Winter is coming.
Better to be prepared.

I am trying to get stuff into systems or boxes though.
My appartment has been looking like Stalingrad all winter.
My hording abilitys are stellar so I have some sorting to do.

I aggressively sell all the time. It is the only way to balance my buying compulsion and OCD. 😀

I used to do that as well. At first everything was for free as people were dumping their old and obsolete computers on the streets.
I took everything home with me.

At some point I decided I would best stick to standard AT 386 and up because that way I would have many parts that were interchangeable.
The problem with finding computers on the streets is that most of them were already plundered by the time I found them and incomplete non-standard computers are just a waste of space...and now we get to the relevant part.
Space.

I'm lucky, I got a whole attic to put my stuff in. I live alone, so I can do whatever I friggin want with my house 😁 I don't really care what people think of it, the living room is always tidy and not riddled with computer parts (most of the time 😁 ).

But I do recognize the problem of letting good deals slip away. Most of the time I'm not even busy with my retrorigs and they just sit there gathering dust.
But from time to time the retrobug hits me again and quite often I then go on a buying spree until I run out of money basically.

However, I find buying and negotiating good deals very fun to do. I recognize when a deal is good and I always keep my eyes open (just recently saw a cheap AGP HD3850 graphics card with a buyout for 10 euro's...only thing is, the picture of the card itself showed a worthless PCI-E card. Keeping my eyes open all the time! 😁 ). Also I try to buy in bulk and then negotiate a good deal.

Also I tend to try and buy items at their lowest value. It's hard to guess when the value (and if the value) of certain items will increase over time, but I think I can do a good job at that. Also important is that an item is useful to me. Being just rare isn't enough for me to press that "buy it now" button, it has to be of use to me. Stuff that is of use to me, but expensive, I just wait till the prices are right...and I'll wait for years if I have to. I can be also very patient at times. AM2 and DDR2 stuff as well as Intel Core stuff will get cheaper very soon I think. That and I don't "need" those items right now.

For me part of the fun is the hunt! The hunt for a good part for a good price! Only thing is, I gotta be careful not to buy too much or else even my attic will start overflowing 🤣!

Iam not kind of that hoarder.. I know i spent a lot of money on these computer parts.. But i definitely i can make the difference of which parts i really want and which dont. I isnt that i will spend more money whole my life on these vintage computer parts.. But i will keep my eyes open if i see some rare parts would be on sale.

As much problems that one's hoard can make at lest it is not the cause of my more serous problems and at the least it pays for its self when I make sales. Lost the hoard twice now but always end up rebuilding despite the cost ect. Some collections are worth the space they take up and other prove useful but the rest are hazards. Started collecting by dumpster diving and thrift shops.

Heaven help me, the Spring Clean Up is coming where the garbage men will take anything left at the curb. I'll be cruising the streets the night before looking for computer stuff.

I don't consider myself a hoarder, but my office does look like mission control at Nasa or Skynet, so I do have way too many F'ing computers, that's for sure. However, it is my vocation/profession so that's how I justify it. I don't like to have more than 3 or 4 systems at any one time, since it is too much to manage. With some of my recent acquisitions, I'll need to get rid of a few things.

I spent way too much on stuff for the Tandy. I changed my password to something crazy long so I have to look it up, so I'll be way less likely to buy something on impulse.
It is way too easy to go nuts with this stuff.

I am a hoarder I guess, the basement is packed with computer equipment (and a few laptops are in my room). The rest of the house and garage are pretty much computer free (I do have a ton of empty boxes in the garage waiting for a sell off of duplicates).

Come spring half of this stuff has to go so I can use the other half.

I'm a focused hoarder. I'm not interested in, say, pristine 486 despite its collectible values, because it's of no use for me.

I merely focus on stuff you cannot emulate with DOSBOX - mostly the hardware needed for pure DOS system or Windows 98 system.

A pair of CH Fighterstick/CH Pro Throttle, for instance, is more valuable to me than an 486 motherboard, because the former can work with Windows 98.

I do seem to have some of the hoarding genes myself.

I can't seem to let go of hardware once I acquire it, at least if it's still functional. I have diagnosed this and my own observations are that the hardware I hoard seems to be either be a) stuff that I always wish I had back when it was hot and b) stuff that has nostalgic value to me.

Category b) is especially problematic because in those cases the hoarding is not actually fulfilling the underlying desire. The machines themselves don't really satisfy the longing for late night gaming sessions in good company, stuffing our faces with pizza and so on... All the games are there, everything is ready to go. All I'm missing is someone eager to still play those damn old games with me. Good times, in other words. 😀

Category a) has a lot of the same elements, but at least I don't spend an arm and a leg in all cases to experience the thrill of new hardware.

