Has your buying/ viewing/ collecting habits changed over the years?

[Richard C Member Find all posts View Profile Close Richard C]

Not sure if this is the right part of forum or if it's been covered before but I haven't been on here much recently so... I was just wondering whether people's movie buying habits have changed over the years and why? When I first started posting on DVD Maniacs I was just getting into cult cinema and with the growing DVD market/ steady income I was spending cash on new releases - Blue Underground, Mondo Macabro, Severin, Criterion, Arrow etc etc. Probably used to spend quite a chunk of my wage on DVDs.... Then Blu Ray came along and films were re-released, then 4K and I just lost interest in he buying part and then mainly rented (when postal rental was a thing...). Then came the streaming services and my collecting started to fizzle out. However, I started back up again via the 2nd hand market - so here in the UK that's mainly charity shops and car bootsales. Of course the titles were very much dependent on the people selling them/ donating them and most were UK releases, the majority DVDs. However, I've snagged some obscure stuff over time and actually find this element of collecting (the "hunting") more enjoyable, with a lot of films unlikely to be watched.

I've been posting some of the stuff I've been picking up on the forum and some of it is crap but I just like finding obscure stuff for cheap. Also during lockdown I decided to try to see how many of the 1001 Films To Watch Before You Die type lists I can find out in the "wild" and it's become a bit of a challenge... Of course it could be a very piss poor middle age crisis I'm having but anyone else have similar ebbs and flows, changes in direction or purge and then restart? Just curious...

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I kind of regret a lot of the discs I bought back when I was hog wild on collecting. I bought a ton of stuff that I will never watch again. My classic Hollywood stuff, gialli, spaghetti westerns and euro-horror I do revisit but a lot of the other ones not so much. During the days of DVD Maniacs I was absolutely crazy about buying everything. It was also fun to be able to go into a Best Buy, Circuit City or whatever and actually get a disc right there.

[Scott Intellectual Carrot Find all posts View Profile Close Scott]

Yeah my buying has changed big time over the years. Like Andrew, (and I'm guessing many of us) I went nuts during the Best Buy/Circuit City years. It's was pretty awesome walking into a Best Buy on my lunch and buying Black Emmanuelle movies, or Paul Naschy films. But also like Andrew, I bough lots of crap because it was so cheap and readily available.

I still have yet to jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon. The thrill just isn't there for me anymore. The last time I went on a buying spree was around this time last year when I decided I needed more Giallo, Poliziotteschi and Spaghetti westerns, since that seemed to be the gold in my collection and I wanted more. And I still feel like the streaming of that stuff will always be iffy. Since then I've only bought a handful of discs and they have all been Jess Franco films. Again, I just feel like streaming will leave those titles behind.

I love CADDYSHACK, but I probably didn't need to buy a four dollar copy at the gas station since it's probably on TV somewhere right now. But I did anyway.

I still get a kick out of mentioning to my friend or coworker whenever they bring up a movie that I have it on DVD. But they're usually more shocked by what I don't have (most mainstream movies from the past 20 years).

I feel like this is a similar conversation to Newt's comic storage thread. The turning point in both collections was when it stopped being a catch-all collection, meaning everything that caught my fancy, to deciding to curate a collection made up of a very specific taste. The only downside is I feel like it isn't something that can be created from the beginning, you need to acquire a large collection so you know what works and what doesn't. Even though I collected Euro films from the beginning I also collected lots of other things that don't hold up as well for me. But I had to discover that the hard way. It's also a work in progress because I always want to be open to other things but I'm a lot more cautious about acquiring loads of junk.'

I don't keep wish lists anymore. And whether it's books or dvds I've always read/viewed everything I own. I do not understand the collectors who have shrink wrapped books or dvds on their shelves. It's like car collector who don't drive their cars. But then I don't think of myself as a collector anymore. I really try and enjoy each purchase, otherwise what's the point?

Over the past year I've actually felt a little guilt about posting here since it's very rarely about movies anymore.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Over the past year I've actually felt a little guilt about posting here since it's very rarely about movies anymore.

Please don't, just having you here is a boon to the community.

[Gary Banks Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gary Banks]

My buying habits have changed, especially now that my health has taken a turn for the worse. A lot of time I don't feel the need to upgrade to a blu unless it is a sure fire favorite. Even rental has changed as I keep toying with the idea of dropping Netflix every month since we don't have a streaming setup.

I have four containers of just dvd-r. I should move the dvds I want to keep into a binder and throw the rest away. Ya can't donate them and nobody wants to trade for them. I gift a hell of a lot out on an annual basis to some of my buddies who don't have the means to see these films any other way. Really should look into the binder option somewhere online.

