Most of the time buying another version of something you already own is a no-no, but everybody must break this rule once in a while, right? Comics are the easiest vice with trade paperbacks and hardcovers being much more attractive in the long run for rereading than pulling out single issues from a long box. If you don't support smaller titles (non-Marvel or DC super hero books) along the way, you may not even get a trade to wait for, so double buying happens by support of the regular issues followed by picking up the collected edition if the story was good enough. Then there's the case of oversized hardcovers and DC's Absolute editions. You thought that comic looked gorgeous enough in regular format until you see a huge, pretty book and owning another copy of the story you've read makes sense. Doubling up on comics is something I try to do sparingly, but it still happens when I know I can't wait for the trade without being spoiled but also know going in that I'll want the ultimate version of the tale. Waiting for movies and games is one thing, but doing the same for comics when you can have a weekly fix...I only manage it for a few titles hit with sporadic release issues anyway.
The issue is a little murkier than it used to be for films. Used to be you could tell a sans extras DVD was a pass until a better edition came along and you set in for an increasingly shorter wait. Now Blu-ray adds the improved picture quality factor and in some cases, extras that aren't on the DVD version. Recently, I decided to hold off on No Country for Old Men until I get a Blu-ray player to avoid the temptation to rebuy and have been thinking maybe I should've done the same for 3:10 To Yuma. The price of Blu-ray discs is a pretty strong deterrent still with only all-time favorite films even being considered. I don't even want to think about how much Critertion Collection films will cost (rebuy or not) taking into account how much they already run on DVD.
Video games are the one safe medium...well, not today. Multiple versions of the same game are close to absent from my shelves except for the Metal Gear Solid series which got me again today with the MGS: The Essential Collection giving me the chance to pick up the trilogy again but most notably, the Substance version of MGS 2. I know the fourth game is only a few months away, but still I go back for more of the PS2 era.
All you can do is keep the, "I've bought this before," moments to a minimum. For me that means, Batman Begins on Blu-ray will be the last time for a while. Gotta keep looking for something new.
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