Just Small Time

I have lately been getting deeper into the world of VHS tape collecting. I wrote a few days ago about the increasing need to learn the skill of mending worn tapes, and I am getting more familiar with that sort of thing, although so far I have embarked on repairing three and only succeeded with one of them. I credit myself with not making the other two worse. I have more to learn, and perhaps even equipment to acquire.

I feel inadequate in another way now. I have started to connect with other collectors, and it is a classic case of making a leap from a small pond (of one) to a larger one which comprises many people who have been doing it for much longer and who are content to pour far more resources into it than I am. I have read of guys spending hundreds of dollars on individual tapes, which I suppose means that one can make hundreds of dollars from a tape as well.

That is not the only way in which I have found my passions outclassed by others. There was another guy who declared that he had bought 1500 tapes, presumably sight unseen. I just couldn't imagine it. The sheer amount of space they'd occupy could possibly be more a hardship to bear than the cost, which would be considerable if only considering the weight one was paying for. It was an incredible thing to see a picture of.

I have a mere 99 tapes at present, although it may be more if I take into account the indeterminate number that remain back home in Arizona. Even those take up an intolerable amount of room, and acquiring many more will necessitate the purchase of cases to store them properly. As it is they are spilling all over. As for cost, I have no desire to pay more than three dollars, and I prefer one. Clearly I have a long way to go before I am the inveterate collector I imagined I was.