Did I make a mistake that Is Unforgivable? - Page 2

LMAO! Maz you are quite a character!

Oh, someone lock this thread already. It's the monozygotic twin of this one.

The repeated and similar nature of these threads almost makes me think it's some kind of twisted trolling.

Had to look up monozygotic. Yes. It is.

In all honesty I think you have a mental problem, you've must've spent at least a few thousand on things that will sit unused, money coulda gone toward something much more fulfilling. I don't want to get into the whole psychological aspect of some compulsive buyer/hoarder but you should realize this is not a good practice.

I think the first step to recovery (which you probably won't do, as "there's nothing to recover from"), is to get off of basenotes. But before you leave you should consider an epic For Sale thread with all your duplicates.

Trust me, it is a rather cathartic experience getting rid of excess material possessions. While my wardrobe is not 1/1Oth the size of yours, I recently sold about 6 bottles and feel much better now.

Feel free to make up excuses to justify your actions, but please consider my advice.

If it was your favorite fragrance of all time, I would understand... I wouldn't agree with it, but I'd understand. However, you bought 8 bottles of this just do you didn't have to drain your 12 bottles of MI. Don't you also have a boatload of Narciso Rodriguez for Men fragrances as well??

Don't you find this even the slightest bit excessive? If you wore MI everyday for the rest of your life, and gave up sleep, you still would have plenty left over when you die...

What is the point of a great deal if you will never use up what you buy? Would you go into a steakhouse and order 10 porterhouses because it's a good deal??

Just because you can buy something (or in your case ten somethings) at a great price, it doesn't mean you should...

I think you should just take the weekend off and drive to the nearest casino to kick back and play. Don't be afraid to bet big, blackjack is near even on house odds. And don't forget your credit cards!

Fine, but why do you need 8 bottles of Unforgivable & 12 bottles of MI if you're not going to finish them in two lifetimes??

Well, you didn't ask if you got a good deal, you asked if people would make the same decision. That's a much larger question. If you just want to know if you got a good price, it's probably better to narrow the question to just that.

Of course you are a hoarder. You have way too much perfume for anyone who isn't. Then again, it is very probable that every person who has responded has more perfume than they need. As near as I can tell, there is very little real difference between buying 200 bottles of the same fragrance and 200 different bottles, as much as people seem to want to believe otherwise. Either way, it is money spent on something you enjoy that isn't particularly useful.

It is for you to judge if it is worth it. If you have a lot of money, and your favorite way to spend it is decorating a wing of your mansion with 2654 bottles of Curve Chill, then that is your own business. However, if your purchases impact your life in a negative way, such as causing an argument between you and your wife, then you have a problem and you should stop buying so many fragrances. Unfortunately, from these threads it sounds like your purchasing habits are affecting your life negatively.


Do you have a problem? Probably. Do some of the people criticizing you have a very similar problem? Probably.

You keep ducking the question, so I'll ask one more time...

Why do you feel you need 8 bottles of Unforgivable & 12 Bottles of MI??









PS: Why do we need to know "the whole story of you" to know that owning vast quantities of the same fragrance (especially if it isn't discontinued) isn't normal?

Also, when you start threads like this one and the one with your wife, you open yourself up to be criticized.
I don't think anyone is here to make fun of you or put you down, but they are in fact showing concern over something that obviously is an issue with you... If you don't want to be "harshly judged" as you put it, you probably shouldn't start these kinds of threads...

I disagree...

To me, the people with 200 different bottles are collectors. That's no different than people who collect comic books or baseball cards or other sports memorabilia. The only difference is that in this case they can wear their collection...

And someone with 200 bottles of the same scent isn't a collector? How about owning vintage, flanker, and limited editions of the same scent? How about owning 50 different fougeres with a couple notes different each? 200 aquatics? Where do you draw the line?

Likey, but who knows?

Umm, if you cared to read big_scooter, he said he bought 10 bottles of the exact same common place scent that can be found in just about every drug store in America.

Yep, i caught that. I think you might be missing the point of my post.

If it's a question of using up the juice, I agree. But if it's one of utility, I disagree. As I see it, the difference is between having a lifetime's worth of each of 200 scents, or a lifetime's worth of one scent, for the same price.