Still watch a ton of movies as I'm on pace to watch over 500 movies this year.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Yeah, Scott, don't go anywhere! I'm glad you post here. And I'm sorry you are having health problems, Gary.

Man, I remember going in to Best Buy and getting BU's spaghetti western box. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I'm going through a phase where I'm just not too interested in watching films which is really weird for me. But I will always be here to annoy the fuck out of you guys.

[Scott Intellectual Carrot Find all posts View Profile Close Scott]

Please don't, just having you here is a boon to the community.

My buying habits have changed, especially now that my health has taken a turn for the worse. A lot of time I don't feel the need to upgrade to a blu unless it is a sure fire favorite. Even rental has changed as I keep toying with the idea of dropping Netflix every month since we don't have a streaming setup.

I have four containers of just dvd-r. I should move the dvds I want to keep into a binder and throw the rest away. Ya can't donate them and nobody wants to trade for them. I gift a hell of a lot out on an annual basis to some of my buddies who don't have the means to see these films any other way. Really should look into the binder option somewhere online.

Still watch a ton of movies as I'm on pace to watch over 500 movies this year.

Yeah, Scott, don't go anywhere! I'm glad you post here. And I'm sorry you are having health problems, Gary.

Man, I remember going in to Best Buy and getting BU's spaghetti western box. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I'm going through a phase where I'm just not too interested in watching films which is really weird for me. But I will always be here to annoy the fuck out of you guys.

Ah, you guys are too kind. I'm not going anywhere but crazy, lol.

I'm sorry your health has got worse, Gary. My own sad apathy feels ridiculous in comparison.

I've had the same feeling, Andrew. I've been stuck in a rut since the pandemic started and movies just aren't doing it for me anymore. It bothers me too. Usually watching one of my favorite movies like THE PROFESSIONALS gets my juices flowing again but lately the trick hasn't worked.

[Scott Intellectual Carrot Find all posts View Profile Close Scott]

Man, I remember going in to Best Buy and getting BU's spaghetti western box. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I'm going through a phase where I'm just not too interested in watching films which is really weird for me. But I will always be here to annoy the fuck out of you guys.

It was GREAT!I can't believe some of the stuff that was lining store shelves back then. Truly an abundance of wealth.

[Richard C Member Find all posts View Profile Close Richard C]

Yeah sorry to hear that Gary.

I thinned a lot of stuff out and in the past I wouldn't have dreamt of buying 2nd hand (don't ask me why...). But now I can pick up like 3 or 4 DVDs for £1 I just pick stuff up. It's surprising what I've been able to pick up - admittedly not niche label stuff but still some decent things. Some I sell on eBay for a little bit of profit, some I trade in to get credit for Blu Rays and others I move on to friends/ family. What I don't keep I donate back... There is less and less of physical media out there now tough and the days of seeing people selling off large collections are dwindling. The only issue really is space and so I have to keep some sort of check on things... Hopefully I'll get a bigger place soon and have a dedicated "film library" type room just so I can look at all the random stuff I bought.... Still have DVDs I bought probably 10/ 15 years ago in shrink-wrap so.... I treat more as a hobby now and I often speak with other collectors/ sellers when I visit the car bootsale. Thankfully as it's so cheap it's not costing me much so...

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Yeah sorry to hear that Gary.

I thinned a lot of stuff out and in the past I wouldn't have dreamt of buying 2nd hand (don't ask me why...). But now I can pick up like 3 or 4 DVDs for £1 I just pick stuff up. It's surprising what I've been able to pick up - admittedly not niche label stuff but still some decent things. Some I sell on eBay for a little bit of profit, some I trade in to get credit for Blu Rays and others I move on to friends/ family. What I don't keep I donate back... There is less and less of physical media out there now tough and the days of seeing people selling off large collections are dwindling. The only issue really is space and so I have to keep some sort of check on things... Hopefully I'll get a bigger place soon and have a dedicated "film library" type room just so I can look at all the random stuff I bought.... Still have DVDs I bought probably 10/ 15 years ago in shrink-wrap so.... I treat more as a hobby now and I often speak with other collectors/ sellers when I visit the car bootsale. Thankfully as it's so cheap it's not costing me much so...

I still have discs from many years ago still in the wrap too. I never see used DVDs or BDs around here, though there is a flea market out of town that used to have them. Haven't been out there in a long time. Oh, and Richard, I always enjoy seeing what you've bought! I've never heard of most of the ones from your most recent haul, haha.

[Spaghetti Monkey Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spaghetti Monkey]

However, I've snagged some obscure stuff over time and actually find this element of collecting (the "hunting") more enjoyable

This times 10 for me. While i agree the glory days of Best Buy were awesome, it's even more fun to find something cool used at an F.Y.E. or Thrift Shop. Pretty much the same thing with rummaging through Comic Shops, thrill of the hunt indeed. But at the same time, if you really want something soon, you can find it on the web, best of both worlds really.

