If not why not? And if you do, then why do you?
It might sound silly, but I haven’t yet opened any of the Big Finish Audios that I’ve bought myself, and for some reason, I can’t get myself to, I can’t even really explain why. And I don’t know, I kinda find myself very conflicted about it-
Either way, I just really wanted to know how other people feel about it and would love to hear some opinions! : )
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I wouldn’t say I collect them. I just own a few physically:
- Once and Future, because I thought it would be amazing and maybe a collectible item. (
) - The Stuff of Legend, as a memento from seeing it live
- The Eleventh Doctor and Valarie, because they are my favourite BF series ever
I haven’t unpacked any of them, although when I found out that they sometimes have other covers on the inside I opened some to take a look.
I probably should unpack them, if I never intend on selling them. I just haven’t gotten around to it!
(And I might sell my non-live copy of The Stuff of Legend because I have it twice now)
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I usually do open them, but when I know I won’t get around to some of them, I usually let them unpacked for a while. Although I can totally see why some wouldn’t open them at all. It definitely has probably appeal to it!
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I used to keep them sealed, but these days I unpack them and (mostly) display the alternative covers. It’s nice to have the option to change which cover I’m using easily.
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By unpacking, do you mean just like opening the CD case? If so, yes I do that, in order to listen to it. I buy CDs purely for the purpose of listening to them and reading this topic is quite a surprise – is it a real thing for people just to buy CDs and not use them?? (I’m not judging, it just genuinely did not occur to me) Or have I horribly misunderstood what people here are meaning by ‘unpack’ and ‘open’??
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I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Big Finisb CD collectors don’t even own a CD player. Many people get them for the sake of owning a physical copy, and listen to the digital download on their phone or something. My college roommate bought her first LP before even consider getting a player… She said she may get one if she ever get enough LPs to justify buying a player for them.
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This is something that has been troubling me for a while now.
When I first started collecting Big Finish audios, which was right at the very beginning with the original Sirens of Time, there was no option to download anything. I’m really not the most tech-savvy person in the world (far from it), but I don’t think streaming was really a thing back then. So I just went on buying the physical releases out of habit, I suppose.
At some point in recent years, though, I started to realise I’d been stashing the CDs unopened in a cupboard and listening to the downloads instead, which made me start to question whether I should be buying the physical releases at all. What’s the point if they are simply rotting in their cases - have I become a hoarder?!! More likely it’s the age that I am, that when I spend money on something I want to see a physical artefact. I don’t have much confidence in owning something that floats around in The Cloud, especially not after the mess Big Finish made recently with their new website and customers’ accounts. But it could also be down to my Autism, that I feel somewhat… troubled, shall we say, when I don’t also own the physical release.
I had thought that CDs were a dead format walking, but having seen vinyl return in recent years and people getting excited again over VHS video cassettes, I really don’t know. I’m sorry that I chucked out all my old records and videos now - not because I’d want to make any money but because I would have gifted them to younger friends who have started collecting them and are paying ridiculous prices for these items. So I think I’ll hang on to the CDs a while longer, just in case.
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I don’t really have many CDs yet, but yeah, I open them. I like being able to play a physical item, and the sound is often better when connected to the speakers my dad has set up. But it does sometimes take several months until I do, because I don’t own a CD player myself and therefore only have access to one when I’m at my parents’.
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Yes, if you buy the CDs from Big Finish you also get the download. I listen on my phone or Mac, I never use the CDs.
If I got a CD from a third party like eBay then I’d use it just to rip the CD and upload it to my phone.
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I used to collect the CD’s as well back when I started, for the first few years, and I never played any of them. Used the download as soon as it dropped, and had the CD’s on my shelf looking nice and pretty. Once I kinda started running out of space, and the price difference between CD and digital only I made the switch and sold most of my CD’s. I’ve got some loitering about I should sell still, but one I wont sell is a signed Light at the End special edition I’ve got!!
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I started buying them on cassette tape! I stopped for 10 years or more but then got back into big finish. But its downloads mostly. I buy Cds if there’s a sale where it’s cheaper to get them. Or some special releases, but No don’t open them
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I collect some, not all. Think I counted like around 70.
I tend to have good judgement for audios I’d like/ enjoy, and sometimes I buy it digitally to listen to it to decide whether I want the CD too.
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I own approx 2 BF CDs and I have listened to them both (Lucie Miller/To the Death). I would love to have a collection but I just don’t have a lifestyle conducive to physical collection - I move too much and I don’t have a lot of space. I know some people treasure the CDs and I would too if I had them, but I am glad that BF make digital downloading so painless and easy.
My friend who I live with owns all the Gally TW sets as well as an assortment of others, and they are very much decorative on their DW bookshelf. I think the easiness of listening to downloads is a big win over fumbling around with a CD
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I have loads of CDs and yes, I open them. As I said in the thread about how I listen to them, back in the early days they were in my stereo or portable CD player. Nowadays I do tend to use the BF app or Spotify or rip the files to my phone but I almost always take the wrapping off. Don’t see the point of buying the thing if it’s just going to sit shrinkwrapped on my shelf. Nowadays I probably get more downloads than physical mainly due to the difference in cost but I will tend to get special things as physical releases like Once & Future.
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Always. I buy them to listen to, and that means removing the plastic seal. I couldn’t care less if they are worth more or not with the plastic seal kept on.
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Nono, you totally understood the question right, but I get why it might sound so weird. I’ve just seen quite a few pictures where people hadn’t opened any of them and also on ebay and stuff there are a lot of people selling unopened boxes.
Funnily enough, I do regularly listen to my second-hand bought CD sets on my CD player (and I think I’ll also start unpacking some of them now tbh since… well I guess that’s why I bought them after all?), I just never really did that with the ones I bought new since I always thought ‘Might aswell listen on the app’.
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I have the beggings of a decent collection. Some are already open, others aren’t. If I want to just sit and listen, and enjoy a drink in a relaxing chair, then I listen to the CD rather than the digital collection. It’s the same with music. I will pull out a CD/Vinyl if I want to force myself to concentrate on the music. It helps battle my ADHD.
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