Given the amount of perfume that I have, I consider each bottle to be a tiny machine that will dispense a given scent, forever. Even if I'll never wear out those little machines, I think that it's better to have 200 different ones than 200 of the same one, just as I'd rather have 200 different DVDs than 200 of the same DVD. I'll never "use up" the perfume any more than I will the DVDs, but I'll get a lot more fun out of the variety.

That said, I agree that a person's collecting habits are, by default, none of my business. Anyone can collect anything they want - a person can fill their house with bottles of Tabasco sauce, for all I care. Hey, maybe the different varieties of Tabasco from different states and decades would be fascinating.

But if they ask my opinion, and especially if they have, in the past, let me know that their family has issues with the space devoted to Tabasco sauce, I'm likely to express that opinion. If a person doesn't want opinions, they probably shouldn't ask for them.

In a very basic sense, the utility of purchasing commodities is simply to make you happy. All I am saying is that a collection of different scents does not have more intrinsic value than a collection of the same scent; the value comes from perception. If he is happier with duplicates than a varied collection, then that is up to him. I don't really think we disagree overall here, I am just further explaining what I mean.

I do not object to people offering their opinions. I offered mine none too subtly, at that. He definitely asked for it. I suppose it just annoyed me to listen people who spend thousands of dollars on perfume calling someone who spends thousands on perfume differently insane.

On the topic of Tabasco sauce, I feel compelled to note that the chipotle version is superior to the original, and those who disagree are clearly insane

I agree that we don't too fundamentally disagree. Now, I'm a step into judgmental - I do think that 200 different fragrances are inherently, objectively better than 200 of exactly the same thing. But since I add the opinion that it's none of my business unless I'm asked, my having that opinion doesn't really matter much.

Maz, I really don't think anyone here intended to be mean to you. It may come off as harsh, simply because we're not giving you the answer you wanted to hear, which is sort of odd, considering the answers you got on the previous thread. What you fail to account for is a "friend", if they're good, would tell you what you don't want to hear. You're absolutely right, I don't know your whole life story, though I do remember you telling us a little in the previous thread regarding your father. But, regardless of almost ANY backstory, the behaviour exhibited in both of these threads, are abnormal, for ANYONE. You've explained to us in the first thread, that your wife had a problem with your frag purchases (I don't know if she still does, but that's irrelevant), and you tried to attribute her frustrations to a lack of space to house all of the fragrances, when in actuality it was because she was worried about your compulsive spending. You're lucky that you can afford to purchase these fragrances and watches at the clip you do, could you imagine if you liked to purchase cars? Like I said in my previous post on this thread, I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and I suffer from it, it's no joke. Whether you want to continue to deny it or not, there is no backstory that could possible rationalize these compulsions. What you are witnessing is a compulsive action to alleviate what ever anxiety or obsession or whatever else it is that is plagueing you, perhaps you are missing something in your life, that you are making up for with the fragrances. Whatever it is, the reason behind it is not the issue, the issue is the spending, and you need to accept that this isn't "normal" and it is a problem. I promise you, that if you seek professional help, contrary to what you think now, you WILL be happier, and you will be able to cope with whatever demons you have, that we don't know about, in a more responsible, less reckless manner. Whatever path you choose, good luck.

As to the question if it is a good deal, it is entirely dependent on the extent to which you use the bottles.

If it is two years or ten years from now and you come back and tell us you used the bottles and the experience was enjoyable, then who am I to say you did not get a good deal.

If after you use some of the bottles you are bored with the fragrance or they go bad, then to the extent that fragrance is unused or unusable, that much is a bad deal.

If I go to the grocery store and buy two 50 pound sacks of potatoes because they are so cheap and end up using 10 pounds of them and have to dispose of the rest, I did not use my money efficiently. That principle applies to anything consumable: cologne, food, shampoo, anything consumable.

I think most of us don't go through multiple bottles of the majority of fragrances we choose. The idea of going through more than three bottles of any fragrance is somewhat staggering to me. Possible of course, but a real challenge. And I think that is what affects a lot of the comments on this thread. People have a hard time believing it is going to all be used. If it is, there is no problem (from a "deal" perspective).

