Going Cold Turkey on Purchases

[Indy007]

I currently own nearly 250 films on Blu Ray and a few TV seasons. I looked at my collection and realised there are about 100 I haven't watched yet.

My daughter was born last month and I am facing facts that I can't just watch Blu Rays any time. My goal now for the next year or 2 is to catch up and watch what I already own. I MUST STOP BUYING MORE! They end up just going on the shelf and collect dust for months on end. I also have loads of films sitting on my Sky+ Box and Lovefilm discs lying around as well.

Oh yeah and Battlefield 3 keeps taunting me inside its box

Anybody else facing a similar situation or simply wish to control their purchases?

I am hoping then that in a couple of years the Blus I want will be cheaper and I will feel better at having watched what I own

[a clockwork orange]

i told myself i need to slowdown on the buying this year to catch up on my collection. i bought over 200 blus last year, majority of them i havent watched yet. my goal is to watch all my movies by the end of the year! but it's hard when you buy 8 more movies from gohastings!!! damn it! i need too control myself.

[ZoetMB]

Whenever I see people listing gigantic collections, there's one side of me that says, "if they can afford it and it makes them happy, so what?" and there's another that says "what were they thinking?"

I simply can't see the point of collecting BDs (or anything for that matter) for the sake of collecting - that don't get watched (or listened to or read, etc.).

Let's say the average movie is two hours and each has only an hour of extras. 500 movies would take 1500 hours to consume. If someone watches 3 hours a day, five days a week, it would take almost two years to watch those movies once each.

I also don't understand the psychology of people who think that they have to buy a release the day it comes out. What's the difference if you wait? It's not like the vinyl LP days when you bought early in order to get the first pressing, because subsequent pressings were frequently inferior due to the stampers wearing out.

Especially if you're feeling pressure due to family issues and you have all these unwatched films, there's no reason to keep buying unless there's a particular title that you know is going to disappear. In fact, there's several advantages to waiting: prices tend to decline over time (even if they don't go straight down) and many films get remastered for even better quality. I don't even want to think about how much money I paid for films like "Close Encounters..." which sell for almost nothing now.

[jc480]

I don't have cable at all...I use a digital over the air broadcast antenna.

So in lieu of a cable bill I'll buy a few BDs that I see on sale. I try to only buy at 70% off unless it's something I really want (which is rare).

My BD library is what paid for with the cash I normally would have given the cable company.

[Atreyu]

I, for one, enjoy perusing the websites for best prices and all. I buy blus whenever I feel I can get one for a good price, provided it is one I will watch. It is just plain fun to do all that looking and going back and forth to various websites and bidding on Ebay.
So for me it is just as much fun buying blus as it is watching them.

[Indy007]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

I, for one, enjoy perusing the websites for best prices and all. I buy blus whenever I feel I can get one for a good price, provided it is one I will watch. It is just plain fun to do all that looking and going back and forth to various websites and bidding on Ebay.
So for me it is just as much fun buying blus as it is watching them.

I have a similar mindset actually but for the sake of my wallet I am trying to snap out of it. I just enjoy owning films I enjoy or 'admire'. I just feel a little silly that my copy of Boardwalk Empire (Blind Buy) is still sitting in its cellophane unwatched. Instead I plod through okay stuff like 'V' just to get the disc out of the house back to Lovefilm.

[Lsalas76]

I have about 25 catalog titles that I would like to buy some which are already released, some of which have yet to be released. I tell myself that once I get those catalog titles that I may stop buying unless I see a movie in theaters that I really like or rent a movie that I end up liking alot. I have about 17 unopened blind buys that I have yet to watch and about 25 unopened ones that I have previously watched on cable, dvd, rentals, or at the theater but never got around to opening the blu-ray yet. I could say that of the 350 movies I own most of them have ever been watched more than once with the exceptions being Star Wars, Disney/Pixar movies, other animated movies, and some family movies all which I usually rewatch with my nieces. Also The Crow, Braveheart, Gladiator, the Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, X-men First Class, Superman II, Stand By Me, Forrest Gump, Fast Five, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings Return of the King, and the Godfather are the only ones that come to mind that have had multiple viewings. I think I've built up my movie library well enough to say that I am content with it and really don't need to buy anymore(expect those 25 catalog titles I still want). I was able to stop buying physical cds cold turkey but thats because of the digital itunes era.

[Jennifer Lawrence Fan]

I'm trying to stop my buying, all while trying to sell lot of things that I figured I won't watched or didn't need but bought anyway cause of the price.

Anyone interested in certain titles look at the thread in my sig and we can work out a deal on something.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Let's say the average movie is two hours and each has only an hour of extras. 500 movies would take 1500 hours to consume. If someone watches 3 hours a day, five days a week, it would take almost two years to watch those movies once each.

