I know I have had to learn the hard way many times. It's easy to make mistakes in this hobby. I'll share a few later today.
My absolute worst mistake that I sadly keep repeating is to lay down my money while I am freshly lusting over the coin. It's like getting married during your first date.... I have the hardest time stepping back for a minute and studying before I lay my money down and whisk my newest mistake off to a life of loneliness in the dark recesses of my safe.
Buying duplicates of stuff I think I need to complete a series (because I didn't carry a list with me) but already have....
Been there, done that, got the tee shirt and all that nonsense. Believe it or not I did it twice just last week. That's a record even for a dummy like me. Bruce
Impulse buying ... unless you've done your research, studied the coin currently on offer to make sure it's the right one, and the price is really good. There have been times when I'd done the research and studied the coin, then hesitated and saw the coin sold elsewhere at a good price. Mike
Not leaving when I don't see anything I want. I did it when I went to coin shows and I still do it on Ebay. Substitutes are just not better or even as good. At least they never were for me. Another, even worse one is the Rule of Ten. Or don't buy a modern coin unless it's at least 10 years old. By then the hype will have faded giving a better price, perhaps even a fraction of the issue price. And if it turned or is turning that should be evident Well, alot easier to say than do. I Certainly did not follow the Rule of Ten when Zombucks came out.
Impulsive buying, I have a bad habit of. "Gota have it" instead of waiting for reasonable price, in my mind it's the last one. And trends. I don't have big coin dealers anywhere close to me, sometimes I get shafted, from pictures in the auction hiding flaws. Not that often.