And in this post I am not even entering into the question of whether you are a hoarder or not; just the original question on a "good deal".

No


Yes


Yes



Sure


I think I've drawn it here



If that were the case, then I would agree. In fact, I already stated that if these were the only two scents he liked, then I'd understand even if I didn't agree. However, it's not a case of duplicates vs varied. This is a case of duplicates AND varied. If the guy with 200 different fragrances runs out of Heritage, he isn't likely to go out and grab 12 bottles of the stuff. Unfortunately, that's not the case here...

And this is what we call DENIAL ladies and gentlemen!

Whilst your mobility in your living space is not yet impaired by boxes of cologne stacked to the ceiling, you do exhibit the traits of someone with compulsion issues that could escalate to such a scenario.

I think in seeking the approval or disapproval of the community with regard to your bulk buy is where you open yourself up to being judged harshly. (Something I thought you might have already learned from "that" twin discussion you created several months ago).
In this thread, your original post as to whether you made the right decision buying it so cheap does not win out over the seriousness of the fact you went and purchased EIGHT coffrets, and now own ten bottles. This news, on the heels of your previous admission that you stockpile rolex watches and bulk-purchased an arsenal of perfume just a few months ago, is a major indicator that something is more than a little amiss with this behaviour.

Of course it is COMPLETELY up to you how and when you choose to spend your own money, but when you throw yourself to the lions, you can expect to have your ass chewed a little. No? I think many people here (as mtgprox stated in post #88 above) are more concerned you absorb the message that we are genuinely concerned for you, rather than tell you what you want to hear. My advice to you is - if you don't like what you're hearing, don't ask for our ratification.

I can't believe people are arguing whether owning 200 different scents is the same as 200 of the same scents...

And Maz, "pass harsh criticism", haha are you serious? We are trying to be helpful by telling you the truth, you shouldn't have made this thread if you are so thin-skinned. The fact that you weren't expecting these kinds of responses to what you did only furthers my belief that you have a problem.

There is no problem, people. Move on!

If you're actually going to use all the bottles or sell them for profit, and you can afford the investment now without negative effects on your quality of life, and it's unlikely you will get an equal or better deal on the bottles in the future, accounting for inflation, then it may make some modicum of sense to purchase so many bottles of an in-production fragrance. If any of these qualifications do not hold, you aren't being logical.

People are not "...arguing whether owning 200 different scents is the same as 200 of the same scents...". Only BigScooter is.

People seem to still be not understanding my point, so I'll try to reiterate again. Being more blunt simply because the point didn't seem to get through, not trying to piss anyone off.

We are on a fragrance forum where people routinely justify purchases of thousands of dollars of perfume. These people who spend fortunes on glass bottles filled with alcohol are telling someone he is crazy because the glass bottles he is spending a fortune on do not smell differently. People are are acting like his spending habits are crazy when theirs are remarkably similar to their own. It is COMPLETELY ABNORMAL to spend thousands of dollars on fragrance. Yet, people are trying to draw a line in the sand and pretend they are completely different than this guy, and THEIR smelly bottle purchases are completely justified.

There is absolutely nothing to gain from this hobby except personal enjoyment. If someone would rather have 10 bottles of the same fragrance, then the purchase makes exactly as much sense as it does to buy 10 different ones to the person who likes different scents. I personally think it is crazy to spend $250 on one bottle of scent instead of spending that money on 8 designer scents. Other people think differently, and that is their business.

As I said previously, if his purchasing habits are negatively affecting his life, then he has a problem and needs to stop. Similarly, if someone's purchases of different scents are affecting their life negatively, they have a problem and should also stop. The problem is not the purchase of the same scent, the problem is that it sounds like his purchases are having negative consequences in his life.

This has nothing to do with perfume hobby, big scooter. This is like hoarding a gallon of Cheeze Whiz because you're afraid there will be no Cheese Whiz anymore tomorrow.

