Okay the question in the title is not a hypothetical one that I’m going to be able to answer in this post. I sincerely don’t know the answer and am curious what others think.
I often see collectors posting their SW vintage items on the forums and on Facebook and personally I can’t get enough. I love seeing what people have and I’m a huge fans of limelighting our collections and getting involved in the collectible of the week and recent acquisitions posts. The thing is, sometimes I feel that some collectors are showing off a bit – mine is bigger than yours kind of sentiment. But I often also sense they are simply sharing their passion with us and are modest about what they own. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your collection, I’m damn proud of mine. Then again, I don’t think this makes me a better collector than those who have smaller collections. There is always the risk of excessive-pride.
I can’t really define exactly what makes someone a show-off but I have some examples of behaviour that puts me off a bit. I recently met a contractor here at work who I found out is a SW collector. It was the first time I’d ever met a collector other than through the usual SW channels so I was pretty excited. The first thing I said I said to him was “That’s great that you collect, I do as well.” He instantly ran though everything he owned and how much it was worth. I asked him a couple of questions and mentioned again that I collected vintage. Not once during the whole chat, well monologue, did he bother to ask me what I collect. When he left the room, one of my work colleagues said “That was hilarious listening to you Star Wars collectors showing off about your collections, I always imagined that’s how that type of conversation would go.” But the funny thing was that I did not once talk about my collection! Anyway the collector is a pretty nice guy and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but unfortunately I think this one-way boasting reflects poorly on other collectors.
Similar examples to the above involve collectors bombarding me with photos (unsolicited) of their collection without even asking what I collect. This has happened many times to me, especially since starting the blog, and most seem to assume that I don’t have a collection worth talking about. There are many though, who generously share photos with me but are also always asking about how my own collection is going; so I feel it’s a mutual appreciation of our collecting. You guys know who you are! The last couple of paragraphs are not indicative of me having a huge gripe with this issue, I just thought some personal examples would highlight what I’m trying to wrap my little brain around.
So does anyone know what the difference is between showing off and sharing? I sense a disparity but I can’t quite articulate what it is. Is it the attitude of the collector? What the hell is it? Are they mutually exclusive or do they cross over to an extent? Or am I just thinking too much?
Do I sound confused? Well that’s because I am. I’d love someone to clear this up for me!
I think in this case it is that particular collector, but there are a lot of collectors that seem to have the need putting other peoples collections down.
For me collecting has nothing to do with the value of it, It does not matter to me if it costs 100$ or 10$ if it gives me that “special” feeling inside that i got something i will enjoy and preserve for a long time i am happy..Of course i am not denying that there are some pieces out of range maybe. But i think collecting is a mutual respect and conversation piece at all times, like-minded people. Glad that not all people are like that contractor you met 🙂 i think showing off is a male thing, fist conversation about fishing will also result in showing off and comparing what size fish you caught. Showing off to put other people’s smaller collection is bad but showing off because you are proud off your collection is another, i think you will always know the difference between them, if someone is genuine and means it if he tell’s you that you have an awesome collection, no matter how large. My 2 ct’s
Hey Marco thanks for your comment. Like I said, I really am not sure what exactly demarcates the annoying show off from the rest. I mean you are right, in a way we are all showing off when we share our collections. I mean, I just shared my Luke Jedi figures in one of the COTW threads on FB and of course it’s nice to hear compliments but I don’t feel that I was showing off in the negative sense that I’m trying to show others that my collection is better than theirs or to win admirers through the financial value of my collection or the rarities of any of my pieces.
That said, I really worded my article carefully because I did not want people to think that I’m against the sharing of our collections. Anyway I don’t have the answers but I find it to be interesting discussion!
The reason why he didn’t ask about your collection Christian is because yours is shit! Mine is a million times better 😉
That said, I hate show offs 🙂 LOL
It’s definately a fine line, sometimes I post pics for both reasons I guess. I don’t do it in a smug way, or at least I don’t intend to, I’ll post pics and hopefully people will ask about stuff in the pics and I’ll try and help people and maybe educate a few who are willing to learn.
The thing is I collect loose figures and I know that no matter what I post, a whole pile of people could shit all over it with a shed load of prototypes or MOC’s so I guess I can never really show off.
I do however have one trump card that is often better than pictures and in my opinion, hands down beats any collection and that is knowledge.
It’s all fine and dandy having unlimited funds and owning a whole pile of fancy MOC’s, but at least know what you own. I tend to find that many of these ‘big time’ collectors and so called ‘experts’ in certain fields, actually know very little about what they own and this can very easily become bad for the hobby, when false information is been passed.
This of course is not the case with everyone, I have met many people in the hobby with outstanding collections and the knowledge to back up what they own, these are the collections I like to see and if showing off is what it can be called, then these are the guys who have the right to do it 🙂
Hahahaha I knew there was a reason he didn’t ask!
You do have a great collection because of the amount of time. love and thought you have placed into it. And yes, sometimes you are even modest about it 🙂
Interesting what you say about some collectors who may have awesome collections but little knowledge as to what they own. I’ve never really thought about it this way and I’ve always presumed that the knowledge is commensurate to the collection. Very interesting….
I could have probably worded that a little better, usually people know what they own or collect, but it’s the specifics that are often overlooked and it’s this that annoys me. Most MOC collectors usually are not interested in figure variations so pay little attention to what actual figure is in the bubble or claim a specific figure is in the bubble which is actually incorrect.
Example: Saying you have a Poch figure packed on your Meccano card that is actually a Palitoy figure, or failing to recognize that it’s actually a Kenner figure packed on your LL card. This leads to mis-information especially when it comes from ‘experts’ as there word is often taken as final.
Little things also like, people who collect MOC’s will say “it’s a 41 back” that’s nice, but which one? Or say “it’s an offerless 31” well there are two 31A or 31B both of which are always offerless so the word seems redundant, the only way this statement would ever be accurate is if someone would say “it’s an offerless 31C” at which point the card would have missed the placement of the sticker on the front, it would still however ave to have the sticker on the back other wise it would just be a 31A 🙂
How I’m just waffling, but that’s what I meant 🙂
I enjoy just sharing our collections. I’ve gotten so many ideas for my room over the years from other collectors that I’ve never considered the bragging side of things. I also tuned to be drawn to collections that are themed rather than endless shelves of mixed up merchandise. I like seeing what a collection means to somebody.
Completely agree Mike! I’m also really attracted to focussed collections but I’m a little biased as I’m a focus collector myself.