I think im a compulsive shopper . be it on clothing and now on guitar gear , im always on ebay and online shopping for gear . i have spend countless hours looking and shopping for gear when i have all i need . i feel like buying something make you wanna buy more .

my guitar is a American standard HSS with upgraded seymour duncan sh-6 and locking tuners . I dont need another strat , yet im always on craiglist or kijiji checking for guitars when i in fact dont need one at all . i just had my locking tuner and sh-6 installed one month ago , i should be enjoying my guitar to is full potential , yet im already shopping for another one .

i once read here : "the most underated guitar is the one you own" . i felt like it was so true . im always online shopping and looking for other strat when i already have one i have dreamt about my whole youth .

G.A.S is always take funny and not seriously than it might actually be for some people . Now im far from being in debt , but i feel like im spending too much time "shopping " . my social life i think suffer from it .

I was wondering if im the only one in that situation . i know our weaknesses are sometimes hard to admit in life . im no alcoolic , non smoker , i dont gamble on casino , lottery .. but sometimes i feel like im addicted to shopping .

I wanna stop thinking " i work hard for my money , i need to reward myself " , you just end up in a vicious circle where the more you own , the more you create yourself "desire" . for a short moment , your happy and once you got what you desire , you create another desire .


a bit of a fight club philosophy . dont buy stuff you dont need

at the beginning of 2011, i promise to myself to make a buy nothing year ( im not buying anything new ( clothes , gear ) , anything unnecessary ( beside food etc.. ) to help my compulsive shopping ,

so far im holding great but still im often on ebay looking for stuff , i havent bought anything yet but sometimes i feel like its stronger than me . just shopping for shopping .

we live in a world where everyday , we are target of big companies making us wanna spend more . the new I-whatever to replace the older I-already_out_of_date . making us feel better by owning the new useless full of feature gadget . Now im not like that , but compulsive gizmo addict or gear addict is still addiction imo .

- are you materialist ?

- how many guitar do you own ?


- are you sometimes compulsive on buying stuff you in fact dont need , do you own more guitar that you in fact should ?

- do you spend time sometimes looking for gear when you have everything you need .

* the only im proud of myself of .. is that i have no debt . in fact i started thinking that philosophy last year and now i have nearly 13 000 in front of me .

I can afford anything .. but i simply dont "need" them



** oh and this thread need to be move to "fender lounge" .. sorry about that moderator

share your thought . i cant believe i would be the only one like that in our world .

guilty as charged.

i still want pedals, bridge block, cables, tubes, telecaster, and es 335 and im done.

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"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

oogway, kungfu panda 2008

As with all adictions that only qualified psychiatrist can dx. As with any addiction being substance related, or obsessive/compulsive bx, anxiety or phobia, it is not an addiction or diagnosis untill it meets certain DSM criteria. If you suspect that your behavior is affecting your life in a negative way, perhaps a consultation with a professional would be in order.

im bad, but not this bad.
yeah im always looking out for a good deal, but im not addicted i dont think.
i would ask my g.friend just to make sure but i already know what she will say.
shes wrong though.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Much the same position as you SkySC.
I won't buy what I don't need. I had a spate of buying a couple of years ago, now I simply can't see the need for anything else. Infact I want to thin the herd by 80% atleast. A strat and maybe a tele, that's all that I need in my hands. One amp and a handfull of effects.
Theres a difference between owning stuff and being owned by stuff. Someone I know has a real problem with shopping, not kidding. £200K worth in 3 months. All because she judges her self worth by the possesions she owns. Anybody offers her credit, she takes it and goes on a spree of buying crap that no one else wants. I managed to get a lot of the debt wiped out claiming credit companies have no right to offer her credit considering her mental problems (deep depression). After all would you lend to someone who couldn't commit to telling you if it was Tuesday or not?

Not fun at all being around that.

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No no and no

im always looking at amps and pedals, even though i got a great lil blues deluxe and a FM 100 as well as about 30 efx pedals... theres always something else on da list...

the one thing im happy with is my guitars, built a strat, modified the hell out of a ibanez and gots me a big bad strat with sum TS pups...

i think ill take up window shopping some time... seems a safer option... keeps the window cleaners in business as well

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blues - its a religion...

I used to be a materialist. After I wrecked my car and dropped out of college I stopped that philosophy in a hurry. I found out after one works dead end jobs for a couple of years full-time one does not want to spend money as freely or prize his/her possessions nearly as much if at all ^^

I own 4 guitars: Tele, Strat, Acoustic and a Classical. I also have a cheap Ibanez bass. These cover all of the bases, though I suppose I could be well off with one of them I'd rather not >_> I may buy higher quality in the future if I have the means, but I don't believe I will increase the quantity (5 is a little high IMHO, at least they're all different).

Basically in this age of technology it's hard not to buy. You have Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, Musicians Friend specials and so on, all at your fingertips. All of the Boutique manufacturers are readily available online also, should one desire hand-wired one-man assembled super-ultra-mega tone etc...

