What separates hoarding and collecting

[chxshire22]

Recently, idk what's gotten into me, but I've been looking to buy and preserve older tech.
For example, boomboxes (nostalgic, i remember my mum blasting what we would call city pop on it), CRT tvs, old gaming consoles (like NES which i don't even play but i like having a piece of history).

I am worried that I am developing a kind of hoarding habit.
I'm not sure what exactly separates a hoarder and a collector.

Where do you guys feel is the line? Is buying a USD 20 NES console senseless if i'm not playing it?

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

You hoard useless trash, but you collect things that interest you and are passionate about.

If the things you are buying make you happy, then you are collecting them.

 

[Azazelivae]

You hoard useless trash, but you collect things that interest you and are passionate about.

If the things you are buying make you happy, then you are collecting them.

Technically speaking someone who had a hoarding disorder would definitely think that they're happy for collecting all kinds of junk so this analogy may or may not work at all.

Though outside perspective it IS spot on.

If you take and put stuff just because to the point of a Trash Mountain because of some kind of Mental Reason such as Trauma and stuff then yes it is definitely hoarding and you need help.

But if you collecting stuff because you like it and you're fine in terms of well being and conscious about it then it is collecting.

Or in Short:
Ask a Hoarder "why?" they'll get mad.
Ask a Collector "why?" their eyes will brimming with excitement.

Post automatically merged: Wednesday at 6:24 AM

Technically speaking someone who had a hoarding disorder would definitely think that they're happy for collecting all kinds of junk so this analogy may or may not work at all.

Though outside perspective it IS spot on.

If you take and put stuff just because to the point of a Trash Mountain because of some kind of Mental Reason such as Trauma and stuff then yes it is definitely hoarding and you need help.

But if you collecting stuff because you like it and you're fine in terms of well being and conscious about it then it is collecting.

Or in Short:
Ask a Hoarder "why?" they'll get mad.
Ask a Collector "why?" their eyes will brimming with excitement.

Now that i think about it this may also off the mark by a bit.

 

[RageBurner]

What separates one from the other is mainly if you can be reasonable about it.
Hoarding means taking any and everything you can get your hands on without regards to necessity and price.

Collecting means there's a focus to it, but without sacrificing common sense (hopefully).

 

[E0N]

It's pretty simple: If you are buying more than you need then you are hoarding. All you are doing is causing trouble for the other people who wants to buy the same thing.

 

[Advil Lavs]

I think what separates them is the intention and the quality of the things you are buying.
For example, if you are collecting consoles or retro sound systems that aren't so hard to find, you are a collector.
If you're buying very expensive media which may or may not be documented online just so you can display it in your home or you're buying as many copies of something just for yourself, then, of course, you are a hoarder.

 

[chxshire22]

It's pretty simple: If you are buying more than you need then you are hoarding. All you are doing is causing trouble for the other people who wants to buy the same thing.

wld it be wrong to say collecting is hoarding then as no one really needs say, pokemon/yugioh cards, or any type of hobby items

but i see and agree with @RageBurner

Collecting means there's a focus to it

perhaps the difference is the purpose behind the collecting, i like x type of things so i buy and keep x type of thing

and also with @Azazelivae about hoarding being a trauma response although personally it might be difficult to tell

 

[rugal]

its a thin line between hoarding and collecting

i am a bit of both
in the past i did start collect yu gi oh cards and i did play alot with friends
i do like the cards but now they are just in drawer collecting dust so now its part of hoarding
but every few years i do look through the collection
so for me the card colletion is a part of sentimental or nostalgia hoarding
but i am still rational the cards do not take up mutch space so therfore i keep them

but my game collection is a collection its alwasy on display and many times i do play the games
with friends and family

i did have a porslin dog collection of 800 something on display once but later i realize i did no lik them anymore so first i did place them in the attic years later i did realize i was just hoarding my dog collection instead of enjoying it
the collection did just take up space
so i decided to sell those i could sell
some i could not sell because of sentimental value but did not want to keep i just did the hardes thing and throw them away
at the time to sell some and throw away the ones i could not sell was no easy decision for me it did hurt the heart


so in my opinion a collection can become hoarding if you do not like the things anymore and do not have them on display instead you just keep them in a attic or somewhere else instead of selling. give it away or throw it

 

[GardeniaSky]

Hoarding is usually like

Piles of garbage and broken stuff with no purpose.

 

[bluedude-98]

There is definitely overlap between the two and I don't think I can give greater insight than what people already said, but I am reminded of an anecdote.

