.....spend Alot of money in a short amount of time on NES stuff?

im almost affraid to see what my bank is at now

anyone else need the NBA (Nintendo Buyers Anonymous) group?

You might like to read an article I wrote in an older e-Zine on this very subject. Budget your money very carefully...buying NES games can become a fast addiction.

I collect on a budget and it's never kept me from getting any of the items I want. You just have to be strict with yourself, and set some limits. If I drop a few hundred (or more) on something for my collection, I do so knowing that it means I'll probably have to hold off on other items for a while.

Interesting gauge of this: one's post count is inversely proportionate to the bank account.

i gotta start working with a budget aswel because i keep on going.. " oeh i still need that one"

Once you come to terms with the fact that almost anything you see for sale will be available a million times in the future, it gets a lot easier to control your spending. When you're just starting out, it's really easy to think that those rare games are never going to pop up again, but they always do if you're patient.

im glad I wasn't going after rare games, i'd probably have spent more than I did

I don't totally agree with that.  There have been MANY times where I have forced myself to buy stuff even though I didn't really have the money....and it most cases I haven't seen the item/s available for sell since.  Some of the really obscure stuff just never shows up ever!  With most items though you are right, even with stuff like SE, FS2, BB2, etc...there are always some available seems like anymore.  There is so much stuff that is way more obscure that doesn't command near the price of the big 10 games.
~~NGD

^^^ I can see where you're coming from to a point. There are a few things in my collection that I'm really glad I jumped on when I did. There are actually a few items right now that I would buy in a second, even though I don't really have the cash to be throwing down for them.

Regardless, unless you're a REALLY serious collector, you probably aren't searching for the real obscurities, and I think most items you'd be looking for would eventually turn up.

i have no budget, and one of my biggest purchases happened when i was in the process of 1) moving, 2) starting a new job, 3) buying $5k+ of stuff for my apartment, and 4) being in debt to my dad for over $5k more! haha. it was 350+ different nes boxes and corresponding manuals. this was about 2 and a half years ago, and i am definitely glad i bought them when i did, cuz if i didnt, i would have no chance of completing my set now! but yea, lets just say that my credit card bill each month has been averaging over $3k, and not all of that can be attributed to higher gas prices! haha

I like to have the mentality that arseface is talking about, but sometimes you just have to go with things and buy them. I made the mistake of not buying a Myriad box for $300 because I didn't have the money at the time... thinking it would pop back up again. On super rare stuff like that, you pretty much have to buy it, beause you really never know when its going to show up again. But for less rare things, even semi-rare stuff (say, a CIB Color a Dinosaur), if you don't have the money at the time, another one WILL come up sooner or later.
I used to have a budget of like $100 a month. That was years ago...

I completely understand. I have been seriously collecting for less than 6 months and there was a definite surge in spending for awhile. But I have signed off on that spending as "start-up costs". There were a few larger lots of games to get my base going and there were a few bigger purchases (i.e. Snow Brothers CIB for $50, Menace Beach w/ box for $50, etc.). But we definitely hit a wall. Shortly after I started collecting NES Heather became fascinated with my collection and actually fell in love with the Famicom and Super Famicom so she started collecting for those. After her "start up costs" we mutually decided we needed to slow down. At first it was really hard to stop getting new packages in the mail all the time or to stop hitting yard sales every weekend, but I've gotten over it. From time to time, now, I will make stops at the handful of local shops to see if there are any good deals or to just pick up a couple more commons I need. But I am completely content with what I have right now. I think for me, I like to be informed of the local collecting scene so I am always keeping my eyes open but I also know that I don't need to get everything now. Maybe my collection will be complete in 10 years... maybe not.

I don't have a credit card purely because of the issues I have with impulse buying.

Frankly I could never consider myself a collector I buy alot of atari and nes stuff but the bulk of it Ive owned since new.Alot of what Ive been rebuying for the past 2 years are games and accessories that have gotten lost in many many moves.But it does add up quickly I find myself saying no more times than not since I do tend to spend spend spend on the stuff I want back and other items I never bought but want in the modern day.