Being new to this hobby, but not new to collecting.

In terms of D&D collecting, what do most of you seek to do?  For example, is your goal:
1)  to collect all of a certain subject matter (e.g., all AD&D 1e products)
2)  to collect only certain valuable and rare pieces
3)  to just have the items you like to play with and use
4)  to collect 1st printings
5)  to collect in order to re-sell and run an online business
6)  Other..

Just curious to hear what sort of goals others might have..

I'll go first.  I'm so new to this that I initially wanted to just have fun collecting certain items that I fondly recall from my childhood and teenage years.

Now I'm starting to lean more towards having a complete collection (except for the VERY PRICEY rares) of AD&D products.  I know this will take a long time, but that is sort of a goal that I'm starting towards (I think!).

Also, a question on "completism."  What would you term a "complete" collection of a product line?  For example, if your goal is to have a complete collection of Basic D&D products, would your collection be considered complete if you owned the "Boxed Set with B1 Module," but not the B1 module on its own?

George

Agree with most of what IO stated.
But my games played list is different; since I have never played most of the games he listed.

My main rule for collecting is that I do not care that I do not own EVERY printing of EVERY item or group of items that I collect.
That said, I am obviously NOT a completist...
Not even close.

Also I am not a SW junky, though I do appreciate those who are and if I am able to get SWed items, I do not rip the SW off as a matter of habit.
I would rather TRY to obtain a second copy to play with.

Also, I would rather have a huge stack of nice condition (collectable grade) common items than one nice condition ultra rare item.
And I have no doubt that I will never own Ultra Rare, and unique items and will not even try (mostly).
But if one comes up and I decide it is time to get it, then I might bid to win... if I have the funds to do so.
There are several Ultra Rare items that I do not have a care about owning.
ST1 Up the Garden Path being just one of those.
Would much prefer to spend that 2k on a mint 2nd print woodie if I was somehow given the chance at both and had the funds on hand.

My list of what I want to collect in no certain order of preference:
All TSR Modules up to and including 2nd Edition, and some 3.5 Edition
Some D20, including DCC Modules (I am almost done with that… missing only a couple of the rarest modules)
Runequest
Tekumel (Empire of the Petal Throne)
Tunnels and Trolls (Not every printing of course)
Judges Guild (unlike IO: I do not consider JG to be a sub-group of D&D as they published other product lines too)
Add in a HUGE list of small publishers (there are so many of them, that I wont even bother to try to list them all)
Art Prints, I just have a few and do not actively search for them.
(Also have a few original art pieces … all of them VERY low cost items)

Metallic Miniatures: Although Not to the point that I collect any certain kind, or any certain makers…
(I do not even know how to tell most of them apart)

My goal is rather simple, I wish to own at least one copy of every item published for D&D from the original to 3.5(plus all identified printings).  Only items which add to the D&D intelectual property (not bendies or any of that nonsense). Also at least one in package copy of any licenced miniature for D&D as well.  A lofty goal indeed but I have thousands of items and not to much left to get!

Question is what to get after I am done?

Different goals for different reasons:

1) Complete Shadowrun and Earthdawn simply because I like both games a great deal. Aside from articles printed in third party magazines and things I don't really collect (miniatures, for example), this is about 99% done; it got expanded when I decided to start hunting down 3rd and 4th edition works.

2) Get non-TSR RPG systems for the enjoyment of reading and playing games that are D&D but are not D&D. This will never be finished as there are far too many game systems to try out and many of them are hard to find which means this one conflicts with the third goal (by eating up a lot of cash.)

3) Create a "traveling museum" and go to conventions to display the living history of the RPG hobby. I'll most likely never get this one accomplished simply because I am missing too much and what I am missing is very expensive.

I just want one of each boardgame published in the USA in the 20th century. (Then I'll start on the 19th century.)

All this roleplaying stuff is just 'on the side'. ;>

FM

I sold most of my rares privately so my collection now has a peculiar focus:

It's a collection of "real D&D as it is actually enjoyed."  Colored Monster Manuals, B1s fully annotated, homebrew modules with hand-drawn covers, epic unpublished dungeon maps (my fave), dog-chewed dice, miniatures with melted heads, character sheets with pizza stains and tawdry random adventure logs.

The collection started as an "unsellable" box in my eBay days, when I would buy lots and sort them out.  Somehow it grew on me like a fungus and became the best part of the collection.  Go figure.  

I am a D&D/AD&D/TSR centric collector but I have branched out into other RPG's as well...pretty much anything that interests me.  I have a good sized Shadowrun collection and have a near complete MERP collection.  I will also pick up the occasional book for Call of Cthulhu, Harn, Runequest, Traveller, Space Opera, Twilight: 2000, and a few others.  I have a handful of rares I have picked up over the last few years but I dont actively look to acquire them.  Too darn expensive.

My advice is this:
Dont pay more for something than what you want to pay.  More often than not you will get it cheaper later.
Don't get frustrated when you get outbid.  Another one will always come along.
Shrinkwrap is evil.  Stay away from it or you may lose your soul.  

darkseraphim wrote:It's a collection of "real D&D as it is actually enjoyed."  Colored Monster Manuals, B1s fully annotated, homebrew modules with hand-drawn covers, epic unpublished dungeon maps (my fave), dog-chewed dice, miniatures with melted heads, character sheets with pizza stains and tawdry random adventure logs.

Thanks a fantastic plan, I wish I could still lay my hands on my original character sheets of Ashmire (half-elf thief - weren't they all!) and a hardcore female fighter called Katrina (inspired by WD cover 79 - even had the miniature to match it!)  

I don't set out to do it this way, but some of my efforts are spent pruning items from my RPG collection, things that are mediocre or don't fit for one reason or another.

The cycle usually starts by obtaining a few great titles from a given publisher or game, then setting out to collect the rest. Once I finish I realize that some of it is less-than-great, or maybe the original great stuff gets obscured by a stack of the less-great.  

Another reason is aesthetic compatibility. My collection is concentrated on the amateur-art period of 1982 & before. Tends to clash with the polished, professional, & dead-boring style used thereafter.