[Spaghetti Monkey Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spaghetti Monkey]

I love CADDYSHACK, but I probably didn't need to buy a four dollar copy at the gas station since it's probably on TV somewhere right now. But I did anyway.

Over the past year I've actually felt a little guilt about posting here since it's very rarely about movies anymore.

A) I don't care how often something is on TV, if i like it, i want a copy. And when the mood strikes, i like being able to walk across the hall and grab whatever i want to watch or read. So yeah, i need that $4 gas station CADDYSHACK.

2) Luckily, Ian has carved out a cool little corner here where y'all just talk about whatever, this place is about a lot more than movies.

And lastly but certainly not leastly, here's hoping things look up for ya Gary.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

I've always done it wrong! Too much or too little... In my teens and early 20s I bought everything I could afford- occassionally even over the bounds of what I could afford even. Not that I had financial responsibilities at that time but it could get in the way of a full life. I'd wind up out drinking at the strippers with my mates and realise when it's time to start buying lapdances that I'm out of cash. Collecting should not get in the way of life experience....

It's that collectors/completists mentality that's the issue. I'd buy the four disc collectors edition of Dawn Of The Dead even though I don't particularly like the movie but look how shiny the box is! It's the worst kind of consumerism but it didn't feel like that. In my own head I wasn't the girl with 450 pairs of shoes. I guess because I was collecting an art form I justified it to myself that this was a worthy pursuit. Certainly there were parts of it that were worthwhile. Collecting and watching hundreds of gialli is not something I will regreat. Buying them was the only way to see them. But there was a LOT that I didn't need that was just plasitic. I don't need to own Ferris Bueller, I love the movie but there's always two hundred ways to watch Ferris without owning it.

Then I went the other direction and went too far that way. Ten years plus ago I figured physical media was out and we were moving into a better way of watching movies. It should have gone that way but what I didn't count on was the gaming industries reliance on discs. The millions and millions of X Boxes and Playstations out there maintained an install base of disc players that made it possible for disc distribution to continue to be a thing- it's a small hobbyist business but unfortuantely that small hobby business is centered around the exact films that I want and it's not going away until consumers in third world countries can reliably download a 90gb game. So I regret not keeping a disc player. There's so many releases I would like to have had. That first Forgotten Giallo release from Vinegar Syndrome? Would love to have that. Obstinancy and pigheadedness and a sense of moral righteousness is going to keep me from joining the party.

Collecting is good fun but I think very few collectors of anything find the right balance.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

At this point I honestly wish I could stop collecting. When I read articles that physical media is going to die, I secretly hope it will! I have about 1500 DVDs, 750 Blu-rays and around 100 VHS tapes. Every time I purge my collection or upgrade some titles from one format to another, I say to myself: "Collection complete" (very much a reference to the "Tales from the Crypt" episode), but it never happens. Just look at what Severin is putting out this week: STRIKE COMMANDO 1 and 2, INVADERS OF THE LOST GOLD, ENDGAME, RAIDERS OF ATLANTIS, THE NEW GLADIATORS, THE MASTURBATING GUNMAN. How the fuck am I supposed to stop?! You think I'll be able to resist buying EVERY SINGLE ONE of those titles? It's madness, but it simply isn't slowing down and the only way I'd stop collecting is if I somehow didn't know what was coming out in the future. I'm in this for life and all I can do is just try and buy the ones I need (as opposed to everything I want).

[Toyboy like a hole in the head Find all posts View Profile Close Toyboy]

I went insane with my collecting starting in around 1996 - when grey market dealers were all the rage, video stores were still around, I'd bought my first laserdisc player and they opened a Tower Records in Denver. Then the internet started, I got a credit card and racked up $45,000 in debt from about 2000-2010.

Then I hit rock bottom with my drinking and mental/emotional health, quit my job and began the process of purging my collection to pay off that debt ($750 a month over the course of 5 years. I cried the day I made my last payment, finally having that weight off my shoulders).

I still buy physical media - I'm a sucker for Vinegar Syndrome and Severin - and have a variety of streaming services. I'd say the main thing now is that I am much more selective and thoughtful about what I purchase. It was a free-for-all there for a while. I think something else that has curtailed my spending is that in the 90's and early 00's I was reading tons of magazines and reference books. I had want lists a mile long. That's not the case anymore.

Another big change for me was that I started making my own comic books, which takes up so much time and mental energy that I have very little left to give at the end of the day. I'll watch a movie or check social media or R!S!P! but I don't have time to sit and read about movies the way I used to.