A Confession

[ohohyodafarted]

Originally Posted by vts1134

Two ways to think about that mentality. One is I'll hoard everything I can find and never sell anything so that IF I come across something that needs parts I, and I alone, will have the spare parts I need. My island will be full of the fruits of my hoarding, but I will be alone on it. The other way to look at it is if I have a spare part you need and I don't then I sell it to you. Murphy's law dictates that yes I'll need that part minutes after I let it go, but such is life. My island becomes not so full of shiny things, but full of other people and we all benefit. I love that this hobby is full of people who think closer to the latter than the former. Everyone is free to keep and share whatever they feel fit and I'm not advocating antique television socialism, but good for those people that do let (some) precious parts go to others.

John,

I am sure you have life insurance to care for your new baby in the event of your demise. Having spare parts is a form of insurance against decreased value of an operationally restored collection losing significant value when a rare part goes bad. This is not about hoarding, it's about a type of "insurance" we choose to have in order to feel comfortable. Some collectors are happy to just look at non-operation sets. Others of us want our sets to actually work, (it's about the WOW factor that occurs when non collectors see our collections). But there is very high risk in turning on a set that could go poof at any moment. So we try to have "insurance" against the heartbreak that is sure to come sooner or later. Some parts are easy to get, some are total "unobtanium" and others are just so rare that the only way to get one is to buy an entire set just to get one part you need.

As for me, I am in the middle. I both share, and retain of my parts spares, as most all of us do. Last month alone a Porthole fly and a Moto Yoke. Your implication that there are "hoarders" among us who never share anything, is rather insulting. I don't know anyone in this hobby who is that selfish.

In the end when a collector dies and passes on his estate, there will be an opportunity for everyone to share in the "insurance parts" the deceased collector saved for us. "All things must pass" George Harrison

In the meantime there will be those who have and those who do not. That is just the way life is. We all covet stuff that we don't have, that doesn't mean the people that have those things are bad or selfish, it means they are successful in their endeavor. And when success becomes looked down upon, we end up with Socialism.