Ah yes...if it's advice you seek...
I am rarely the place to get it.
However, that rarely stops me from distributing it!
All the advice in previous posts is good and valid.
My only addition would be to add a twist to the "Buy and collect what you like" thought. Think about it from the reverse perspective, and give some thought to what an incremental collection of your target is going to look like, and whether or not that still appeals.
Here are 2 examples:
1) Vintage: T206. Be honest with yourself about how many times you are ok with shelling out $50-100 for every common card of a player you have never heard of (and may never hear an amusing anecdote about because he died 50 years ago)...because somewhere along the way (unless you possess otherworldly heroic patience and focus) you will get really sick of it.
My solution: pick a team set to cut it down into bite size piece that you can afford and learn about in a reasonable time frame. I picked the Cubs and really had a blast learning about Heine Zimmerman's place in the world. Now, that was admittedly borderline stupid because I picked one of the largest team sets in the Monster, but I did it, and I have enjoyed holding onto them for alot longer than I ever anticipated (yes, a whole 3 years and counting). What I should have done was Milwaukee, cuz it's close to Chicago & they only got 4 cards!
2) Post-war: HOF Rookies. Again, be honest about whether or not you want to buy Phil Neikro's rookie card. I fear that I have actually failed on this one, and I am now considering selling off a bunch of cards that I don't enjoy having or looking at...I know it's post-war, but the same thinking applies. I am nowhere near done on this set, probably won't ever have enough money to do it the way I would like to, and consequently, eh...feels like a waste of time and money.
If you're still reading, hopefully you were able to decipher a point, and it would also suggest that I am learning to become more succinct in my writing style!
Good luck, whatever you choose!!
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