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What's the difference between "collecting" and 'hoarding"?

If you open up one of your closets and see it's 'full' of stereo gear 'you don't use'...your hoarding, maybe. It all depends on your situation.

Maybe you have 2 extra sets of speakers for a special reason, maybe they work or not? Ok, no problem. Maybe your keeping that special amp that's broke or that other little amp just because it sounds so wonderful, or whatever reason...ok, no problem. Maybe your spare closet is really small!! But to keep any more that that...what's the reason for keeping?? Your never going to use it and it will never be fixed, believe me. It's just 'broken gear adrift' really, junk, unless it's really 'special or rare' and you will get to it...someday. (You'll never get to it.) It will just be there forever.

Collecting is collecting. Nothing wrong with collecting things. It keeps your mind occupied, a hobby, something to do, a fun thing to do, it makes you happy, and sometimes it's even worth some money, but in general rarely. If your closets are full of 'stuff' and 'junk' that you will 'never use'...that's hoarding for no reason. It would be much better to have the empty closet space, get rid of the clutter, and be able to breath again. And if it's sellable, to have the extra cash in your pocket.

Everyone hoards. It's human nature. One is good, more it better. It's "hard wired in our brains". Hunter/gatherers. It's just 'stuff'. You don't need it. I do need to follow my own advice too!! LOL.

It's amazing that this topic came up. I'm really in the process, mentally so far, of getting rid of a lot of my 'stuff'. It's 'good stuff' but I know if I sold it I would feel a lot better because I just don't really need it, never have needed it really, it's just 'stuff'. Not not clutter, but then again...maybe it is.

Side note: In my neighborhood, I drive around and when I see people's garage doors open, at least 1/2 (ok. 1/3+ (one out of every 3) for sure) of them is so full of junk, 'stuff', that they can't even get their car in the double garage. I'm amazed they can even get their garage doors closed! What in the world is that all about???? It's funny really, just as long as it's not my garage. Overwhelmed by 'stuff'. Guess they need an even bigger house so they can store their 'stuff' and still live. And then they could get/accumilate even more 'stuff'.

Extra 'Stuff' is really not necessary. What's the reason? OK, you have 17 jackets, and nice ones too. You can only wear one at a time. And it's even worse if you live in Florida where you don't even need a jacket. (I originally came from Chicago and did live in cold climates so there is a reason but I sure don't 'need them' anymore). When I was young I really always wanted a leather jacket but it was beyond my price range. Now I have 4. I will keep those! :>)
 
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My thing now is digital tuners. I guess probably because they are so cheap and I am in a difficult, crowded FM area. I am thus drawn to them. If anyone should encounter a noteworthy one, please post in a current thread "good digital tuners" in Tuner Forum. :D
Thanks.
 
John:
My girlfriend anthropomorphizes things, which is also a sign of hoarding behavior. I mentioned it in a similar thread...she's name a lot of my stereo gear, and that stuff is now harder to get rid of since it has assumed an imaginary personality.
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This is an extremely appealing characteristic that brings back some good memories of a former girlfriend who created great names for the everyday objects we enjoyed.

OK sure, I'll be the first to bite here, as I really want to know, if you'd kindly share: What are some of the names?
 
This is an interesting thread, and a very good question. I agree that the collecting and hoarding impulses are closely related, so it's tough to draw a bright line between them.

I don't know that having a "plan" for the items being gathered really proves one is collecting vs. hoarding. Many people can tell you their plan for the items they are hoarding; it's just irrational. As an example, my father-in-law had a prewar Packard for 45 years, and began buying up parts for it in the early 1970s. In the days before the Internet, this made some sense because parts for his car were not readily available. Mind you, much of what he was accumulating was badly rusted, broken, or otherwise not useable without being fully reconditioned. He just kept piling parts into his basement and garage indiscriminately, having no idea how many of a given part he had. Many of these parts had remained sealed in unopened shipping boxes for 10 or 20 years or more. A few years ago my wife and I helped him organize and catalog the collection. Among many other things, he had nine carburetors for this car that he hadn't driven in a decade. He defended the need for nine carburetors by saying "when I get this car running again, I'll need all those as spares to prevent me from losing any time when one needs to be rebuilt." That's a plan, but not one grounded in reality.

