How many lights did you have before you had your first purge? And what pushed you to do it?
I got up to about 60-70 flashlights before I decided to sell some of them for the first time. I sold some because at that point i guess i finally figured out what was my favorite type of flashlight. (Medium sized thrower) So at that point i sold a lot of my flooders and used the money to buy more flashlights that were more for my niche.
Now I just buy flashlights if I feel I can use around the house and my property. I no longer have impulse buys like I used to in the beginning
I haven’t sold any flashlights, but I have sold some knives.
My knife collection is quite large.
I think I sold less than a dozen knives, so I still have too many knives.
I should sell some of my flashlights, and more of my knives, but I’m lazy.
About as many as you had. My most used are medium-size flooders. I would like to whittle down to one or two dozen but I have a ways to go. Got to prioritize what to collect, and I decided to refocus on mineral collection I have had a lot longer.
I did my first ‘purge’ early this year. Pretty much in the same position you were. Had been collecting for about 5 years, so I’d had enough time to figure out what types of flashlights I actually like/are practical for me. A lot of FOMO purchases that ended up being redundant to the lights I already owned. I just ‘had to have them’ I guess.
Towards the end of last year, my collection was also at about 60-70, give or take. Somehow that was the magic number to make me think, “That’s probably too many flashlights for me.” So I started selling them off.
As of today, I only have 10, which a majority of them are Convoys. I had much more expensive models from more premium brands - but Convoy as a brand just appeals to me.
I decided to try really being more mindful about this hobby of mine, and ask seriously about each ‘new thing’ that pops up. Whenever a ‘new thing’ flashlight pops up that I think looks cool, I decide to wait a week and see if I still want it. I now have not bought a single new flashlight since June 18th, which was more than 4 months ago.
We flashlight enthusiasts are lucky that in the grand scheme of things, flashlights really aren’t the most expensive hobby to have. But speaking for myself, it feels nice to have a small but potent cadre of flashlights that I’ve personally curated for myself over these past 5 years.
If I’m being honest, I could probably strip my collection down even further to maybe 4-5, but I don’t want to be too overly strict about it. It is a hobby after all.
I haven’t had to do that yet. Very few of my lights have been impulse purchases that I don’t really need or want, I have to convince myself for a few days before buying one. Maybe I could sell some of my old hank lights that I don’t use now but they aren’t even worth much, have a little nostalgia value to me, and it just doesn’t seem worth it. It’s more worth it to me to keep a few of these around in random places for emergencies.
At one point in 2023, I was over 300. Got down to 100ish by selling a ton of them off, and now it’s crept back up to about 130. Nothing specific made me sell when I did…I just felt like curating a collection rather than hoarding a zillion lights.
I had the same thought and in Canada shipping costs a lot more than the USA, but i sold many lights without too much trouble.
What really helped was the online calculator we have so anyone who wanted to buy a light, i could calculate the shipping, provide a total price and they could decide whether or not to proceed.
I need to do a light count and update my list, but I’m pretty sure I have fewer than 30 lights. I’ve sold a couple as I went because I realized they weren’t what I was hoping for when I bought them, or I just didn’t use them.
Off the top of my head I’ve sold the Thrunite TN42 and the Firefly PL09. I also gifted the KR4 as a sort of pseudo-payment.