All in all the, hoarding is counterbalanced by lack of space and my own awareness that once I buy, it will be really hard to let the hardware go.

leonardo wrote:

I do seem to have some of the hoarding genes myself. […]
Show full quote

I do seem to have some of the hoarding genes myself.

I can't seem to let go of hardware once I acquire it, at least if it's still functional. I have diagnosed this and my own observations are that the hardware I hoard seems to be either be a) stuff that I always wish I had back when it was hot and b) stuff that has nostalgic value to me.

Category b) is especially problematic because in those cases the hoarding is not actually fulfilling the underlying desire. The machines themselves don't really satisfy the longing for late night gaming sessions in good company, stuffing our faces with pizza and so on... All the games are there, everything is ready to go. All I'm missing is someone eager to still play those damn old games with me. Good times, in other words. 😀

Category a) has a lot of the same elements, but at least I don't spend an arm and a leg in all cases to experience the thrill of new hardware.

All in all the, hoarding is counterbalanced by lack of space and my own awareness that once I buy, it will be really hard to let the hardware go.

I have the same problem in that I don't want to let go of parts once I've acquired them. I partially solved this by simply buying a lot less then I used to and by being much more strict about what parts I part with (a great ATX case but missing a side panel? Away with it!).
And about the wanting to keep everything, I am starting to slightly let go of parts that I at least can spare, but (and this is quite embarrassing) I really have a hard time letting go of parts, even if I don't use them now. I think that's my major problem right now.

It's under control, but there's still some rocks on the road ahead of me.

I really like selling things and making other people happy. That brings me a lot of joy. 😀

I also find I get more out of my hobby when I am not buying and subsequently testing items. I am on a buying and selling (not actively listing new items) hold right now (for a month at least). I have been able to spend a lot more time actually playing games and playing MIDI files. 😀

There's a guy that runs some retro gaming site, I forget which one. He may even read Vogons. Maybe it is Blake? I don't think it is Trixter. Anyway, he has set up really nice room in his basement for his retrogaming stuff, where his collection is showcased rather than just having a mountain of stuff.
We all have different means and talents, but I would like to do something more like that rather than just having a disorganized mess of things.
I have noticed in my own life, that the fewer things I have to manage (up to a certain amount) the easier it is to manage those things. So I try to limit myself to 5 active systems (ideally I'd rather have 3-5).

The other part of this is while we try to recapture things we like or time in our life, everything has its time and place and sometimes you just can't get that back. You can sort of visit, but you can never really go back.

As far as why you're hanging onto something, are you hanging onto it because it brings you joy? Are you hanging onto it because you think you'll need it? Are you hanging onto it as an investment? I'd say the least valid reason to hang onto something is you think you might need it.
If you're saving 100 motherboards because you may need them, maybe it is time to whittle that down to 10?

But if the things you are hanging onto are starting to cause you pain (for whatever reason, too much stuff, no time to take care of it or enjoy it, etc)
then you need to clear things out. At least that is the way I try to approach these things in my life. If I havne't looked at it in 6 months and it isn't something that I'm hanging onto as a collectible/investment or otherwise actively showcasing or enjoying, out it goes.

The Tandy has special meaning for me because it was the first computer I ever used. And I always wanted an SGI in college but could never afford one, so that is why I have a few in my collection. And while I would like to put together a 486 VLB system to recreate the one on I had in college, that is sort of on the back burner since I could easily see myself spending a ton of cash doing it unless I did it piece-meal and really looked for bargains. But all the other stuff I've got hanging around, I really don't need to hang onto.

At least we all know we're not alone with our hoarding problems.

My hoarding journey started off with me wanting to build a fast retro rig that could run games ranging from the late 80's all the way through to around 2003 games. My issue here came when I couldn't get sound to work in dos using a sound blaster live card. I then decided to pull my old pentium 2 rig out of storage and tinker with that. After upgrading that rig I suddenly had an infatuation with sound blaster and voodoo cards. Then graphics cards in general. Soon I started looking at my bank statement and realised I'd spent close to $4000 within a few months on retro hardware. My eBay feedback had gone from 190 to 415 if that's any indication of my addiction.

Next I thought, I better start selling some stuff so up a few things went on eBay and $1000 of my money was replenished. Only to be spent again on other retro hardware!! Ahhhhh what is wrong with me. If my gf found out she'd kill me! Been able to get away with it for this long due to getting everything delivered to my work place and storing everything there. Family business has it's perks 😉

An example of my addiction is my pentium 4 rig. It's maxed out and uses a sound blaster live 5.1 card. But I just purchased a brand new audigy 2 zs platium for it. What's the point when I'm using 2 cheap speakers for it? Why? Because I'm an idiot that's why!

