My only dream is to get old and finally have time to read all the books that I’m collecting.”

Gianni Versace, Designer

Advantages & Disadvantages of Collecting

advantages and disadvantages of collecting and being a collector

Collecting is quite an interesting hobby and also a passion for millions of people all over the world.

People collect various things, ranging from stamps over watches to paintings and much more.

However, although being a collector can have many advantages, there are also some problems with collecting.

In this article, the pros and cons of collecting are shown.

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Advantages of Collecting

  1. Collecting can be an interesting hobby
  2. Can become a real passion
  3. You can acquire plenty of knowledge over time
  4. You will find many like-minded people
  5. Can be an investment if you know what you are doing
  6. You can brag with your collection among your friends
  7. Can give you the strength to always reach new goals
  8. Some people need motivation to get up in the morning
  9. You can join certain conferences
  10. Collecting can give you the opportunity to make money from your passion

Collecting can be an interesting hobby

One key advantage of collecting things is that it can be quite an interesting hobby for many people.

You might not actually know it yet, but you may be interested in so many different things, yet you have not tried them.

Collecting can give you the opportunity to expand your knowledge in an area and also to discuss your progress with other people.

Moreover, it can also be quite nice to see your collection grow over time.

Can become a real passion

Collecting can turn from a hobby into a real passion.

Many people have even made it their priority in life to gather as many things of a certain genre as possible and have built their whole life around it.

Thus, for those people, collecting is more than just a hobby, it is a way of life and can improve the quality of life of many people who formerly struggled to find a suitable passion which they want to follow for many years.

You can acquire plenty of knowledge over time

Another upside of being a collector is that you will also acquire plenty of knowledge over time.

Especially if you collect things that are rather uncommon, chances are that you will become a real authority in your niche.

In turn, if you build an online presence, many people will reach out to you and ask you for your opinion on certain topics, which can be quite nice and motivating since you can help people out from time to time.

You will find many like-minded people

Collecting can also give you the opportunity to find many like-minded people who have similar interests and attitudes towards life.

In turn, you will be able to exchange ideas with people and over time, you may also be able to make really good friends.

Hence, collecting things can also give you a feeling of community.

This can be especially helpful for people who struggle to find friends or to make other social connections.

Can be an investment if you know what you are doing

Although many people in the collecting space waste plenty of money on their hobby, collecting can also be a serious investment if you exactly know what you are doing.

For instance, if you go to flea markets on a regular basis, you may find some cheap things that you can use for your collection and which will likely also increase in value over time.

Consequently, if you engage in collecting in a smart manner, you will also be able to make some money out of it.

You can brag with your collection among your friends

Collecting can also help you to improve your social status since you can become an expert in your field and over time, you will build up a serious collection in your genre.

If you gather enough, chances are that your friends will also be quite impressed if they see all your nice things.

Hence, if you want to brag a little bit among your peers, collecting things can also help you with this to a certain extent.

Can give you the strength to always reach new goals

Collecting is not a sprit, it’s a marathon.

You will soon realize that there will be much more to collect than you would ever be able to collect in your lifetime.

Even though this might sound discouraging at first, it also gives you a great opportunity to stay motivated and to focus on your goal to always acquire more stuff over time.

Hence, chances are that also your mental strength will improve since you will stay on track and progress all the time.

Some people need motivation to get up in the morning

Many people also just hate their jobs and in order to find the motivation to get up in the morning, those people need some kind of incentive to do so.

If you are a collector, you will always look forward to finding new things for your collection and even though your corporate job may be quite boring, you will still find motivation to do it since it provides you with the money which you need to buy new things to expand your collection.

You can join certain conferences

If you are a collector, you also have the opportunity to attend certain conferences.

For the most popular areas of collecting, you may find conventions and conferences on a regular basis and attending those events can be a great way to exchange ideas with other like-minded people and also to expand your knowledge.

Collecting can give you the opportunity to make money from your passion

In case you are really into collecting and acquire enormous amounts of knowledge, chances are that you will even be able to make a living out of it sooner or later.

For instance, you can become a writer and write books about your passion.

Moreover, you may start a blog and make some money with it.

There are many other ways how you can turn your passion for collecting into a business if you really stay focused and put in the work.

Disadvantages of Being a Collector

  1. Collecting can be an expensive hobby
  2. Some people may even become addicted to things
  3. Can lead to social isolation
  4. Many people pay far too high prices
  5. Space limitations can become a problem
  6. Many people will never be satisfied with their collection
  7. Can prevent people to invest their money in other things
  8. Being a collector can be time-consuming
  9. Collecting may lower the chances to find a partner
  10. You may lose some friends
  11. Can lead to serious financial problems
  12. True happiness does not depend on material things
  13. Some people just don’t like collecting things

Collecting can be an expensive hobby

Apart from the numerous benefits of collecting, there are also some problems related to this hobby.