Wouldn't you say that's the point of a hobby? The problem is that you aren't looking deep enough into this situation, rather settling to draw similarities between the AMOUNT of money spent on fragrance. It DOES matter what you are spending it on. Collecting paintings offers nothing to the collector besides a talking point and something to look out. That collector spends thousands of dollars purchasing paintings, we would think that was normal. If that collector saw a painting at a local Walgreen's for $39.99 and thought it was great, and decided to pick up 40 of them, you'd think he was insane. Because in this instance the behavior was irrational. You see there IS quite a distinct difference between a BN member spend 3,000 a year on fragrance and what Maz likes doing. Just because they both contain "smelly" liquid that most take for granted, doesn't make them the same. His actions hint at a PROBLEM, of irrational and compulsive spending, it isn't irrational in everyone else's case because theoretically they enjoy each fragrance and are collecting various different kinds. Honestly, I don't understand how you can believe those two situations are in any way related?

Edit: Also, just because (for the sake of this argument) he has the financial ability to weather his purchases, and they make him happy, doesn't mean it should be dismissed. Of course it makes him happy, that's what compulsions do, they eliviate some sort of anxiety, but the do so irrationally and often times recklessly. You cannot allow him to perpetuate this behavior, because when times come where he CAN'T afford to do this, he won't be able to stop.

The fact that he hasn't addressed various concerns of members on this thread that oppose his viewpoint, opting to quote and agree with those who sympathize or in some way promote his opinion, proves the seriousness of this issue, and his refusal to acknowledge it.

I have clearly stated in each of my posts that he has a problem.

How is his compulsion to purchase scents different from that of anyone else here? Every time I visit this board I watch people compulsively buying scents, and others helping them justify it. You don't think it is compulsive behavior to buy 20 bottles of fragrance you haven't smelled?

The point I am trying to get across is that yes, he has a problem with compulsive purchasing, but then again, the same thing happens here every day. At the end of the day, we are all just compulsively buying commodities, whether they smell different or not. Have you ever noticed how high of a percentage of people on here are American? Compulsive buying is central to our way of life. This is a well-documented reality. Whether this is good or bad is up to the person involved, but this whole topic stinks horribly of the pot calling the kettle black.

lets solve this problem by shipping to me half of your collection
PM for address
thanks

but really, if you intend to make a profit in the future, or gift purposes, or use it for things other than it was intended for, its not a big issue, but you purchased that many bottles to use, well thats not going to happen unless you use about 4ml/day and nothing else for a long time.

plus I realized the really negative aspect of hoarding is that the fragrance tends to disintegrate after a while, esp designer fragrances, hence why I stopped trying to purchase alot of vintages, they just don't smell like they were when they came out.

Nonetheless don't let fragrances own you, you should own your fragrances

BINGO!

Also, if you read the thread where this all originally started, (the one where his wife expressed concern over the hoarding) you would see that this IS negatively impacting his life in ways other that financial. The excess fragrances and watches have become such a hindrance that they are running out of places to store other things in the house. It got to the point where his wife literally banned anymore fragrances from being purchased. She can't be too thrilled with 10 more bottles of Unforgivable...

You do have a point, some others are compulsive on these boards, I was just hoping that you weren't lumping the whole board into that category. There are quite a few members that I know purchase because they NEED to purchase something, and I view blind buying as a problem in and of itself, there are almost no instances where sampling isn't possible, IF and ONLY if it is impossible to obtain a sample should blind buying be a factor, but that's just my opinion. The reason why those members don't get called out is because they don't open themselves up for critique like our friend Maz has and continues to do. But there are those on these boards that choose to spend thousands a year on fragrance, myself included, who do so in a calculated and budgeted fashion. I don't you can compare someone who, let's say, spent $1700/per year including sample purchase, coming out with 15+ bottles to someone who continues to make a habit up purchasing 5,6,7,8+ bottles of the same scent, often ones that he wouldn't consider favorites, simply because he found a good "deal". The amount he is losing in future investments is monumental, I would assume. I think for the most part we agree, and are just splitting hairs here. But, you can't forget that Maz has TWICE now presented us with extreme, abnormal, and irrational purchase binges, and then asked us to rationalize it for him. Not surprisingly he hasn't gotten the support he so wanted, and that's because even though there are those on these boards who TOO have a problem with spending, wouldn't in their wildest dreams imagine purchasing 10 bottles of something because they could get them cheaply. In conclusion, I agree, that there are others on these boards with a compulsive spending problem, but Maz's problem is compounded by the fact that he is being completely ignorant of the fact that he is buying in bulk fragrances in which he HOPES to grow to love.