This one's simple to figure out. Watch 'em as you buy 'em. I never watch the special features/extras, and I frequently watch more than one movie a day.

[Batmon77]

Refrain from movies that have low re-watchability.

[zahinn]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Whenever I see people listing gigantic collections, there's one side of me that says, "if they can afford it and it makes them happy, so what?" and there's another that says "what were they thinking?"

I simply can't see the point of collecting BDs (or anything for that matter) for the sake of collecting - that don't get watched (or listened to or read, etc.).

Let's say the average movie is two hours and each has only an hour of extras. 500 movies would take 1500 hours to consume. If someone watches 3 hours a day, five days a week, it would take almost two years to watch those movies once each.

I also don't understand the psychology of people who think that they have to buy a release the day it comes out. What's the difference if you wait? It's not like the vinyl LP days when you bought early in order to get the first pressing, because subsequent pressings were frequently inferior due to the stampers wearing out.

Especially if you're feeling pressure due to family issues and you have all these unwatched films, there's no reason to keep buying unless there's a particular title that you know is going to disappear. In fact, there's several advantages to waiting: prices tend to decline over time (even if they don't go straight down) and many films get remastered for even better quality. I don't even want to think about how much money I paid for films like "Close Encounters..." which sell for almost nothing now.

This.

I hit 85 last year around January. That was about after 1 1/2 years of buying movies and me realizing there are about 10 films in my collection that I dont even want. So I really slowed down what I buy. Now I have like a 100. Last one I purchased was when Panda 2 came out.

[Steel Panther]

I don't get a choice in the matter. My rent just went up $200, so buying what I did before, just can't happen. Of course, this excludes anything with an amazing price on it.

I have a ton of movies still sealed too, but they're mostly catalogue titles I've seen a billion times. I even have a handful I'm desperate to get rid of.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Indy007

I have a similar mindset actually but for the sake of my wallet I am trying to snap out of it. I just enjoy owning films I enjoy or 'admire'. I just feel a little silly that my copy of Boardwalk Empire (Blind Buy) is still sitting in its cellophane unwatched. Instead I plod through okay stuff like 'V' just to get the disc out of the house back to Lovefilm.

not sure why you "plod" through rentals when you can just watch unopened titles you own instead?

[EdDave]

The last 3 months I've been unemployed and just finally got a job. I haven't purchased a blu ray in that 3 months and just spent all that time watching some of the unwatched stuff in my collection. But now the addiction begins again.

[Indy007]

Originally Posted by retablo

not sure why you "plod" through rentals when you can just watch unopened titles you own instead?

Your right. That is why I have put my account on hold until May (account holiday they call it). Just need to get through V first though and get the discs back to them,

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Indy007

I currently own nearly 250 films on Blu Ray and a few TV seasons. I looked at my collection and realised there are about 100 I haven't watched yet.
. I MUST STOP BUYING MORE!

As soon as you've got your pile down, why go cold turkey?
Why not just get yourself a nice Netflix nicotine patch?

[mmyersisgod]

Sometimes I actually enjoying buying more than watching only because I am not ALWAYS in the mood for a 90 minute movie. For me I like to really invest myself in a movie and I don't like doing anything half assed. Right now I probably have about 700 unwatched movies, including both BDs and DVDs. I should probably stop buying too but I know it would only last a day or two.

[Indy007]

Originally Posted by EricJ

As soon as you've got your pile down, why go cold turkey?
Why not just get yourself a nice Netflix nicotine patch?

Well my plan is to keep Lovefilm going (uk based disc and streaming rental service) and to keep watching stuff on Sky Movies (mostly stuff like American Beauty, A Few Good Men etc... that I have missed over the years)

[DualEdge]

I'm definitely in this boat as well. I have so much stuff that is still in its original, sealed packaging. To get better about my purchasing was one of my New Year's resolutions. One of the biggest red flags about just buying and buying without watching was the fact that many of the titles had significantly lowered in price by the time I actually got around to watching it, thus giving me a feeling of wasting money. I think everyone's buying habits are different, but I just don't think I could get used to renting at this point.

[riverbelow]

Ive been collecting 2 years and 2 months to get to this amount.

I have enough time to watch several per week. The problem is I watch new buys with my brother for 'movie nights' so we do sometimes 2 per week. When I'm buying large we get a bit behind and xmas sales have put us 60-70 films in arrears.

I want to stop from one perspective, but when titles reduce to price points you've been waiting maybe years for, you have to jump on it to save money for movies you will watch. I've saved thousands of dollars on my collection this way.

All movies I thoroughly enjoy, none bought thinking I'll only watch it once. This is a decade investment for most of us. You can watch 500 movies in a decade easily.