My 2 ¢
After collecting and selling mainly vintage sports publications for 25 years, I started collecting photos over the last 2 years. There were a few reasons for this migration. 1) Space...thousands of wire photos fit into a bunch of binders on a book shelf. 2) Price...good bargains can still be had. Even with high end auctions, you still can sneak in and get good value. 3) Uniqueness...The majority of the images are unique. There are no price guides and your own eye can place a value on what you like. This can be helpful with #2 price. However, this also be tricky upon resale. The image that you loved might not appeal to everyone else. 4) Availability... with all of the large archives begin sold or digitized, the sheer volume of what is on the market is amazing. 5) Built in provenance... I particularly love photos that have both the stamp and paper caption. With the exception of some modern reprints (which are easy to identify), older photos with both of these elements can be dated, identified and certainly do not need some third party grading system.
And like many before...DRC's website and the Yee/Fogel book are essential.
Jeff
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