If you were able to buy one of everything at its original retail price the tab would come to approximately $10,812.00. That includes the LEs, Reunion Pieces, Christmas editions, Society pieces, Belles Spyglass set, Event pieces, and Ornaments. Not including Society 'Gifts'. And not including LE varietals (blue waters, tan towers, etc.) And of course it doesn't include GLOWs.

Fwiw, I started collecting in the Fall of 1995 when I received Old Mackinac Point as a gift from my Dad. I didn't start being very knowledgeable about my hobby until the late Spring of 1996. At present I've been able to acquire all the 5500 series except Coquille. There are a few of the more recent 9500/10000 series I still need - none retired. With the help of trades and below retail purchases my purchase price for my entire collection is within $200 of original retail. Adding in the pieces I haven't bought yet at full retail puts me about $1000 over the total original retail purchase price. I figure thats not too bad for starting 4 years late.

The point is I believe you can still acquire them all or almost all at a reasonable cost. You must be persistent, and on the watch for good prices. That means you need to know the market and the relative value of pieces. The spreadsheet contains alot of the information you need. There is an ton more information available to the collector today than there was just a couple years ago.

I'll continue to endorse the theory that your dollars should first go towards the oldest non-retired pieces and those retired models you can afford. While the new models in the 9500/10000 series are very attractive and compelling, many many of these will still be available at retail this time next year and the year after that. And many of the older pieces will be harder to find and/or higher in price. This is not to say you shouldn't buy what you want to buy, but there are intelligent ways to go about acquisition that will cost you less in the long run.

Building a collection takes time and patience. Don't discount the possibility that next month or next Fall or whenever, you may be bitten by the Wacko bug and decide to go for them all. Trust me this *can* happen to you. :-) At that point you may wish you'd gotten some of the older pieces that were still available before you made this decision.

Alot of the issues surrounding what to acquire first have been discussed in this very forum. Read the 'Factoid #11' entries to get a good start on these. And don't hesistate to ask 'should I buy XXX or YYY' type questions. Check Sean's 'Top 34' thread and Retired@Retail.

Once again, I'll close by entreating all you newbies to go sign up for a Hillsborozilla with your dealer - do this today. Join the Collector's Society today and make sure you get a FYAM and 7 Foot Troll. Right now there is something of a buyers market - take advantage of it while its here.

Shine On Brightly,
__
/im

[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 03-15-99).]