The $15,000 auction got me thinking about how much money we've all spent on our hobby over the years.



I admit, I don't believe I have any of the rare items, and some of my collection would fall into the "much loved" condition (my Gaz series for one, being the most used). And by no means do I believe my collection is worth this (probably less), but I would say I've easily spent £1000+ (maybe £2000) over the years. I know this is probably pennies (cents ) compared to some.



So.. come on, admit it, how much do you think you've spent?

I think I may have spent $300 online in the last four months of collecting.



The thing about gaming as a hobby is.....it is CHEAP.



Consider if I had spent one weekend skiing or drinking or gambling or going to swap meets or whatever.....I could easily have spent more on that one weekend than I have spent on gaming materials in all my decades as a gamer.



Well....my Warhammer 40,000 collection is probably more than a weekend skiing at a local mountain...but if I had to travel for the ski trip, it would still cost less.



Just the price of two movie tickets every weekend could easily outstrip gaming costs...especially if you buy popcorn while you're there.



Anyway....      :)

Isn't this a Maxie-type question?



D'pends on what way it's asked, I suppose...

bclarkie wrote:As much as I hate to admit, I can almost guarentee that I have spent well over $10,000.00 myself. Some of that I have been able to recoup by buying new items to replace older items which in turn got sold, but still it is a lot more that I originally had planned on spending when I started back on EBay in February of 1999.

Hey Brian, I'm sure you'll find it's more than that in the past 6 1/2 years.

bclarkie wrote:...Do what I did and draw up a spreadsheet for insurance purposes.

The next step and final step into the abyss for me was when I actually joined the forum here about 9 months ago with all the rest of the god damn nut jobs here and then the disease really took hold.

bclarkie wrote:Coming here on the forum for me was like if you got your friend "the alcoholic" a job at the local bar. Christ, now I am buying things that I didint even now existed a year ago. HELP ME...............

*pats you on the back*



Hey, it's all right, Brian!

Is easy enough to cure that feeling; Re: woodgrain sale



=

Did a quick run through and stopped counting at $16,000 here (minus postage).

Just the recent stuff, really; mostly since I had a salary again to consider looking for that 3rd woodie to replace my old copy.



Think I overshot a bit.

I can't even fathom how much I have spent on my hobbies over the years.  It is probably a good thing that I didnt keep track, otherwise I might be in some sort of self-help group that meets twice a week at one of the local churches standing up in front of everyone to tell them "Hi, my name is John and I am a Dungeons and Dragons collector."  Later after telling everyone how I had to sell off my collection to put gas in my car and having a good cry or two, I am sure I would find myself behind one of the church buses whispering to a fellow collector and asking him if he has a spare copy of B2 to curtail the shakes.



I have spent a lot over the last five years or so.  And as scary as the possible amount is, it is much less than most other people on this forum have spent.  My eyes just about pop out of my skull every time I see someone from the forum posting a link to their latest auction win of an orange B3 or near mint copies of the RPGA modules.  Usually it is from shock at seeing that much money being spent on one item, and other times it is jealousy...wishing I had that much money to throw around.



One thing is abundantly clear.  It is definitely an addiction.  An addiction I lay blame equally on this website, The TSR Archive, and Ebay.  :wink:   What was once a casual, once-in-a-while expense has now mutated into a "what else is there that I don't have?" collecting sickness.  Not just D&D, but Traveller and MERP as well.  Heck, I didnt even know anything about Traveller until a year ago.  Now I have a pretty decent size collection of original Traveller, MegaTraveller, and 2300 AD stuff.  I find myself looking at auctions that I wouldnt have batted an eye at in the past.  Why would I even consider bidding on an auction for a copy of Tractics?  I dont even like wargame simulations.  What the hell is wrong with me?  Thank God I have no interest in Cthulhu...I probably would go mad!



I want to thank people like Badmike and Aneoth for being a bad influence and furthering by descent into poverty.  Thank you Tony, who was my first DM back in sixth grade.  If it hadnt been for him, I might have been a doctor or an astronaut.  I would also like to thank my father...for ripping my original Players Handbook in half for not taking out the trash when I was a freshman in high school.  Planting a seed in my soul that would someday take root and grow into a desperate need to replace it.  And last, but not least, I would like to thank my high-school sweetheart.  If she hadnt told me how much she didnt like me hanging out with those "weird guys" playing D&D... I probably wouldnt have wanted to so much.



Hmmm....my train of thought derailed a bit there.  Good thing I am not a public speaker.  :P   It is probably also a good thing that I am mostly full of shit.    How much money have I spent on the "hobby"?  Probably less than $5000 which pales in comparison to the couple hundred thousand I have wrapped up in comic books at the moment.  There are worse addictions though.  I could be addicted to drugs, porn, or Krispy Kreme donuts.  :twisted:

Man..we do need a support group.

For me it started with the red box set of Basic OD&D, grew into the expert set and slowly trickled from there.

Then Ravenloft hit the scene..which started the 'get everything' state of mind which now I know is the disease called Collecting. Course from reading the Ravenloft novels, I got into the Dragonlance novels - then went to get..er collect everything Dragonlance.

No, not happy..grab a little Planescape when it came out, dabble in getting everything Blackmoor..hum Judges Guild what did they put out..oh the memories are faded or rather perhaps I have just blurred them. Self Denial from buying to have and what funds I had rather then buying 'smart'.

Played 3rd Ed (Blasphemy I know) bought some of that, found some interesting settings..oh why could I not stop.

Then its been grabbing setting lots (Planescape, Spelljammer), grabbing old stuff, obscure stuff..



So in short thousands of dollars..hell, who needs life insurance..I have a COLLECTION.  :D



ShaneG.

tfm wrote:About a hundred grand over the years. Am I doomed?

    I have had the advantage of devoted players in my D&D group.  



    Over a couple of decades (headed toward three decades) they have supplied me with materials....often out of self-interest:  "Here, Mark, read this.  Now, I was thinking of using the new Bard rules to..."



    I have also acted as the repository for the D&D collections of players who have dropped out of gaming over the years.  Since my extended circle of players has included 60 or so people, I have a backlog.



    All of that was worthless...moneywise...until I discovered EBay and the rabid Ebay community.



    As little as a year ago I was wondering why I was devoting so much storage and shelf space to old gaming stuff that no one else in the Western Hemisphere even remembers......  Turns out, the joke is on me.  I should have been an even MORE rabid collector.



    My Warhammer 40,000 miniatures collection has not seen a plasma burst in several years.  My toughest job is keeping my active gamer friends from borrowing them and "forgetting" who they belong to.



    A year ago, I began discussing re-opening my Shadowrun campaign...and one of my gamers mailed me the newest books.



    What I am really addicted to, however, is companionship.  Yes.  My gaming book collection was of little worth to me until I discovered that other online people also value them.  Finding other people who still remember the crash and thunder of the heady days....priceless.  

Spent $500-$750 per month for about 4 years now.  At the start it was more like $1000.00 per month.



Looks around to see if wife is looking  8O

Winterwords wrote:


I can hide the amount of money I've spent, but it's more problematic hiding the parcels being delivered!

My brother in law gets his packages deliverd at work

Blackmoor wrote:

Winterwords wrote:


I can hide the amount of money I've spent, but it's more problematic hiding the parcels being delivered!

My brother in law gets his packages deliverd at work

Yup, that's what I do sometimes...