Agreed. This also means you need to put a lot more care and intention into your purchases. I have put way too much time into thinking about what combination of pots and pans I'd like to own, so that I end up with enough to cover all the things I'd like to do with them, but not too much. Would be easier if cast iron worked better as a pan for infrequent use.

I'm in a similar situation with kitchen knives. I have a very nice 5 year old 8" german chef's knife, which is amazing as a single knife for everything. I've gotten a little more into cooking now, and would like to get more specialized knifes: a slightly larger japanese chef's knife and a cleaver… but that would render the one I have redundant.

I've found no-longer-wanted bifl items make great gifts to friends or family who share the same values (i.e. who wouldn't be offended by getting a secondhand item as a gift).