That question is something that all shirt collectors, may have asked themselves on more than one occasion. Initially something caught your eye and your brain really couldn’t fight the resistance, of making the purchase.
Was it the ‘fear of missing out’? That one grail you have waited for? Or, could it have been something extremely random and it just caught your eye in that moment?
Previously, I mentioned about the decision making process and something that gets above a certain threshold, which then pushes you to execute a certain action. In shirt collecting, you will have had your attention caught (shall we say) and then you act on the stimulus. The only thing stopping you from getting this shirt and allowing your cravings to control you, is the money!
As we know, it doesn’t grow on tree’s (as much as we would like) and eventually it will run out. The problem that so many people face, especially with online shopping, is that you don’t actually have the money in your possession. As all of your money is online, it may feel like an easy decision to make, as you can’t actually see it. Paying on ‘plastic’ is the given thing now, especially after COVID and this can allow for spending to get out of control.
Have I asked myself this question, in the past? Yes, I have and I do have a couple of regrets. Previously a bought 3 or 4 shirts that when I look back now, have no real place in my collection. I like anything from QPR (the club I support), Italian, South American, German and anything else, that really takes my fancy. My emotional attachment to QPR and the selected countries, is far higher than anything else around the continent. That said, that doesn’t mean I could make a ‘random’ purchase.
Take an old, vintage, classic shirt for example. This could be an ‘original’, from a top European club, that was hugely successful. We’ve seen this on social media a few times I’m sure and the following sounds familiar….
Social account – “I have a rare shirt dropping tonight at 7pm”. The word, rare, catches your attention and you draw your own conclusion, of what it could be. You may now be keen to see what’s ‘dropping’ at 7pm. You then clock watch as you don’t want to miss this! FEAR is now triggered in your brain, as it could be that something you’ve been waiting for.
….7pm arrives. The shirt is there in all of it’s glory. Mint condition and someone else has even said, “wow, this shirt is amazing and at this price, how has no one bought it?!” This may now trigger GREED in your brain. There is only 1 shirt available, you really need it (or you think you do) and then finally you may experience the next trigger. This last one is SOCIAL PROOF.
“I really want the shirt to show off on my page, add to my collection or to get those ‘likes’, when people see it”.
Before you know it, you’ve gone through the check out and the confirmation is in your emails. It’s cost you £150 and all of a sudden that dopamine hit has warn off. Do you ask yourself that familiar question, “why did I buy that shirt?”…
While this isn’t obviously exclusive to every shirt or collector out there, there might be occasions previously, when you could possibly have ignored the question marks raised in your brain. Did you ignore them or just by-pass, straight to the check out? You didn’t want to ignore those 3 previous triggers of FEAR, GREED and SOCIAL PROOF, so you gave your brain what it wants…the purchase of the shirt!
The collecting industry and shirts in particular, is a very good one to be part of, if managed correctly. You can most definitely build a collection on a budget and spend anything up to £100 plus, quite easily. While smaller purchases won’t (hopefully), bankrupt you, you can see how easy it is in spending money.
The self control that one has to have, in order to keep spending within their means, is something so important to enjoy this journey. I’ve only be actively participating for a number of months, but have experienced regret, excitement and disappointment already. When zooming out you have to ask yourself the question, “does it really matter that I can’t afford it or that I missed out?”. In al honesty, it doesn’t at all! We all have different circumstances and ones that allow us certain things in life. Respect the shirt collecting industry and what you can afford, then I’m sure you will be active for many years.
Next week, I’ll go through a number of methods on how I plan my spending each month and what I want to buy!!
Note – I have no regrets with the purchases in the picture, attached to this article!
To begin the process of sharing my thoughts on a number of different areas within shirt collecting, I feel it’s right to start on how my own collection started.
Exploring social media and reflecting on my own journey, it’s apparent that a visit to a city or town, is a good enough reason to purchase a shirt. You may also acquire one through a recommendation or even just because you like a certain pattern. The possibilities here are endless and are exclusive to that respective person.
For me, there have been a number of factors, to now start buying shirts on a frequent basis;
Previous experiences – Growing up watching Serie A was where my love for the Italian culture came from, where as my obsession for football in general would come from a Sunday morning. Match of the Day was on far too late when I was a child, so my father would record the programme on VHS, with me watching it first thing on a Sunday morning. The only opportunity for me to watch football from a South American viewpoint was the occasional viewing on a programme called, Trans World Sport. There was of course the World Cup’s, with my earliest memory being 1994, with 1998 being extremely fresh in my brain as we speak.