One disadvantage of collecting is that it can be a quite expensive hobby.

You will always have new things on your mind which you want to get and over time, chances are that you will spend serious amounts of money for it.

Moreover, making things worse, many people lose track of how much they actually spend on collecting things.

Hence, if you want to start your collecting career, make sure that you keep books so that you see how much you spend for your hobby and that you can reduce your spending on it in case it gets out of control.

Some people may even become addicted to things

Collecting can turn from a nice hobby into a serious addiction.

In rare cases, people feel the urge to always buy new things and lose control over what they are actually doing.

Even though they might feel like it is time to quit, they would still buy many new things all the time since they are simply forced to do so due to their addiction to collecting things.

Can lead to social isolation

In extreme cases, collecting can also lead to social isolation.

If people just live for collecting things, chances are that they will neglect meeting friends or to build or maintain any other contacts.

In turn, those people will no longer have too much social contact anymore, which may also lead to serious mental problems in the long run.

Many people pay far too high prices

The more passionate people are, the higher the risk that they will pay far too high prices for certain things.

In fact, if you ask a collector about the worth of his collection, most collectors would greatly overestimate the true market value.

Thus, for most collectors, their hobby will cost them plenty of money in the long run.

Space limitations can become a problem

Another downside of collecting is that it can also lead to serious space issues.

For instance, if you collect things that are not small but need a certain amount of space and you collect an excessive amount of it, chances are that you will run out of space sooner or later.

At this point, you will either have to find a new home or sell your collection.

Many people will never be satisfied with their collection

Collecting can also lead to a state of great unhappiness.

Many people will never get enough of it and will also feel helpless at the same time since they know that they will never be able to complete their collection.

Therefore, collecting can also lead to high levels of unhappiness if it is approached with the wrong mindset.

Can prevent people to invest their money in other things

Some people also take collecting way too far, which may result in a lack of investments in other important things.

For instance, some people may even refuse to invest in their pension plan and use the money to expand their collection instead, which will turn into serious problems later on in their lives.

Being a collector can be time-consuming

Collecting can also be a rather time-consuming hobby.

Quite often, you will have to search for a longer period of time to find suitable things with which you can expand your collection. In turn, you may no longer have enough time for other hobbies.

Collecting may lower the chances to find a partner

If you collect rather exotic things and also have too much of them, chances are that you will also have difficulties to find a partner.

Quite often, if your date sees your home and all the things you collected, chances are that he or she will be rather frightened instead of impressed.

Hence, you may also have difficulties with finding a partner due to excessive needs to collect things.

You may lose some friends

If you collect too many things which may also not be in line with our social norms, chances are that you will also lose some friends over time.

However, if your friends leave you for your hobby, chances are that they had not been too good friends anyways and you may even be better off without them.

Can lead to serious financial problems

Collecting can also bring you in financial trouble.

Especially if you don’t have yourself under control, you may spend far too much money and may even get in debt in order to always get new things.

Hence, make sure that you can afford collecting things in order to avoid any sort of financial problem that might arise from your hobby.

True happiness does not depend on material things

In my opinion, it is also quite dangerous to rely on material things to be happy.

Happiness should come from the inside and from your actions, not from the things you acquire.

In fact, if your happiness depends on your collection, you may lose all your happiness if your house burns down or other things happen which can potentially destroy it.

Some people just don’t like collecting things

While some people love collecting, others are not interested in it at all.

We are all different and you have to decide for yourself whether collecting is a suitable hobby for you or not.

Top 10 Collecting Pros & Cons – Summary List

Collecting ProsCollecting Cons
Collecting can be a great hobbyBeing a collector can be quite expensive
May even become a passionYou may need plenty of space
You can find new friendsYou may become addicted to things
Many collecting communities out thereMost collectors pay too much money for things
Can be a lucrative investmentYou will not complete most collections
You can brag with your collectionCollecting can be time-consuming
You will learn to persevereSome friends may leave you
You can join conventionsIt may be hard to find a partner as a collector
Gives you motivation to get up in the morningHappiness should not depend on things
Collecting can turn into a serious jobBeing a collector can lead to financial problems

Should You Collect Things?

There are many important advantages and disadvantages of collecting things.

In the end, you have to decide whether you want to spend plenty of money on a collection or if you want to use this money on other hobbies you like more.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collecting

https://www.liveabout.com/beginners-guide-to-smart-collecting-how-to-collect-it-782023

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology_of_collecting

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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