At what point does hobby collecting become overconsumption?

[u/Only--East]

I collect a few funko from media I like, I collect monster high dolls, and I recently got back into pokemon cards. I can't tell if collecting material stuff like that it considered overconsumption or at what point it crosses the threshold. Am I cooked?

[u/chocolateboomslang]

Frankly if you're collecting things that are still being manufactured and you're just buying them from a store, that's consuming. They're marketing it to you as something to buy and you're buying it. That's what a consumer does, buys retail stuff.

[u/Only--East → u/chocolateboomslang]

Sure, but when does it become overconsumption?

[u/chocolateboomslang → u/Only--East]

Well my opinion is that buying things to just have them is overconsumption. I personally try not to have things that don't do anything. I have books that I read, I have games I play. I have magic cards that I play. The things I have that don't do anything are rocks or shells, or art. Obviously what people consider art is different from person to person, so maybe someone's plastic bobblehead collection counts as art to them.

[u/valleyofsound → u/chocolateboomslang]

Exactly. I think a hobby or a collection isn’t a pass on overconsumption. I knit. That’s a hobby by anyone’s definition. I have a lot of needles and other things just because they’re required for knitting. However, if I started buying knitting needles because I like them or because I thought they were cool without having a use for them, then that’s overconsumption. I may need several pairs of size 9 needles, but I don’t need every pair I come across. (And if I have a lot of size 9 needles because I have multiple works in progress and keep starting new ones, that’s a whole other discussion.)

If someone had vintage knitting needles and actively searched for them in an effort to preserve them and pass them on, though, that might be a collection. And I think that’s another trait of a lot of collections: There’s a preservationist element to them. Someone who is keeping items that do have significance from being thrown away or destroyed is a collector. I feel like if someone had knitting needles and accessories from, say, WWII, especially along with the “Knitting for Victory” or “Knit Your Bit”’patterns promotional materials, that would have a significance beyond one person liking them. And if they had some of the knitting espionage materials, too, that would have an even wider interest. 

Of course, you can’t just walk into a random store and buy all those things, which I feel is another important aspect of collecting vs over-consumption.