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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;BooksB4Coins, post: 2362114, member: 36230&quot;]Brandon,</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s late and there&#039;s a lot more that could be said, but a few things that come to mind (my apologies for skipping around)....</p><p><br /></p><p>#12 and #13 contradict each other imo, and this is aside from the fact both are of questionable usefulness. Even if staying only in US coins, there is no magic number where if priced at or above, any coin must be graded, and the idea that any coin worth $30 or more should be submitted is a recipe for extreme waste, especially if by newer collectors. The point here, besides the questionable numbers, is that everything isn&#039;t so simple or cut and dry.</p><p><br /></p><p>The idea that if a dealer isn&#039;t giving you their time, they&#039;re not worth yours may sound fine and reasonable, but is a tad vague. The fact is that there are plenty of people out there who think nothing of expecting a dealer to cater to their whims, perhaps for hours on end or allowing them to dig unsupervised through inventory, and not spend a cent unless they happen to find the almighty score. It all comes down to what is reasonable, and unfortunately, for every unreasonable dealer there are many, many more unreasonable collectors, each thinking the other one is the bad guy. It may mean something different to different people, but following the golden rule is, imo, solid advice. Put yourself in the dealer&#039;s shoes, then set expectations and act accordingly.</p><p><br /></p><p>Pressing people to rely on TPGs may be somewhat useful early on, at least when compared to blindly buying raw, but it is not solve-all advice. One can still, and quite easily, buy only graded material and still end up with a collection full over overpriced dreck. Contrary to what many seem to think here, one of the smartest immediate and long-term moves a new collector can make is to find either a knowledgeable collector mentor, or dealer who is willing to work with them. A solid dealer-collector relationship, even if it costs more than the &quot;but I can get it on ebay for....&quot; crap, can pay great dividends in the long run, and should not be overlooked. </p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately, you&#039;re not going to be able to tailor generic advice to fit everyone&#039;s wants or needs in some small booklet. A few lines on counterfeit identification isn&#039;t going to really help anyone avoid them, or at least any better than the most obvious. Likewise, a few photos of graded coin isn&#039;t going to help anyone make solid and wise purchasing choices. It&#039;s just not that simple. Kudos for the effort, but there isn&#039;t any easy &quot;do it yourself&quot; guide that can be written that will allow for one to skip over the necessary steps of learning.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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