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Yea, I'm guilty as charged. Lately I came up with a plan. No matter what I go see, I will not buy the guitar or amp on my first visit, no matter what the price is. I always wait at least 48 hours to think over if I really need the item I am looking at. What has ended up happening is I have found that the chase to find a great deal is more important than purchasing the item especially since I already own 7 guitars and three amps. In the last 6 months I have passed up buying 5 different guitars at what I consider very good prices. Truth be told, I have not regretted passing on any of these deals. Now I just got a call from a salesman I have become friends about a new guitar he just got in, so I am on my way to the store to play it, and I will hopefully stick to my new plan. I do cruise through Craigslist and e-bay several times a day to see what's out there. I think that's more of a hobby than an obsession.
Kenny V

I know how you feel, as I am much the same, and have gotten worse since I've had the internet, as shopping becomes something you can do as and when you feel like it, 24 hours a day. At least before you could only shop when the shops were open during the day.

I have 4 guitars and 3 basses, but I look at guitars every day, and always want a new one. currently gassing for a 7 string guitar, despite only buying a new MIM strat at the beginning of the year. Not to mention looking at pedals, amps etc..

My only saving grace is that I have very low income, so can't afford any of these things even if I wanted to, but I hate to think how I would be if I was rich..

Drew

The easiest answer is to just stop looking at guitar mags and internet review sites.
With mags you're paying to look at one long stream of adverts.

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No no and no

Along with G.A.S. I also have Amp Stockpiling Syndrome (the forum censor feature won't print the acronym for that for obvious reasons).I also am addicted to buying shirts and T'shirts,I can't pass by a shirt I like I just have to buy it and I now have hundreds including Hawaiian shirts that I just can't resist at all.Lately I've been buying up CDs both classical and classic rock.I'll think of a song,album or group that I haven't heard in years and go to CD Universe or some other site and order the CDs.I also collect mugs and beer steins and have hundreds of them too...and don't get me started about books and magazines and DVDs...I need help.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

This post sounds like most of my friends (and me) in one way or another. When it comes to gear...it never ends. Most people come to a point in their playing where they settle on what works for them. For some players, this may mean about 10-20 guitars or one or two but sanity and need vs. want is different for everyone. Ron Wood or Keith Richards needs as working pros would be much different than a passionate weekend warrior with a wife and kids to support. But hey, no one has ever gone to prison for having too many guitars. Some have gone to divorce court, however!

Well I spent about an hour and a half at my local Sam Ash Store and walked away without making any purchases. I went there to look at a Gibson ES 339 and also tried out a PRS Santana. I liked the Gibson a lot. A really beautiful guitar, but I feel it is a cross between my Les Paul and ES 135, but it isn't really better than either one. True to my new way of purchasing guitars, I will think about it for a couple of days and make my final decision. I am leaning toward not purchasing the Gibson. The PRS is a great guitar for the price, but I like my Fender Strat and Tele better. That's the one thing I like my Local Sam Ash store, no high pressure or hassles. I spent an extra half hour just talking to the salesman who called me. I purchase most of my music stuff from this store.
Kenny V

I don't think that I'm really a true compulsive shopper but I know for a fact that if you have that collector mentality, even a touch of OCD can get you into trouble once in a while! For me, it's mainly CDs and records but on occasion I've been known to also go a little overboard with guitars. In 1995 alone I bought three guitars (1966 Gretsch Tennessean, 1992 Rickenbacker 360V64, 1974 Guild D-25) and two amplifiers: (1964 Fender Super Reverb,1 995 Vox AC30TBX), but my "worst" GAS period was between 2000-2001 when I bought seven guitars: (2000 PGW Phantom VI, 1967 Vox Phantom VI, 1966 Vox Phantom Mark II, 1963 Fender Jaguar, 2000 Rickenbacker 360/12VP, 1967 Gibson EB-2 Bass, 2001 Danelectro U-2 6-String Bass)!

At the time I had been trying to find the ultimate Vox Phantom and unfortunately it took three tries! I also wanted/needed a Jaguar and a 360/12 for my Beach Boys tribute band because my Strat alone wasn't cutting it. Then when I saw the Danelectro at Guitar Center for only $250 I couldn't pass it up, so that also became a part of my "Beach Boys" rig. Just when I thought my GAS was settling down I happened to see the Gibson EB-2 Bass hanging on the wall at that very same Guitar Center, and for only $750, so what the hell! After buying the Super Reverb and the AC30 I never sold my old backup amp, a 1983 Fender Concert, so I traded in with a little cash and that was that!

In retrospect buying all of these guitars in such a short period of time, and so compulsively, wasn't one of my better decisions. Today, out of those seven, only the Jaguar, the 360/12, and the Dano 6-String Bass remain.

Im picking up a new Strat tomorrow

Last one I promise... mean it this time