Need help to stop collecting

this is a strange post in the coin forum but i really would like to know some strategies that you guys use to stop collecting or slow down. my friends are having concerns that i am buying way too many coins and i agree with them but rather than putting full stop to it i would like to see how i can sow down. if that doesnt work i will put a full stop to it. so go ahead pleases hare your personal success or not so successful stories.

 

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Interesting question. Personally, I can't afford to buy anything, but yet, I keep surfing e-bay and my favorite Internet sellers. Luckily, I haven't hit the "buy" button yet....

I guess it's like cigarettes, alcohol, meth, and gambling.

Actually, now that I've typed that, it looks like bad company!!!!

Or, you could just give your wife one of your credit cards and tell her to get whatever she wants for Christmas. That should pretty much take care of any possibility of you buying anything over $5 for the next year or so.

And I apologize in advance for the sexist remarks about wives, women, etc. So save your collective breathes (SP?). Same would apply if I were a female talking about my worthless husband.

 

i would suggest a buddy and a electric shock collar or something like that. LOL. dont think of it as buying coins think of it as an investment in your future or the future of your kids, grandkids or whatever. and if you feel that you have to many you can always send me a few i will keep em in a safe place. but seriously go with the buddy and a shock collar.

 

here how step1: put a nice coin on a table,step 2:get a hammer in left hand
step 3:when right hand trys to get the nice coin smash it. step 4:if it dose not work repeat steps 1-3.... LOL

 

Start collecting moderns from circulation. Perhaps not glamorous, or ripe with profit potential, I find it to be challenging and fun (I'm working on assembling a set of red au memorial-lincolns) and it represents, to me, the essence of coin collecting: the treasure hunt; recognizing value and beauty overlooked by others; those moments of joy when a new discovery is added to your collection.

Banks have a near limitless supply for you, and all the coins you collect are obtained at face value. Also, if you care for such things, you can simultaneously search for die varieties and errors.

A couple of other ideas:

• set a budget
• don't ever window shop unless you have the money to spend
• understand that with few exceptions, you can pass on a coin now because a similar opportunity will present itself in the future
• narrow your collecting focus
• become a bargain hunter and only buy coins that are selling well below their market value (this one is especially good in my opinion, as not only do you spend less for each coin you buy, bargains dont happen every day so you spend money less often, and you need to spend a fair amount of time understanding the market for the coins you are interested in purchasing, which leaves less time for actually buying coins) Do keep in mind that bargain hunting is not simply a price comparison, but a price to quality comparison.

 

i think you hit the nail on the head i am very goo d at finding bargains and price negotiation most of the time.

 

You are serious. OK.

If you are not hurting your budget and can afford to do it, do it, but do it smart. Be sure you can get out of these coins for more than you paid, and by doing it honestly . Period. Thats the business side and not a thing at all wrong with that. It is difficult, but can be done.

If you are hurting your budget/family/self/financial health, then perhaps you have an addiction/ compulsive thing.

I get addicted to everything I touch. I am also a 12 stepper and can give SOME advise off line IF you choose , PM me if comfortable. I spend lijke a wildman on coins, but can afford it and am hurting nobody, you cross those lines , seek help.

If you are just having fun with this post, thats ok too.

EDIT: TroyHeights has excellent advise as well. Just working on your coin collection in other ways may slow you down and satisfy the craving. Organise it in pictures, get some software and play with it. Build yourself a website. Search pennys for rpm's with a loupe. etc...etc....etc

 

Wow. I've heard people need advice for getting off of drugs, alcohol, and tobbacco... But coins? I don't know I personally just spend what I can. If I spent more than I could afford, then that would be an unhealthy addiction, much like drugs and cigarettes. hmmm... sorry, I don't think I really answered your question, or gave any advice. Good luck though!

 

I sympathize with you spock. I work seven days a week and spend all of my overtime money on coins. It is a compulsion on my part and think my ego is trying to regain my lost youth when I first started collecting. There was a gap in my collecting of about 40 years and I started again in ernest when I got an email to buy a coin from the SS Central America. It is not good financial planning, inre to one recent poster, would you buy a mutual fund with a 30% load? I think what he meant is that when you auction a coin the auctioneer takes 15% of your sale price. When you buy a coin, the auctioneer adds 15% to the sale price. Pretty good deal for the auction houses. I don't see why the smart collectors don't get together and start a non-profit company where we could trade coins or sell them between ourselves and skip the auction houses and dealers. They would have to get a real job and we would not be ripped off.

In response to your original question, read the AA 12 step program.

 

We can always try to start CA: "Collectors Anon".

I could use it myself.
I have hundreds of Red Books, including at least two complete sets.
And thousand of Barber Coins, all denominations.
I can't resist any of them.

 

inre I can't resist any of them. My point exactly, one is too many and a million is not enough.

 

Spending a few hours per day on Ebay slowed me down.
If you see enough scum on there, you will get disheartened pretty quick.

 

one thing you could do is if you spend 500 dollars on coins then put 500 in the bank

or you could put 500 dollars on the table to see how much money that is that you are spending on that coin becuase it is harder to spend when you use cash other then credit

 

Along time ago I got to the point where I was spending a paycheck a month on rare coins. I finally quit when my collection was to valuable to leave in the house so I put them in the bank and looked at them maybe once a year, out of sight -out of mind. I brought some home about 4 years ago after sitting in the bank for 30 years and got bite by the coin bug all over again. I now keep some at home in a safe and have been on a buying-selling rampage for the last 3 years. BUT.... all those paychecks I spent years ago have paid off very well....the right coins are an excellent investment.

 

spock, ask yourself "is it a WANT or a NEED" and then go from there.

 

Start another hobby.

Simple, and it works. I'm not saying give up coin collecting...it's too late for that. But, I have several other hobbies that keep me busy as well. I do a little cartooning, though not as much anymore, that used to bring in extra cash I could blow on coins. I do landscape photography, which brings in cash sometimes when I publish a few pics. You don't have to find a hobby that pays, but it's nice to have one that supports another.

The point is, if you're not solely focussed on a singlr hobby, and devote time to other interests, you'll be more inclined to stick to a tighter coin budget.

Good luck!
Guy~

 

And to think, people called me a freak for checking out every piece of pocket change I get. Why would you want to stop??

LOL


PS. Sorry I don't have any serious suggestions for you. The best one I read is stick to moderns from circulation, but the danger there is if you start on paper money, that can get just as expensive, FAST.

 

You seriousy want something to slow you down? OK here goes buy a 10kg (or larger if you can affor it) mixed world lot, spend your time sorting them out into countries then into pre & post 1900. Then start scanning them and putting the images on line. the ones you dont want resll on ebay in lots, then buy another big lot and start over again.

 

Hi, my name is Car10 and I'm a coin collector.