Stamps Can Be Addictive But...

Stamp collecting can be addictive, yet I've noticed that some tend to go overboard with it, loose the fun of it, they want to be able to have more than the other person. Don't you think? The magic of it is to me is getting the stamp identifying and finding out what the its about, The adventure ,thrill of discovery, That's the magic of stamp collecting to me. What about the rest???

It's not a competition for me to get more than the other person.

It's the obsessive compulsion for me to get ALL of them (and thus more than the other person)

I don't compare my collection to others to see how many more I have,
I compare mine to the catalogs to see how many more I need.

Hello Lilani....


Kuhli is right.....it's not a competion with other collectiors.....it's just that some of us cannot get enough.....we have to have more today than we had yesterday.

Lilly, stamp collecting is an evolving thing...our interests and values change..at some point the collector is not satisfied with the 10 cent stamps which anyone can acquire and thats when they begin to grow as a collector..believe me its not marbles where you say you have more than the other person..we build a collection for our own satisfaction..we may or may not wish to show it to another person..we NEVER brag about our collections .

I'm with Kuhli...I can't seem to get enough but, on;ly for my own satisfaction. My evershifting interests tend to lead to more volume that I have to actively rein in now and again.

When I started collecting I wanted everything I saw. I bought every large packet I could find. Since then I realized that is not the way to go. You end up with 50 of the same stamps. Then what...you end up storing them. I now just focus on U.S. mint and used. I also collect WWII era Europe and occupied countries. Now that I have narrowed my collecting down I can spend more time mounting my stamps rather than sorting the mass confusion of bulk stamps.

I would say I am incompetition with myself. I know how and what I want ot fill an album with.

David

I'd agree with David Giles that I'm competing with myself. But the joy in the hobby now is more in the reseach & discovery.

Mike

I also compete with myself. I am constantly looking to fill the "holes" in my collection. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and have to stop to do the research, and mount the stamps that I have acquired.

Its always good to have a back up when your main collecting interest hits a dry spell..i am backfilling Netherlands 1993-1998..looking for the sheets of Christmas stamps etc !

I know I'll never have as many as "the other guy." Heck, none of us will every have as many as Bobgggg!

I'm more about completion. I like to complete entire mini-collections. That's why I like the little APS albums. Most people can afford to complete them (with the exception of the recent "First 50 Women" album, of course).

I too agree with everyone's views. competition among your self is certainly there. :)

I do think the "collector gene" is related to the "compulsive gene" ...

I've mentioned here before, I don't collect many countries, but I hate to see a blank space on an album page. I get a little crazy with trying to fill the spaces. It's been very tough for me as I've tried (with limited budget) to work on 18th Cenutury U.S. Singles.

KirkS

before I started this hobby I already had O.C.D ,and to go into this hobby like I did not knowing a thing about stamps,with as much as I have who knows what I was thinking,It seems to me that everybody has done their collection differently,so with me not having a clue how to set mine up I just went with it and did it the way I like it

When I came back from UK,I saw some uploaded pictures of someone on face book.So I wanted to restart collecting stamps.
There were many trades and I got addicted to most of them and I started bidding for everything.
Finally realized that I should control my addiction towards stamps and bid for some not for all.
because I don't have many stamps to trade all the time.:D

Yea Nash trading can be addictive too. Its fine if you have plenty of used duplicates, but if you dont getting mint can be bad for your purse LOl!