My personal definition of hoarding would be when one's collection becomes so enormous that you not only aren't using much if any of it, but you also have no idea what it contains. Another possible definition is that it becomes hoarding when the acquisition of more stuff for the "collection" is the only aspect of the process that brings you any pleasure, rather than the actual using. I think I need to pare down my collection of vinyl LPs because it's beginning to fit this definition.
 
I just pulled out two Tom Jones comps and put them in the garage sale box! It was a tough move believe me!

They're still not quite out of the house yet :scratch2:
 
Stereo_type said:
John:

This is an extremely appealing characteristic that brings back some good memories of a former girlfriend who created great names for the everyday objects we enjoyed.

OK sure, I'll be the first to bite here, as I really want to know, if you'd kindly share: What are some of the names?
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Sansui 9090db= Mamma Jamma. Obviously related to its (her?) ability to kick out the jams, and her size.

VPI Classic = Atticus. (A reference for To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus being the father of (vpi) Scout).

Mitsubishi LT-20= Mitsy. A turntable of mine that she wants when she makes room at her place.

Mitsubishi LT-30= Big Mitsy.

Sansui 551= Sammy. A receiver that I picked up for her for her office.

Mark Levinson 432 = Levi. But I think I gave it that name.

McIntosh Mac 1900= Peter 'tosh.

Yamaha CR-2020= Yamma Jamma. A reference to Mamma Jamma, the 9090db and preferred of the two (I no longer have this unit...but Cubdog should know that his receiver is named Yamma Jamma).

Dynaco Stereo 70= Dyna Shore.

I think that's about it. There's probably some that I've forgotten. What's interesting is that none of these are units that I've gotten rid of. Part of it is that the pieces that she has given names, are the ones that tend to get used. Or maybe they get used, because they have names?
 
I "only" have 800 or so vinyl LPs, but I don't have that much time to sit and listen these days. I find myself buying stuff in thrift stores and/or used record stores then getting home and seeing that I bought the same title last year and still haven't cleaned, cataloged or played it yet. That's what's got me thinking I'm turning into a hoarder of vinyl.
 
bhundu said:
Differences are in:

Available, dry storage space

Personal economics

WAF

End plan

If you can have a solution to all of the above, then you're a collector. If you answered no to one or more of these then you're a hoarder.
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I believe bhundu's post thumbnails it nicely.

There's a gentleman who lives near me that has a car collection stored in series of warehouses on his expansive property. He's added to and sold from this collection for many years, and within it are some incredible cars and trucks. Indian motorcycles, Boss Mustangs, Model T's, 409 Impalas and even rare pedal cars. Each and every one of these items is either in showroom new condition or well on its way towards it. That's a collector.

Not five miles away from this gentleman, is another whose property is filled with cars. Hundreds and hundreds of cars in various un-repaired states. He won't sell them or part them out, he can't fix them, and every year he buys and stacks more cars out in the weather. 30+ years now he's being doing this. The oldest of these cars are rusted into the kudzu, and the newest look like they might have been parked there last week. That's a hoarder.

Now I realize these two men are at the extremes of collectors/hoarders, but I believe they're apt examples. Anyone who continuously 'collects' without rhyme or reason, having no plan for use or disposal is well on the way towards obsessive hoarding.
 
I'm not sure if neat, orderly storage is enough to separate collecting from hoarding. If the first gentleman in fotno's example with the warehouses full of nicely restored cars never drives, displays or even looks at his collection, i.e., derives no pleasure from the actual ownership, then he may be a hoarder too. Just a more socially acceptable type.
 