I once saw this Facebook post of someone who was showing off his collection of Pokemon Colosseum. Not Pokemon Colosseum merchandise or memorabilia, no, it was his collection of copies of the game Pokemon Colosseum. I'm not sure exactly how many he had, but they were STACKS. And he had copies from every region, all in great condition. I think some people in the comments wanted to buy a copy but he refused them. He wasn't interested in selling any of them.

My parents wouldn't buy me a Gamecube as a kid, so Colosseum and XD were the only two Pokemon games that eluded me growing up (not to frames this as trauma or anything lol, I was just curious to play the game as a Pokemon fan). At the time I was also looking to buy a copy and ebay prices were insane, so it was infuriating to me that one person was hoarding all these copies for apparently no reason.

Now that person probably fancied himself as a collector, and he didn't exhibit the stereotypical hoarding traits. His room was spotless and the stacks were organized neatly. But the mentality is there. Why would anyone need more than one copy? When your "collecting" ruins the hobby for other people, it's really hoarding if you ask me.

 

[Swagmata]

For me it’s about what I’m actually playing versus what’s just sitting on my shelf. If I haven’t dusted a game off in a few years I can probably just sell it since it’s just taking up space anyways. I feel like if I’m not playing something it should be back out in the ecosystem for someone that will play it.

 

[E0N]

wld it be wrong to say collecting is hoarding then as no one really needs say, pokemon/yugioh cards, or any type of hobby items

You misunderstood me. By need I didn't mean necessary stuffs i.e. food that you need to survive. What I meant is, let's say, you need only 1 pokemon/yugioh card but instead of buying one you bought all of them so other people who wants that card can't buy it anymore. Of course they also need it because like you they also like doing their favourite hobbies. You are now a hoarder instead of a collector cause you just created an artificial scarcity for no reason (or a scalper if you intend to sell them to profit).

 

[Prism_Red]

Simple, is there a story behind it or not.

Let's say you didn't collect obvious junks, maybe you collect cars, if I point a finger at one of your ride and I ask why did you buy it? If you just said "oh, just because" that's hoarding.

 

[Raggs]

I have no real idea, but I did know a hoarder who lived in the nursing home I worked at. She was miserable with her addiction collecting so much stuff she could barely navigate her apartment. Nice woman. I felt bad for her.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

The better question why do they hoard so much junk? What is there to gain from taking everything that is garbage and pile it up in their homes?

 

[Prism_Red]

The better question why do they hoard so much junk? What is there to gain from taking everything that is garbage and pile it up in their homes?

Usually because of unreasonable fear or paranoia that they might need said item in the future. Hoarding is a disorder if I remember correctly.

 

[Tortuga]

In my option you collect stuff that you like.

There's people who collect video games, manga, books or whatever and they actually play/read them. Those people i call collectors.
Others collect same thing but never read/play them and i call those hoarders.

I know a guy who collect manga, and there is few series that he absolutely hate, yet he still continue to buy them. Why would you put something on your shelf that you hate?

Anyway if you want to spend 20 bucks on NES thats fine even if you only going to play it few times, but if you going to spend hundreds dollars on consoles you not going to use then that sound like a bad idea.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

If you don't play them, if you don't even dump them for the pleasure of sharing, I'd say it's not healthy.

The retro market is a crazy bubble right now and I think some people just get their kick of dopamine from impulse buying something overpriced. It's not "collecting" anymore.

 

[Clippy]

To use your NES as an example I'd say that having 1 or 2 is collecting, even if they're just going to gather dust. Obsessively buying every single NES you find at a bargain price for the next 6 years and ending up with 200 of them would be hoarding. Another hallmark of hoarding is making excuses for all those purchases.

1. Maybe one day I'll actually play it and I have to make sure I have a working unit! - Sure, buying a couple and testing them would be just fine for that.
2. Maybe I'll sell them at a profit. - No you won't and we all know it.
3. Maybe I'll use them for some project. - No you won't and even if you did, what kind of project would it be? Hooking up 200 NESes together to do what exactly?
4. Maybe I'll need them as spare parts donors. - Again, a couple would do for that. I can't imagine NES parts being of much use other than for another NES. You don't need 200 of them, you hoarder.
5. But they were cheap/on sale! - So? You can't go any lower than $0 so it doesn't matter how cheap you got them. You didn't need them and you just wasted money.

 

[middler]

For me the difference has always been a matter of something that is kept vs. something that can't be let go.

I collect Switch games. Having something to curate is good for my brain. I constantly look around both in my area and online for games that are on my list. Its a collection and a hobby. I don't have any other collections. My collection is orderly (if not presentation ready) and I am fairly proud of it.

I have a good friend that "collects" dolls. She has hundreds of them. They take up space in every room in her house. However, she keeps track of them in a notebook, she modifies them sometimes to make them look the way she wants them to look. She knows she has way more than she can handle but cant bare to let them go. I would say she rides the line.

