How many is too many?

[erba]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm too lazy to search.

How many posters is too many? At what point do you say "Ok, I have a problem." I figured I'd do a quick count of my posters and I have in the neighborhood of 225 posters in my collection with another 10-15 on the way. I remember thinking when I had 50 or so and thinking "Wow, that's a lot." I feel like it's a little out of control for me.

Now I realize 225 +/- isn't much at all compared to some collections. At what point do you say, I've got to get rid of some of these? How many is too many?

[clem99]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm too lazy to search.

How many posters is too many? At what point do you say "Ok, I have a problem." I figured I'd do a quick count of my posters and I have in the neighborhood of 225 posters in my collection with another 10-15 on the way. I remember thinking when I had 50 or so and thinking "Wow, that's a lot." I feel like it's a little out of control for me.

Now I realize 225 +/- isn't much at all compared to some collections. At what point do you say, I've got to get rid of some of these? How many is too many?

as soon as you find EB

[euphorbioid]

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

[crazyreesie]

When you buy posters you don't really like just to have them.

When you buy posters you know won't get framed and will just sit in a file.

When you spend $$ on a mystery tube just because there might be something inside that you might frame and hang someday.

I'm baffled by all of the above behaviors and choose to concentrate on art prints of work I actually like. My "too many" point will come if I ever cross the line and start collecting gig posters. I don't know where the limit would be in that case. Do I stick to bands I like? Artists and designers I like? 'Cause, truth be told, I wouldn't want to hang most posters. The only one I really want is from a show I actually attended and it was a particularly memorable day, and I still think it's an ugly poster despite the feel-good fuzziness it would evoke.

Maybe I'm just trying to overcome my own "hoarding" mentality. I've got about 18 pairs of Doc Martens (about half of which are out of rotation), and eyeshadow I never wear, and I can't let go of my 8-bit Nintendo even though it's not compatible with my TV. I wonder why I ever spent money on all of that.

Those of you with collections of several hundred posters, how long have you been collecting?

[Kaber]

If many of your posters never make it out of the tubes into storage you have too many.

[clem99]

When you buy posters you don't really like just to have them.

When you buy posters you know won't get framed and will just sit in a file.

When you spend $$ on a mystery tube just because there might be something inside that you might frame and hang someday.

I'm baffled by all of the above behaviors and choose to concentrate on art prints of work I actually like. My "too many" point will come if I ever cross the line and start collecting gig posters. I don't know where the limit would be in that case. Do I stick to bands I like? Artists and designers I like? 'Cause, truth be told, I wouldn't want to hang most posters. The only one I really want is from a show I actually attended and it was a particularly memorable day, and I still think it's an ugly poster despite the feel-good fuzziness it would evoke.

Maybe I'm just trying to overcome my own "hoarding" mentality. I've got about 18 pairs of Doc Martens (about half of which are out of rotation), and eyeshadow I never wear, and I can't let go of my 8-bit Nintendo even though it's not compatible with my TV. I wonder why I ever spent money on all of that.

Those of you with collections of several hundred posters, how long have you been collecting?

18 months,slowing down,promise

[erba]

When you buy posters you don't really like just to have them.

When you buy posters you know won't get framed and will just sit in a file.

When you spend $$ on a mystery tube just because there might be something inside that you might frame and hang someday.

I'm baffled by all of the above behaviors and choose to concentrate on art prints of work I actually like. My "too many" point will come if I ever cross the line and start collecting gig posters. I don't know where the limit would be in that case. Do I stick to bands I like? Artists and designers I like? 'Cause, truth be told, I wouldn't want to hang most posters. The only one I really want is from a show I actually attended and it was a particularly memorable day, and I still think it's an ugly poster despite the feel-good fuzziness it would evoke.

See, I can relate to all this. I only bought a couple of mystery tubes before I said "what the hell am I buying?" I do put my posters in portfolios and I do flip through them quite often, so at least I can enjoy them at times.

I have changed the way I collect about 10 times. First it was going to be all Pearl Jam, then it was just art prints, then it was it was just from shows that I've attended and on and on.

After about 5 years of collecting, I think it's best I collect the works of 4 artists I really like. I realize how much this limits me, but it does cut down on my impulse buys. That's for sure.

[clem99]

i hope this thread keeps going, i am sure we will get some good varied answers here, so far i can relate to alot of it,,really truly i am slowing down love promise

[erba]

I feel like I am slowing down, but then there are weeks where I feel like I am getting the shakes because no tubes have been delivered.

[muffinslinger]

can you have too many? i've got 300+ and i hate the thought of getting rid of any of them. it broke my heart when i actually sold a few off, but i really needed the money at the time. i've been buying for 8 years now and i hope to keep buying for many more years.

[euphorbioid]

Those of you with collections of several hundred posters, how long have you been collecting?

I started collecting almost 2 years ago. About a year ago I bought 100 mylars and backings and figured this would last a lifetime, 2 posters per mylar. I now have about 25 posters still in tubes with nowhere to go. I've ordered another 100. I collect 3 artists, Emek, Slater, Wood. Seems to me the point of a collection is to collect what's out there that you like. It's all in the way you set up your collection parameters.

[bysleightofhand]

I'm gonna break from the apparent norm here and say I only collect what I will frame, so I keep my collection very very tight. I'm pretty picky and I make sure the gf likes, that way there's no surprise when she sees something new on the wall.

[rossi1102]

Even though my collection is dwarfed by most on here (~50 or so) I too had an epiphany. I realized that I was looking through my EB collection, had forgotten about some of the posters I had and wondered why the hell I ever bought them. I will chalk some of it up to inexperience as I had no idea the vast amount of artists out there making some really incredible work. What I do now before I buy a poster is wonder if I'm ever going to take the time to frame and hang something and if the answer is no but I like the design or colors (which would have caused me to buy it before) instead of left clicking on the buy button I right click on the picture, save as, and realize that I will see it more on my computer (in a slideshow on my desktop) then I would have ever seen it sitting in a tube in a closet.

[bathroommonkey]

i still need to get rid of 250ish posters, but at the rate that i'm going it will take like 5 years to sell that many.

i'd like to par the collection down to 100 awesome/loved posters.

[rossi1102]

Also, I try to keep my ISO page at 1 page or under, even though I don't yet have the posters, when I see a new one I like it forces me to go back through and reevaluate my wants. And I just counted the posters in my collection, it has apparently grown on me, 77 now, and I thought I only had around 50.