Wigwam Jones said:
...What *I* have never understood is people who can't 'understand' why other people like things they do not, and therefore think they ought to not do it. I hear it all the time about various things. Guns, cameras, cars, you name it. Someone has a lot of X and someone else not only does not have a lot of X, but thinks that no one should have a lot of X.

How about mind your own business and live your life the way you want, letting others live their lives the way they want? Just a suggestion.

As to the difference between 'collector' and 'hoarder', those are just terms applied depending on whether you like or don't like what a person does. If you think it's OK, then they are a collector. If you don't think it is OK, then they are a hoarder.

For the record (no pun intended), I don't have 40 turntables. But I have (or had, I've been selling them) way over 40 cameras. And you know who's business it is? Nobody's but mine. Hoarder? OK, fine, whatever.
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WOW. I asked a question, out of genuine curiosity, in a polite manner. And this is the type of response you give????

How very AK of you. Thanks for the insulting tone. Really appreciate it.
 
Spellbinder said:
WOW. I asked a question, out of genuine curiosity, in a polite manner. And this is the type of response you give????

How very AK of you. Thanks for the insulting tone. Really appreciate it.
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It's a totally legit question and the instant popularity of this thread indicates that it hits a raw nerve with some folks. Which is sometimes a sign that they are facing something they may not want to admit to...

This site fosters hoarding behavior. Look at any "should I get this?" thread. The answer is almost always "Yes! You can never have too much stereo stuff!". It's also rarely about quality, and often about just adding something else to a pile of things of almost identical performance. (I'm as guilty of it as anybody).
 
I didn't see anything in the OP that could insult anyone.

Sounds like someone has been called a hoarder before.
 
@ JohnVF

I'm just shocked at the callus, mean-spirited tone of the whole response. I thought we AKers were so much better than that.

Disappointed more than anything else.
 
Spellbinder said:
@ JohnVF

I'm just shocked at the callus, mean-spirited tone of the whole response. I thought we AKers were so much better than that.

Disappointed more than anything else.
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If you ever want to find the person most guilty of something...look for the one acting most defensively :), or the one most offended by questioning a particular behavior....

This is a website of hoarders, you see it referenced on other audio sites, its what we've become known for. "Go ask your question about vintage gear on Audiokarma, that place is full of people with giant stacks of vintage gear seemingly purchased just because its old" to paraphrase a post that I ran across on Audiogon recently.

And though I am a hoarder of gear myself, I think there are better ways to good sound...and its good to have a reality check on behavior that is so obviously out of control in many of us.
 
Those of us that collect vintage gear think of ourselves as collectors.

To everyone else in the universe, we are a hoarders.

:)

Cheers, Snade
 
I didn't mean the original question as a good vs bad thing. I was genuinely curious. Hoarding is fine, if that's what a person wants to do. I just wondered where the line was between hoarding and collecting, as it can be blurry at times.

I sure didn't mean to offend anyone. And I sure didn't expect that kind of response.
 
Moderator's hat on:

The OP's question and the way it was asked, is perfectly acceptable and within AK's rules. Let's not get derailed with insults or attacks on each other.

Moderator's hat off:

daviddeep said:
...If the first gentleman in fotno's example with the warehouses full of nicely restored cars never drives, displays or even looks at his collection, i.e., derives no pleasure from the actual ownership, then he may be a hoarder too. Just a more socially acceptable type.
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To clarify, the gentleman I referenced, uses his cars for a myriad of purposes. He drives a variety of them daily, using them for everything from parades to trips to the market. It's not unusual to see him puttering 'round town in a pristine Model A one week, and a 442 Olds the next. Every car has it's purpose, even the ones he buys strictly for investment purposes. He's managed to make a very nice living from restoring and selling the cars he doesn't want to keep long term; and I think I know him well enough to say that while he has a healthy dedication to his collection, he's not obsessed with it.
 
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