I have now built 7 computers within the last 6-7 months....Someone help me!

Yeah, that's a huge problem, because if you're close to the median income
that is like 8 or 9 percent of your income right there. Another way to look at it,
is 4000 is at or near the yearly contribution limit for a Roth IRA.

I've spent my share of money on stupid things that I'm never going to get back.
I don't even have most of that hardware, if I did I wouldn't be trolling eBay.
But if you're spending that much in a single year on this stuff, unless you're pretty
well-off (like income in the six figure range) that is a lot to spend on a hobby.

Yeah, part of the problem is when you earn more you tend to spend more. I'll blame my parents for starting my interest in computers with my first 486 pc haha I earn good money which doesn't help things. Not 6 figures good though so I should really slow down a bit. I was only thinking last week that when I've finished putting together my latest 486 rig I'm going to stop for a long time and then sell off what I don't need. Will definitely hang onto my roland stuff though because I rarely ever see for example mpu-401/at' and roland daughterboards for sale anymore.

Part of the problem with hoarding is that you buy stuff and store it but never use it. Thinking about it, I spend more time building and tinkering with my pc's and getting them to operate perfectly than I do actually playing games on them which is what I initially started this hobby for in the first place.

I am almost satisfied with the stuff i have gathered, i'm just missing a dozen more games or so. There's still a handful of hardware i would like to get my hands on but i'm not gonna lose my sleep over it.

borgie83 wrote:

At least we all know we're not alone with our hoarding problems. […]
Show full quote

At least we all know we're not alone with our hoarding problems.

My hoarding journey started off with me wanting to build a fast retro rig that could run games ranging from the late 80's all the way through to around 2003 games. My issue here came when I couldn't get sound to work in dos using a sound blaster live card. I then decided to pull my old pentium 2 rig out of storage and tinker with that. After upgrading that rig I suddenly had an infatuation with sound blaster and voodoo cards. Then graphics cards in general. Soon I started looking at my bank statement and realised I'd spent close to $4000 within a few months on retro hardware. My eBay feedback had gone from 190 to 415 if that's any indication of my addiction.

Next I thought, I better start selling some stuff so up a few things went on eBay and $1000 of my money was replenished. Only to be spent again on other retro hardware!! Ahhhhh what is wrong with me. If my gf found out she'd kill me! Been able to get away with it for this long due to getting everything delivered to my work place and storing everything there. Family business has it's perks 😉

An example of my addiction is my pentium 4 rig. It's maxed out and uses a sound blaster live 5.1 card. But I just purchased a brand new audigy 2 zs platium for it. What's the point when I'm using 2 cheap speakers for it? Why? Because I'm an idiot that's why!

I have now built 7 computers within the last 6-7 months....Someone help me!

If I go on a buying spree, I buy maybe 10 things at most and then I stop buying again. And I try to keep things as cheap as possible. I don't need the best of the best (in retro hardware), but just something that is a good deal to me. For example: Roland sound cards. I know, they sound absolutely great! But I can't afford them, so I'll settle for something else (in this case, whatever is in my spare parts box).

Whenever I haven't been in my attic for a while and then go up there and see all my stuff neatly sorted, I always think "WOW!". I have it all stored efficiently and labeled all the boxes so I know where any particular piece of hardware should be. I got my own private computer store and I freakin love it 😁
But it has to stay organized. If the collection gets so large that I can't handle it anymore, only then will I start parting with stuff. But it simply hasn't reached that point yet.

Also it seems some people here spend way more then me on retro hardware. I spend maybe 25 to 50 euro on average each month on retro hardware.

I do see an interesting difference though when I compare myself with other hoarding collectors: Where others tend to look for specific items, I just get something that is close enough. At least that's how I'm starting to see things now.
If I can't get that Roland for 10 euro, I just use that AWE32 I got for free 3 months ago. I don't care because it's good enough for me. If I can't find a good deal on that GeForce FX 5999 Ultra Deluxe Farcry Painkiller 256meg Limited Collector Special Edition for my Tualatin rig, I'm perfectly happy to settle with that oem GeForce 3 Ti200 I got for 1 euro on the fleamarket last year. Those couple less frames per second and those few missing feature don't matter that much to me anyway.
I don't need that particular rare X-treme overclocker ASUS motherboard, this rather unpopular but perfectly fine standard Gigabyte one is roughly similar and 5 times as cheap so I just get the Gigabyte one (just another example).

See where I'm going? 😜

Same here, I'm trying not to spend a ton on retro gear, maybe $50-$75 a month tops. I had a bad month last month since I was buying a bunch of parts all at once. I also try to stick to "buy it now" and "make an offer" type auctions, that keeps my costs down.