We already told you how it's different... People who have hundreds of scents are collectors. People collect certain things as hobbies. How is it different than collecting baseball cards, comic books, sports memorabilia, sneakers, guns, knives, antiques, etc?? The scent itself is almost secondary... When a bottle runs out, it will be replaced with one bottle.

What Maz is doing is hoarding fragrances. There is no joy in that. He literally is afraid that he will eventually run out and won't be able to get any more. This is despite the fact that both of these sell pretty well and are in absolutely no danger of being discontinued. You did read the part where he wrote that he bought the 8 bottles of Unforgivable so that he wouldn't go through his 12 bottles of MI, right??

If you can't see the difference between these two things, then I don't know what to tell you...

Here is an easy way to tell that the man has a problem. Replace what he bought with animals and consider the situation. If a lady buys 2 horses, 2 cats, 2 dogs, 3 birds, 3 goats, 2 sheep, 6 cattle, 1 pet lizard, and 1 pet snake...22 animals...you would say "that lady must love having all different kinds of animals." If she bought 22 cats (at once) you would probably consider her a crazy cat lady and think that she has a problem. Same situation here with perfume. 200 bottles of different fragrances contribute to a rich and vibrant COLLECTION. 200 bottles of one fragrance is a hoard and makes no real sense.

Brilliant! Wow, that really puts the situation into perspective. Great analogy.

Ok, so your point is that pig farmers are crazy. I understand.



I am really done with this discussion because it isn't going to go anywhere, just couldn't resist responding to this one.

you have got to be kidding...

It's like collecting the same scooter you like in 20-fold and parking them in your garage, saying that if one might break, then you can still ride one of the other 19.

As opposed to - if you're a real collector - collecting 20 different scooters and enjoying them all there.

Big_Scooter, the analogy works, because he isn't purchasing the perfume to sell, if he was then your pig farmer comment would make sense. He's treating them like pets, thus the 22 cats analogy works.

Sheesh.. I'm trying to get away from this topic here.


So, you are saying if I were to own 20 different pets it would be more normal than owning 20 cats? Because I would get bored of petting cats or something? This makes no sense whatsoever. A person with 20 different pets is just as loony as a person with 20 cats. A normal amount of pets would be 1-3; the type is irrelevant. Besides, maybe someone just likes cats. Maybe they have a kind heart and adopt strays. Maybe they breed cats as a hobby.


This is completely pointless. We are arguing a cheesy metaphor. I'm calling it a day.

Wow...someday I want to stumble upon that estate sale!

No, he's saying owning 20 different pets is more normal than owning 20 cloned specimens of the same cat, of which you put 19 of them in a cryogenic freezer until the one that you currently enjoy is dead or gets hit by a car.

Having 15 different fragrances is pretty normal. Having 15 bottles of the same perfume of which you use one and stow away 14 'just in case' is a classic example of hoarding paranoia, especially if your wife tells you that you really should stop doing that.

Get it?

I don't even know why you guys bother trying to argue with this idiot. (BS, I mean)

In other news i just bought 29 of the exact same shirts, I have become a cartoon character.

My favorite Maz24 thread is the Ross one..Classic stuff!

My mind must have been really off yesterday, I knew what I wanted to say often but couldn't break it down like you just did, and when I tried in this thread, I often opened myself up for criticism.

It should be clear to all that I am not an idiot, regardless of whether you agree with me. The reason behind my posts was to advocate my opinion about the hypocrisy of the responses in this thread. Is there something to be gained from random name calling? I don't tend to think so.

I understood what you meant, i just didn't have any use for a metaphor when we can discuss the actual facts. I think at least one or two of you understand what I mean, and I am thoroughly bored with this thread, so I'm not going to debate anymore.

I think you guys might pick up some issues yourself if you keep arguing about this
no biggie, we should just leave our sincere advice and move on
no need to have a huge debate about someone else's life.