grodog wrote:serleran's point is well-taken too:  many folks follow particular publishers, settings, eras for products, authors, artists, etc. too.  So, know what interests you, and try to stick to it---otherwise you'll suffer from collection bloat/dilution (and you'll end up spending money on "meh" things to you, and then you'll be short when the really good stuff appears out of nowhere).

FormCritic wrote:First step...

Decide what type of collector you are:

1)  Hobbyist:  Collects the old things he used to have or should have had.

2)  Competitor:  Collects the things everyone else collects, because everyone else wants it and that is fun.

3)  Investor:  Collects things that are valueable with the intent to get value out of them, either by trade or re-sale.

4)  Business:  Buy low, sell high, profit on the shipping.

5)  Historian:  Collects for the love of game history.  Sees self as the curator of the items in his collection.  Preservation is the goal.

Most collectors are more than one of these types.  For instance, I am #1 and #5.  I started collecting out of a desire to find and actually own the famous Judges Guild modules that I remember wanting and not having back in the day.  The search led me here.

A business guy (#4) might still keep one of everything, but he sees his collection as an ongoing, changing thing....as compared to someone like me, who has never sold anything and would immediately regret doing so...but might give something away or trade duplicates.

Anyway....think about why you are collecting.  That will help you decide what to do.