Mainly, I collect for nostalgic and sentimental reasons.  As I wrote in another thread, my collection basically started with my dad's things, and I collect to kind of keep the tradition going.

In addition, though, I'm an active gamer, an avid reader, and I like the idea of preserving some aspect of the gaming hobby through my own personal collection.  Add to that it's just downright fun and you've got a pretty good recipe for a great time.

- Michael

nostalgic and sentimental reasons for me

Also because maybe I am a bit strange

Iremember when I purchases my 1st print woody.  It cost over $4000.00.  There was an immediate uproar over on Dragonsfoot about what a nutbar I was; comments about my sanity, feed the world issues came up and other ridiculous statements.  After I posted on the Dragonsfoot forum and told them why I bought the item (Nostalgia etc) the folk's actually changed there tune and became more sympathetic to my reasons.

We are a very small group of collectors; the hobby we enjoy returns us to our time of magic and mayhem.  It's a great hobby and right now it is still within the realms of attainable to get a complete collection.

I'm an active gamer and I mainly collect Planescape books. Anyway, since I come from from Italy almost every OD&D or AD&D 1st edition supplement has something valuable for me in terms of gaming ideas and concepts (since they've never been printed here and most Italian gamers think that the very first edition of the rules was the D&D Set Rules 1 back in 1986...).
I'm also somewhat younger than the average member here, so I think that some year shall pass (and some collection shall be sold and re-acquired) before nostalgic collecting takes his hold on me.

I would have to say nostalgic as well. I remember twnety years after last playing findng my old modules and thinking: "man, that was some of the most fun I ever had." I read them all again cover to cover and really enjoyed reading them....... and then ...... discovered Ebay.

Then it is like, oh wow --there's a module I wanted to buy twenty years ago ... SOLD. Then it got out of hand.

I do hope one day to start gaming again. It is a lot of fun and fires the imagination - just a few more years until the kids are old enough.


(edit) Just thinking we should organise Nostalgiacon 2008. For those yearning to play again after many years. Bring along the kids!"

Investment ? Sure, a little, hopefully the items don't lose value, but not the safest investment at all...

Re-seller ? actually not until recently, but now I am buying and reselling some items, or buying to complete something I am missing to then resel it complete

Active gamer ? Active, but in the computer world these days (Neverwinter Nights)

Nostalgic/Sentimental ? yes, and most of my stuff was mine

Historical/Preservation ? primary

Pure Joy ? I have been called a pack rat.... so maybe

I had to select preservation since it seems most everything I collect is to save a part of history.

My main collection is of old BBS Door source code, it's all "digital" and people don't seem to maintain copies of floppies, source code etc like they should. So I spend the time/money to do so.

D&D stuff is just another thing I am involved in and thus I collect (heck I have coins, stamps, baseball/football cards, comics, shiny things, cars, guns... just old stuff)

I enjoyed playing D&D for many years, funnest time was teaching a group of 6 other Marines how to play and watching them run around like kids acting out the fights.

Much of the D&D stuff I have was mine from way back.. it's in really crap condition at best, but it was mine and thus I keep it.

I buy some stuff I never had to at least look it over and know what it's all about, then eventually sell it off and let someone else have it for a while.

But like BBS Door source code, I can see there are some items that might need a bit more "attention" and thus my interest in bringing some (not all) modules and/or books to digital form or possibly reprint... which brings me back to preservation.

Hi Nice Hantlers,

It's good to see someone else from Huntsville here.

Keith

FormCritic wrote:Do you collect because you are an active gamer?

I would very much like to be an active gamer again, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards, as it were, for another year or two.  

I hope to introduce my kids and my 3 nephews to the game (my guess is that it's going to be D&D or C&C) sometime in the next year or two.

So, in addition to sentimental reasons, and having my own collection of D&D history, I will also begin advidly collecting material related to whichever game system we chose to play with the kids.

I also want my kids/nephews to know that I have a collection that is -- at the very least -- valuable to another collector.


Keith

It's good to see someone else from Huntsville here.

Thanks, Keith.  Considering Huntsville's high geeks-per-capita ratio, I'm surprised there aren't more.  

It's a combination of nostalgia and the joy of collecting for me. Finding a box of D&D stuff in the dumpster in almost perfect condition was a big boost... no, it was THE impetus to start me collecting. I searched online for a list of all the modules and supplements TSR put out and that's how I found the Acaeum.

I also collect other things: comics, but only titles I really enjoy reading; concert recordings (Bittorrent is my friend!); and recently I started getting back into collecting bootleg albums from the '70s, which is another nostalgia trip for me.