Club visits – As a full time football coach, I’ve had the opportunity to visit many professional clubs across the world. These vary from non – league clubs in Spain to top clubs in Germany. In between and along the journey, I’ve worked across the globe, interacting with many different players. Photo’s obviously work well at preserving memories, but so do shirts. With each visit I’ve had, I’ve always tried to purchase a shirt as a keep sake.
Work – I currently own a football coaching company and one of my main jobs, is to educate players from a young age, all the way through to senior football. I’ve used various ways of doing this, with a new concept coming this summer. I’ll be taking children ‘back in time’, to educate them on some of the greatest players, games, tournaments, moments and of course kits! I’ve recognised that there is a strong emphasis on the present, with everyone knowing about Messi and Ronaldo, but you rarely hear about Zidane or Cruyff. So, I’ve now taken it upon myself, to take everyone on a journey and will need more shirts to help me with this.
General interest – Being a lover of all things football, shirts are just a small part of what brings me joy. I also own many programmes, scarves, magazines and pictures. Most recently, I won some signed cards from the 90’s as well as securing some 1996 Panini stickers from my beloved, QPR. This could be something small for someone else, but the memories it brings, is a huge welcome.
While there could be many other reasons to start collecting, I decided that those 4 were the foundations of where I am now. The next question is, where does this burning desire come from, to keep spending money?
Knowing a little bit about science and how the brain operates, I can usually tell when something takes my interest. I look across pictures, photos and sales adverts, burning away my time, in search for that huge dopamine hit. This hormone is key, in a lot of things we as humans use in making a decision.
For example – Like it or not, I don’t get any satisfaction in looking at a Real Madrid shirt. After reflecting, I know it is due to the very plain colour scheme, with not much going on. I’ve been fortunate to visit the club within a coaching capacity and love everything they do for the sport, but for the shirt, it’s a no from me.
Now, if I take a shirt with a number of bright colours on and a very alternative design, this catches my attention almost immediately. This is apparent in what I own and when I’m also browsing websites, who display pages upon pages of offers.
So, if the colour and patterns ignite that desire, what’s next for me? Do I have a positive affiliation with this club? Can I see myself wearing it? Does it bring back any positive experiences from my childhood?
While I don’t always answer those questions with a ‘yes’, I usually get an internal feeling that pushes my decision further. As humans we have to evolve everyday and we go through thousands of decision’s each day. This process (consciously or unconsciously) will get to a certain threshold, where you’ll act on something, or you simply won’t.
One of the contributing factors for me here, after I’ve identified the shirt, is looking at the financial commitment it will take to secure it. The decision is nearly made and once it’s done (by the click of a few buttons), I receive this large dopamine hit and the shirt is on it’s way…..
While this hobby could turn into some form of problem (look up shopping addictions), it’s vitally important that we all don’t keep chasing the next purchase and instead, reflect and be grateful for what we have in our possession.
Next week, I’m going to share my thoughts on a large part of shirt collecting, the finances!
Before I start blogging, it’s important I introduce myself. I’m a football coach by profession and by looking through my website (that you’re currently on), you’ll be able to follow my journey to date.
I only actively started purchasing shirts in recent months, as previously I’d have been collecting unconsciously and slowly building a cluster of different shirts. On my travels with work, I’ve been lucky enough to visit many countries (too many to name here) and visit some of the worlds top clubs. On these trips I picked up some shirts as you do and put them away, upon my return. Fast forward to 2022 and an impromptu clear out at home, I soon realised I had a few in my possession.
Alongside coaching on a daily basis, I organise a variety of football courses throughout the year, where children come to me and learn about various parts of the game. This coming summer I had a new idea that I wanted to launch (details to be released soon) and I needed more football shirts. My next steps after this were opening an account on twitter and to also start searching for any bargains I could find, via eBay.
I’m now into my 2nd month, of officially collecting and I’ve bought some excellent pieces, that I’m now pleased to own. Many are classic items that I remember from childhood, with others ticking the ‘like’ box. One thing I have learnt in the last few months though, is that there is obviously a lot available on the market, so you have to know in what direction you wish to go!
While this intro is only brief, I will now be blogging regularly, with weekly articles. These will mainly be about collecting, but also some lessons I’ve learnt already. There are many connections between football coaching and buying shirts (this may seem very strange to you), but I will start explaining my reasoning for this, from next week!
Please give me a follow on Twitter @AscotFooty and feel free to give me any feedback on my blog posts!
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