapes on Ebay and to friends, but I still have a few hundred in boxes in the basement.  

My DVD collection is around 1,000 DVDs now.  I have something like 900 or more titles, but I have at least 1,000 discs because of multi-disc sets.  (For instance, I count THE TWILIGHT ZONE COLLECTION as only 1 title, but it is made up of over 40 individual discs with 3 or 4 episodes on each one).

No, my friend, this is not normal.  But I can't stop.  The Internet kills me more than anything.  I'll go to Deep Discount DVD's website and just click away.  "I need this one, and this one, and this one . . . what the hell, I'll get this one, too."

It is a sickness.

I refinanced my home a few weeks ago and we got a big check from the mortgage company.  When it arrived, I waved it in front of my wife, laughing, and chanting, "Circuit City!  Circuit City!"  She just said, "You're sick." and walked away.

[The Burgomaster]

By the way.  We used to have an intern in my office who worked part-time at Sam Goody.  He told me that he had over 3,500 DVDs because he spent most of his Sam Goody paycheck on movies (he got a good discount because he worked there).

ASH mentioned doing the math to figure out how much money is involved.  For me, I think an average of $20 per disc is high.  I buy a lot from Deep Discount DVD and I would say that my average DVD costs between $12 and $15.  But that's still a ton of money.  

Here's some more math.  If you have 1,000 DVDs and you watch 1 every day, it will take you almost 3 years to go through your entire collection.  Now THAT'S sick.

[Scott]

Many hobbies are expensive. That's ok. For me I'm rather frugal about buying my DVD's mostly under $10 stuff, but then again I only get what I pay for. My main thing for me now is to see as many films as possible. Buying them isn't a priority for me. Though I would like to own a $50,000 collection of significant films and travel the world, but I'll have to wait till it makes sense for me financially to do it.  I'm convinced it can be done. Life is kinda like scanning existence for all possibilities and film has that ability to take you to strange and bizarre locations and situations.  They are mental exercises and one idea can spark many more. It's part of a much larger spiritual journey. That is kinda why I do it and if I could get a hold on some money and equipment I have about 10 great film idea's that I would like to shoot. Film plays a small part in what I seek and for now it's serves a couple purposes towards a particular result.

I own about 85 DVD titles. Many of them on double and multi feature type sets. The collection probably cost about $600 at the most. Over a two year period that would be a $300 dollar a year "hobby". Not to bad I suppose. Less than 1 dollar a day.

It may be an evil if you know not the "why" of what you are doing. Remember that with out a goal there is no reason for anything. A goal determines what is good and what is bad. What is useful and what isn't.

[Brian Ringler]

I don't have 1000 dvds more like 400-500 which is from 1999 (still milking the life out of my first and only dvd player) until today.  Lately I've been trying to sell some and its like pulling teeth..."I can't sell this one I might watch it again down the road" "I won't get much money on ebay for this title" :this movie is out of print so if I ever want it again I'll pay too much for it"...then again maybe I'm just a pack rat and can sell stuff easily

[Deej]

I don't think it's any more abnormal than collecting stamps or baseball cards or first editions, probably alot less expensive, as well. None of the above mentioned are necessities, they can'd feed, clothe or otherwise sustain you(I suppose if you had over 1000 titles, you could use them to build shelter). They're just nice to have.

I suspect it could be called an obsession, I become especially committed to finding certain titles. But, that's part of the fun, hunting down obscure, out of print or officially unreleased titles. Kinda makes it a sport.

I think if you're pursuing your interest in films to the detriment of family, work or other committment, you may want to re-think. But, otherwise, I can't see how it's harmful. I can think of other hobbies, pastimes and obsessions that are much more unhealthy.

I'm  certainly not filthy rich, but buying a few titles a week and being frugal(as Scott said), doesn't put myself or my family in danger of homelessness. Nor does it require we do without any of our other wants or needs. As with  everything(for someone without a trust fund) you have to budget and be moderate. Not the answer to world hunger, just my opinion.

[C Reynolds]

I don't have nearly as many DVDs as other people on this site - I've only got about 160 or so with another ten currently in the post - but I can see myself having 1000 or so after another few years. I've been collecting DVDs since the end of 1999 (the first one I got was "The Matrix" for Christmas) and it's amazingly addictive. At the beginning I was only buying a major release every few months but I kept spending more and more until at the moment I'm buying around two a week.

Last year I spent £500 (about $800) on DVDs and this year I've decided to try not to spend more than £1500 (about $2400) on DVDs - it's about four months into the year now and already I'm way over what I should have been spending to stay on target. It's extra difficult for me because I'm still a student and although I'm on placement and getting paid this year, I'm going to be back at university next year and I'll be spending large portions of my savings on DVDs.

I'm currently trying to cut back on DVDs as much as possible at the moment, and I've resolved not to buy any more till after Christmas - just as soon as I've bought the 'Cannibal Holocaust' ultrabit release... oh, and 'The House by the Cemetery'... and the 'Mondo Cane' and 'Babylon 5: Series 3' and 'Christopher Lee' box sets.

[Flangepart]

So far, i've got about 30 dvds.
And man, am i cheap!
I get a lot of stuff at half priced books and the like.
Got recently Destroy all planets (Gamera) and Message from space for 5.98 each. I can live with that.
Still have about 45-50 old vhs. Lots of MST3K and some older shows like Neat Stuff, Sci-fi Buzz, and Earthworm Jim!
Total hardwear investment....maby...oh....250-300 bucks over the years.

[jmc]

I was on my way to getting a sizeable collection but quit my job a couple of months ago and haven't found a new one yet...hopefully sometime in the spring I'll find something but otherwise I doubt I'll buy more than a handful of DVDs over the next several months.

One thing that also cut down my buying was when I belonged to Netflix.  I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to buy things sight unseen but also doesn't have a decent video store with the titles they want to check out.

[TC]

What is "normal" is a purely subjective thought.  I see no problem with owning a collection of thousands of DVDs.  A major hobby for many people is collecting things - baseball cards, old Playboy magazines, video games, stamps, ect.  I have a mother who collects antiques.  As long as it is not putting yourself in financial trouble, I see no problem at all with collecting something.  If we see someone who owns thousands of books, we don't view them as having a problem.  We simply think of them as an intellectual.   A lot of it is simply about perspective and what your definition of "normal" is.

[Susan]

I always said if I won the lottery the first thing I would do is go to the DVD store and load up the cart..i only wish I had that much money. But i have to be thrifty, because iwth my luck they'll make dvd's obsolete in 5 years...I have a serious movie obsession, unfortunately i don't have the funds to support it.

Donations anyone?

[Brother Ragnarok]

You're just trying to defend your position of being a cheap-ass and downloading everything, ya smarmy bastard!

Brother R

[Conrad]

Welllllllllllllllll  okay, I have 1500+ comics in the cupboards upstairs, not to mention 1000's of miniature tanks & figures, and 100's of videos, so my comment is _ Burgomaster - what a fine upstanding pillar of the community you are!

As long as his family don't suffer, I don't see any problem with Burgomaster's collection.  Remember that today's ephemera are tomorrow's antiques, which is a way of saying that my comic collection will be worth millions when my daughter inherits it (provided that I've finished reading it!)

[Susan]

What's the difference again in spending $20K on movies and spending $50K on some phat car?

The difference being that the movie collector is called the "obsessive compulsive person with the problem' and the guy with the hot car is called hot.

Which is the better investment? Movies last forever, how long will that car run for, and how much extra will you have put in it for repairs...