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He who dies with the most toys.....dies!
Feb. 25th, 2012 04:16 pmEarlier this week, I was in a Half Price Books near Hamilton, OH, looking around. A few things caught my eye -- a book on Jung, and maybe a CD or two. But I walked out of the store empty-handed. I rarely do that. I always feel a need to make a purchase in any store I walk into, otherwise I'll be looked at as a shoplifter.
But looking around at home, I see that I already have plenty of books, CDs, DVDs, video tapes, record albums (!), etc. I may not have all that I *want*, but I have what I *need*.
I think it comes with the territory, but many science fiction fans are collectors. The spend huge amounts of money to amass large collections in order to impress their fellow fans. The problem is, when it comes time to sell the collection, or parts of it, they will probably receive less than what they put into it. It's not a money maker -- it's a money loser.
Back in 2006, I had to do an inventory of my estate -- all my possessions -- and calculate their value based on "fair market rate". How much would it cost to replace everything, either new or used? My estimation is that fair market rate is approximately 10% of retail. And some items of mine don't exactly fit that pricing formula. While my Minimoog might fetch a lot of money on EBay -- I've seen some in great condition go for more than $3000 -- I have no plan or intention to sell mine.
Since then, I've put less emphasis on buying "stuff". I may still buy CDs and DVDs, but I'm not adverse to buying them second-hand. I used to worry about germs and contamination. I still do, but not as much. I'll still run an antibaterial wipe on the discs.
I should also thin out my various collections and sell what I'm no longer interested in. Even though I'll get a pittance for them, someone else will have the opportunity to enjoy them.
But looking around at home, I see that I already have plenty of books, CDs, DVDs, video tapes, record albums (!), etc. I may not have all that I *want*, but I have what I *need*.
I think it comes with the territory, but many science fiction fans are collectors. The spend huge amounts of money to amass large collections in order to impress their fellow fans. The problem is, when it comes time to sell the collection, or parts of it, they will probably receive less than what they put into it. It's not a money maker -- it's a money loser.
Back in 2006, I had to do an inventory of my estate -- all my possessions -- and calculate their value based on "fair market rate". How much would it cost to replace everything, either new or used? My estimation is that fair market rate is approximately 10% of retail. And some items of mine don't exactly fit that pricing formula. While my Minimoog might fetch a lot of money on EBay -- I've seen some in great condition go for more than $3000 -- I have no plan or intention to sell mine.
Since then, I've put less emphasis on buying "stuff". I may still buy CDs and DVDs, but I'm not adverse to buying them second-hand. I used to worry about germs and contamination. I still do, but not as much. I'll still run an antibaterial wipe on the discs.
I should also thin out my various collections and sell what I'm no longer interested in. Even though I'll get a pittance for them, someone else will have the opportunity to enjoy them.
