by
davejb
Wow, you dont want much do you!, thats certainly a "general" collecting wish, im glad your starting relatively small, well like anything else experience is essential when collecting, as long as you realise that at some point you will get stung, we all do, but the idea is to minimise the risk and expenditure, you have already stated the obvious, books , lots of them about the subject matter in hand, then get out to as many militaria fairs as you can, handle as many original items as you can lay your hands on, get the feel of original cloth, metals and manufacturers marks, speak to reputable dealers, collectors and above all dont believe all you hear about an item, the famous "my dad , uncle, next door neighbour or my friends relations brought this back from wherever" most of the time its a ruse for people to buy, believe the item not the story, if it doesnt sound or feel right invariably it isnt, unfortunately your starting at a time when the fakers have literally flooded the market and they get better each year, but with a bit of common sense ,and knowledge you will be able to find your way around, at first stick to one subject matter until you get it right then once you have collected enough of that type move onto another and so on, there will be bargains to be had but the higher end items do come at a price and thats where you really need to have a good knowledge of the subject, try to buy from reputable dealers , you will find other areas that you can glean a nice deal from but be careful, avoid E-BAY they are notorious for fakes and scam merchants, plus you cant see the item in hand before buying, above all always try to show the prospected buy on a forum, this one is second to none and have saved many people from parting with hard earned cash, good luck and hope to see your wares
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