People can collect anything they deem collectible, but as a car enthusiast, collecting model cars is very common.
It's nice picking them up, looking at them, checking the details, comparing different brands... Some even play a bit with them on the desk every now and then.
It makes you feel like a child again. Briefly imagining settings while at it.
That's just one of the things I personally collect. The rabbit hole goes deep.
In this article we will be talking about:
What is a collection and who defines it
What is the difference with owning
What is the "sense of community" of collecting
Is collecting stupid?
Collecting vs owning
I want to kick this off with our friend Andreas here, who kindly replied to the #QOTW2 about who of you collected anything.
And this begs the questions:
Who defines a collection?
What is a collection?
What is the difference with owning?
I'd love to read your answers about this (you can reply to this email if it's in your inbox, or find me in social media), but here are mine:
Who defines a collection?
There's many levels about this, but my quick answers would be:
The manufacturer? No.
The community? Yes and no.
The collector? Yes.
The manufacturer
I think the manufacturer "likes" to define collections or sets of things, because that's how they get in your head. It's very hard, if you collect a certain thing and have "3 out of 5 from the set", to not get the other two, "just for the sake of it".
I know this very well because it's how it is with many Hot Wheels set I collect. But I collect exactly what I like and don't care at all about the pre-defined sets by the company.
This is just one of the tricks they use to get you. Some others include:
The "Chase" item: it is not very common or even present in all boxes, making it more rare even. It's just "the same as another one but in a different colour". It sounds crazy how people are tricked to want this, when you think about what it really is.
Fake scarcity: self explanatory and related to the one above. They release things with different numbers in lower volumes.
Re-releases with minor differences: people who "need to have them all" are destroyed by this manufacturer technique. Since the manufacturer decides what a collection is here, they can release the same thing with a minor change and "make them" buy it again.
And all these are the scalper's favourite. Scalpers are people who don't collect and they just buy everything other people want, to sell it at a higher price for profit, ruining the experience for everyone but themselves. I will not get more into this topic because they don't deserve anything else than hate.
The community
In the spirit of "collect what you like", then I have the "Yes and no" answer for "the community defined collection".
You 100% will enjoy your collection more if you collect what you like. That's why you want it in the first place. But then there's the "sharing your collection" aspect of it. This includes a community of like-minded people who love what you love.
In these moments you find that the "peer pressure" is a bit higher because your friend got 5/5 so why are you going to stop 3/5 instead of sharing the joy and having yet another thing in common?
The answer is "because you collect what you like and you don't have to like the same things".
The collector
Absolutely yes. Going back to our friend Andreas here.
You can collect whatever you want.
As long as your collection makes sense to you and makes you smile, that's enough. But then…
What defines a collection?
It doesn't have to have a number.
It doesn't even have to be something limited.
It just has to matter to you and no one else. If it does matter to someone else, that's a bonus, but you shouldn't be driven by that. It's how you purchase and regret.
Does the size of the collection matter? Not much.
Every collection started with 1 thing. Then 2. Maybe you are at that point. Or you are very picky and it takes years to get another item in it.
As I said before, the collector defines what is a collection to them, and there's no wrong answer.
What is the difference with owning?
Well, the fact that you have more than one of a certain thing, definitely does not mean you have a collection of it.
Like Andreas mentioned above, a collection needs a thought process attached to it. It must mean something to you. You must be on the lookout for maintaining the collection, adding new things if it makes sense, and have a sense of pride for owning it.