Asklemmy

Not exactly a coherent collection of a specific thing, but I like to gather older video game consoles and retro tech to hook them all up in the most interesting way possible. I've currently got an SNES, N64, GameCube, and Sega Saturn hooked up to an old decent quality CRT security monitor over s-video. I plan to get an s-video matrix to hook up all the consoles at once and switch between them easier, and I also plan to at some point add a PS2, Xbox, and Dreamcast into the mix.

I might also at some point try to find an old early 2000s or even late 90s computer and hook that up too. I don't have a lot of space, so I might have to hook it up to the TV, but as long as it can play the games from my childhood without issue, I don't care what wonky setup I need. Old games just aren't as fun on an LCD.
I do probably need to degauss the CRT though. When I first picked it up it looked fine, but I ran a metal fan a little too close to it for too long and now it's got distorted geometry on that side.

So I suppose I collect retro electronics. I don't even collect games for the consoles I own. I just bought them for the fun of hooking them up.

Would digital collection count? I've been collecting completed TV shows.

I have an almost complete collection of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels. I'm missing about three of them published before Valhalla Rising, and I kinda lost track of how many he wrote after that. I was kinda into them in high school, and would pick them up for $6 or $8 here and there. Most are paperbacks, I bought them to read not to display (though like almost all books they sit on the shelf most of the time) and I would hardly call myself a "collector." But I own a thigh high stack of NUMA adventures.

I inherited a collection of prints from a relatively local artist called Ed Berger, who spent his working life as a civil engineer in Washington DC before moving to North Carolina to work on his artwork, much of which are kind of bleak and dreary landscapes focusing on old decrepit farm buildings, houses etc. I've got a dozen of them or so, the whole collection would sell at auction for almost $10.

Oh I forgot! I have a very small collection of T-shirts from theme parks I've visited throughout my life, usually one from my favorite ride in the park. My favorites among the collection are from Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Maverick from Cedar Point and Fury 305 at Carowinds. I've been thinking of pulling down Ed Berger's "It sucked when it was new and now it's old" collection and framing those T-shirts, as I never wear them.

My parents each had things they collected (Dad actually owned a comic shop at one point) so I grew up with the concept.

I personally have a small collection of year 2000 memorabilia. (Was an important year in my life, and I also spent it gathering knickknacks that mentioned it)

Yes

It’s just a thing I do because my brain likes it

I guess you could say that I collect data. After Ally I need to use as the storage space for something. Don't worry, not personal data.

Guitar pedals. My collection is fairly modest (20-30 pedals) but I have some neat pieces, like a couple Japanese Boss pedals from the 80's. They are functional so I don't feel like it's a waste of space per se. Also they look cool, so there's that.

"That'll be very handy in the future!"

I collect everything material-ish

I started collecting knives which evolved into balisongs which I love to flip

Misery. I collect misery.

Knives. I don't know why.

Action figures, chef knives, Ramen, tinned seafood, winter coats, 4K blurays, keyboards are really tempting.

I have a lot of small bottles and vials waiting to be filled. It started decades ago when I found a quaint little glass tube with a stopper in an antique shop at my favorite beach town and thought it'd be nice to take home some sand from my favorite spot, thereafter becoming a tradition for subsequent visits. Now I pick one up whenever I see one to have a cache available for any future adventures.

A few Theory11 playing card packs, because they're beautifully designed. Besides that, some Bicycle sets too.

I started collecting digital album covers

Playing cards. It started with me picking up a few decks because I liked the designs. My collection has grown over the last few years, but there is definitely room for more. If a deck looks cool and is reasonably priced it's an easy thing to pick up on a whim.

I wouldn't call it collecting in the sense of owning them all, but I've been building up my game library on GOG and archiving all the installers on an external hard drive. It at least gives me more of a sense of ownership than my Steam library does, because if GOG went away tomorrow I'd still have my games.