I think I'm an other. I collect everything D&D from very early 2nd Edition on back. Pretty much this entire site (TSR wise) is what I collect. But I don't have any set goals on how to get there. Well, I'm anal on condition. If it's not VF or better I won't bid on it, because I know I'm just going to have to replace it someday eventually anyway. But as far as like, a set, I don't do it that way.

For instance, my B series and X series are woefully inadequate. And I STILL don't own an I6 in good shape. But do I go out and hunt for just those? Nope. I browse, if I see something nice I go for it, if not, eh, it'll come up again later, you know?

When it comes to bidding habits, I rarely have a set limit I spend on items. I bid until I feel like it's not worth it anymore. Usually, I see what an item is worth, then tack on a little extra, because nothing hurts me more than to see somebody else win with a dollar over my bid. Oh I hate that. Say I think it's worth $20.00, I'll bid $25.00 anyway. What's 5 bucks extra versus not knowing if that extra 5 spot would have won me the item?

I'm probably weird. Who knows. As I look past my computer monitor at my collection, though, I feel just fine.

Zen

P.S. Oh hell yeah my collection shelf is right behind my desk in my living room in all it's glory. Everybody who comes in gets to look at it and ask me what it is, and I get to ramble a bit about it. Good times.  

For most lines, I usually find reason to avoid complete sets. There are always a few items that are too mediocre & blah, that take away from the collection as a whole. Sometimes a neat chronological border may be drawn: AD&D before the orange spines [1983], or RuneQuest before the boxed sets [1981].

In other cases there is no easy definition of what makes a title sub-par. The Judges Guild books for RQ include a couple of duds [Duck Pond, Lei Tabor] published at the same time as the good stuff [Duck Tower]. The last two multi-player scenarios for The Fantasy Trip RPG [Dihad/Dihak, the ones later re-published by Mayfair as non-TFT] to me lack what the rest of the line has, while the last solos retain it [Orb Quest].

If I played the game in question as it was published, there was typically an early phase when it seemed incredibly cool, then progressively more tedious. I have the the early stuff made for Warhammer, which seemed like a brilliant renewal of the fantasy genre at the time. However by '89 or so, Games Workshop exploded onto the American market with inescapable ubiquitous overkill which I'd rather pretend never existed.

I think that over the years I have evolved quite a bit as a collector.  When I first started out I was very goal oriented and just wanted to build up my collection of the core TSR D&D and AD&D modules through 2nd edition.  No Dark Sun, Spelljammer, etc.  After about a year I had managed to grab a hold of all of the modules that I really wanted.  Most of them were in good shape but I didnt really make condition a huge factor at the time.  Now I wish I had!

Another year went by and I branched out into Forgotten Realms and Planescape.  I became a member of the forum and in doing so I realized that there was a lot more out there than I ever could have imagined.  It was about that time that I realized I wanted to collect more than just TSR D&D.  I already had a fairly decent size Shadowrun collection so I worked on completing that and then moved on to MERP, Twilight: 2000, and Traveller.  All the while still picking up D&D and related items.  But it wasnt until Aneoth sold off the majority of his collection that I realized that I was becoming a moderately serious collector.  An OCE with all the supplements plus a couple of R series modules and I was on my way.

I no longer set myself any major goals so I obviously do not have any complete sets of anything.  Although I am very close to completing my MERP and Twilight: 2000 collections.  Over the last couple of years I have become somewhat of a frugal collector.  If I cant get something for what I believe to be a good price then I will wait for another one to come up.  This usually leads me to some very good deals but can be a source of frustration from time to time since there are some items that only come up on Ebay only once in a great while.  Rarely will I throw a ridiculous bid at something just because I want it.  One of these days I will end up paying $700 on a Warriors of Mars or something equally strange just because I am sick of losing out.  

And speaking of Ebay, with all of the changes Ebay has gone through recently I have been trying different ways to keep my collecting bug going.  Private sales, the Gen Con auction, and other venues are looking better and better as a source for rarities instead of Ebay.  Not being able to see who you are bidding against makes it so much easier for shilling to take place.  I dropped three or four auctions just last week because a zero feedback bidder was pushing up the prices on the items I was looking at.

I will say that as D&D collectors go I am probably a bit different than most.  I have very little desire to own what most consider to be the "holy grails".  I just really have no desire to own a woodgrain, Tamo, or Inverness.  But for some odd reason a Tsojconth is something on my "wish list".  Maybe its the artwork.  

Before three years ago I was what would be considered a rabid collector.

