I was keeping a running total on a spread sheet from the beginning of my collecting until about a year and a half ago. I did this with retail, purchase price, and current value in order to keep my addiction realistic. As well as keeping a checklist, it gave me an awakening of what I was getting into. It also is an historical summary of my collection as I also recorded when, where and how much I bought each piece. The most interesting part is my priority in collecting and how it changed as I reached each plateau. Early years 1) all the ornament, all the Christas pieces, all the collectors pieces, all the local lhs, all the NE lhs, all the east coast lighthouse,etc, When I reached the Southern Belles which I thought were always going to be untouchable, well...
Now, it's not such a big deal to find & collect but back starting in August of '98 , it was a challenge to find, acquire and afford this obsession. You just couldn't go on Ebay. You had to find this site(and it's predecessor), visit dealers, find dealers on the Internet, exchange info and finds with other collectors, etc.
My latest quest is looking for a Boone Island which I somehow missed on a timed retirement. Just started so still looking for a below retail. I'm sure I can find one at a local reliable store at retail but have not gotten there yet.
Oh the memories ,
Bob