My late grandmother was a hoarder. When my mother and I went to go through her things after she died it took 3 months. She had a 3 story barn and three other places she stored things: dolls, tea cups, silverware sets, wood furniture, newspapers, and on and on. None of it was taken care of very well so much of it just ended up in the trash. She just couldn't part with it.

 

[DanVzare]

Honestly. I don't think there's that much of a difference between collecting and hoarding.

Although personally I like to think that collecting is when you can actually point to your collection. When it's all over the place, filling up every nook and cranny without a second thought about it being there, then it's safe to say you're just hoarding. You also tend to use the things you collect, whether it's to admire them or use them for their intended purpose. Hoarding just results in clutter that's forgotten about.

On a related note, I don't think I've ever seen someone point me towards their collection of antiques, with a proud look on their face. They're usually just there gathering dust, and being added to on a daily basis. Meanwhile people will frequently try to show off their collection of figurines or video games. I'm not sure what means though. :/

That all being said. A personal opinion of mine is that you should try to limit yourself to just a single collection. If you try collecting more than one thing, then you're just going to end up hoarding.

 

[Novicier nocive]

I personally have some kind of dilemma but I most agree in several point in this discussion, some anecdote to tell: my grandpa (R.I.P) was a sort of hoarder because of how many USB, chargers and music discs picked when he was alive, he did pick even some of the charger that my family own when they're not used for over a month (I haven't as for now recovered the Wii u gamepad charger from what's that thing called room), he liked his hobby of music and radios but he was bad when it come to maintenance to the first two mentioned (a power outage because he was connecting and maintaining an active light socket that he purchased) and mostly my family was agreed on purchasing these stuff. As for today there's still boxes from radios and charger that are a labyrinth if checking if they work, I will continue cleaning after the university, I'm Locked in grade thesis and I will continue cleaning his room after graduating the university if my parents give me an opportunity.

 

[Leon_Squallhart]

For me the difference has always been a matter of something that is kept vs. something that can't be let go.

I'd agree with this. We've been cleaning out the basement that I grew up in and there's so much nonsense there. We've been able to clean out a ton, but there are still some big things that have been untouched for 20 years that my mom refuses to let us get rid of.

I'm talking things with no emotional significance at all like a foosball table that was purchased for me by them that I barely ever used. No deep backstory, no touching memory, just the idea that "you might want to play foosball someday!" keeping it in the house.

 

[Sir Auriel of Lionel]

I base a hoard based on ability to navigate your belongings, the organization of said items, the state they are preserved, read/use ability of items and if they are hindering your life by taking up space/damaging property space, being a fire or trip hazard or forcing other items out of their proper homes to accommodate the hoard then followed by if they are seeing actual use or appreciation by proper display.

By that standards I have multiple hoards. One a book hoard that I have full acknowledged and need to cut down by at the very least 100 books the other is my video game hoard that is physical but due to not having enough free time and other distractions haven't set up my gaming hobby other than my handhelds and laptop but they do have their own places so don't impede space as much as my books do, next hoard is data, many of them roms I might never have the free time to try and play them all but the hoard persists and grows due to the fear of archives falling to claims by companies that do not preserve their own IPs or do not make them available past their hardware's aging and scarcity. They take up a few TBs of space but not as much as my video hoarding for the same reason as the roms with the content even being repeated because of the hoard has gotten so large I cannot remember what has been saved but I must save what I can see now. Both data hoards are large but take up so little active space that it's the most justified in my mind. There's also a few dvds, anime collected in fear of inflation and tax rises in shipping that also triggered some thrift spends but they share space with my games so the impact is minimal.

Can any of my hoards be considered a collection? As a whole, no they take up one thing that cannot be replaced and that's time and money I've spent into collecting rather than spending time to enjoy said items but within each hoard when I do find stuff I enjoy that itself becomes part of a collection that I probably will not part even as the hoard shrinks.

 

[bjork]

As others have said, hoarding is a disorder, while collecting is a hobby. But I feel like there's got to be some rhyme or reason to it, to consider it a hobby. "I want to make a retro room" or "I want to collect every golf video game ever" or whatever.

At one point in time, I simply bought every game I could get my hands on, because I wanted to play everything and my circumstances allowed for it. Fast forwards a bit, and I had to disassemble my bed and sleep on a rug under a desk, because I had filled my space with too many systems and games and stuff. I couldn't see it at the time, but it wasn't a hobby, it was a sickness. I later unloaded like 95% of that stuff and immediately felt better. I do still wish I had Panzer Dragoon Saga and Ninja Five-O, though.