As Kingofpain (John) alluded to above; I had what might be thought of as a middling collection of D&D items.  Most of it was older TSR.

I was constantly on E-Bay or here snooping for fun finds and posts related to some find I might have missed. (As unlikely as that was then).

About 15 OD&D White Box Sets   is one example of the hoarding I was doing at that time. I also had at least two complete sets of the R and RPGA series. At least three sets of all the OD&D Supplements (The smaller books). One set was set aside as they were all first print/edition all in NM-Mint condition. I think I had about 14 or so copies the Greyhawk Supplement alone. I had at least one copy of EVERY common TSR module (several copies of most).

Then one fine day I decided it was time to sell it, or at least most of it.

I posted here at first, but got no serious inquiries, so I gave up trying to find buyers on the Acaeum and called Mike and John and they each came over to look over what I had. John got a few things first, and then Mike arrived the next day. Mike ended up buying all but a very few Exceedingly rare items for an agreed price.

When we finished loading his truck the bed was completely filled and the extended cab was so full as to worry me that he could even see to drive home. I think his store still has quite a few items from that purchase available, plus many other items that went into his private collection.

Since then, I have collected nearly nothing, though I do place a bid on occasion on E-Bay. Rarely being the winning bidder though.

I kept a few items out of that large sale to Mike, and I have obtained a few minor things in the past three years. And although I do intend to continue collecting in a small way, I cant picture ever again having the size or the sort of collection I had three years ago.

Strickly small time for me.

BTW: Despite his being outbid by a buck so often on E-Bay, I had seen (Kingofpain) John's collection three years ago and again more recently, and I can vouch that he is most assuredly far more active and even more serious than I was back then. Of course his collecting tastes are far more varied than mine were/are.

About twelve years ago I sold off all but my core rule books plus a few books, my miniatures and maybe six or seven modules.  I had Dungeon 1-40 something, two hundred Dragon Mags, probably forty modules and a bunch of other stuff.  I wish I was active on eBay because it would have gone for twice what I sold it for, but eBay wasn't big back then(or maybe not in existance?)

About three years ago I decided to buy most of it back, and then some, and then some.  I now have three times the Dungeon mags and about twice the modules.  I have nothing rarity 4 or 5 and probably never will.  Virtually nothing is in shrink, and I could care less about that.  I do not have near the collection most of you have.

I just collect what I can read and enjoy.  I buy whatever I can make money on.  I have only bought four or five things on eBay that I have flipped.  Most of my eBay purchases were for my collection.  I do not collect as an investment.

I stuck early on with what I was playing with be it the Known World and 2nd Edition stuff. Then picked up a bunch of 1st edition modules from a brothers friend for cheap, some 1st edition books from another for cheap, then it just cascaded from there.

Mostly I'd try to finish a collection within that chaos, wouldn't try for various printings unless those types of items came in lots, then I'd keep those prints and sell any duplicates. So have various printings of TSR stuff, just not looking to complete them.

Bought a couple Judges Guild items, played in Tegel Manor at Gen Con, bought a Tegel Manor, Bought a large lot of other related items, went crazy, bought various printings of Judges Guild, became a bit more sane.

Now I tend to collect slower, more reserved. Would rather learn about something then actually have it.

ShaneG.

I still have a lot of stuff, but I have been trimming off the unuseable stuff for a while now. When it comes to things like PoVQ, Tamoes and the like, I prefer to own them for a short while and pass them on for others to enjoy. Somewhere I still have the picture of the Prismatic Wall I used to have in my den.
At the moment, I collect MERP (nearly done), figurines, and the odd RPG item that strikes my fancy.

Mars wrote:I picked that I collect all RPG uncontrollably.  I started with some very broad goals like all TSR D&D, then expanded to all TSR.  I also picked up a number of other games sytems and books for cheap when I walked into a game store and cleared out their used section or found them in a cheap auction.

My main focus for the last number of years has been small press 3rd party items for D&D, generic fantasy and other RPGs.  I also collect rpg magazines and there are lots of titles that only lasted 1-12 issues.  I think my scope of collecting is very big but my main focus on 3rd party items is relatively small.

You know it sounds more and more like we were twins seperated at birth Mark... what he said!


Brette:)

Core OD&D / Basic / 1st ed AD&D collecting!
I collect print runs of very specific modules
But I plan to release them back into the wild one day.
Some I work towards 1st printings.
Others I'm fine with any printing.
Set completion - I only do this on the smallest level. Say D1-3.

But I'm open to picking up great items outside of my main area at any time.