: Rob,

: First of all, congratulations. I've always wanted a screw back, but
: wasn't able to find the right one before my attention shifted.
: Second, I really admire how you just stepped up and owned the
: sale regardless of how the others viewed it. As a more recent
: collector I faced the same dilemma on a 2447ns. The forum being
: full of collectors that have been doing this for many years, the
: comments on prices and people getting ripped off fly around
: pretty fast and made me a bit self conscious. I wanted it and
: moved on it, but due to the price I didn't share with the group.
: No regrets. Anyway, good luck with customs... can't tell you how
: much the sight of "held in warehouse" drives me crazy.

: D
Much appreciated, on both counts!

I've only been collecting for a few years, but I've been fortunate enough to soak up some very valuable advice from more tenured collectors along the way. The two principal things that I've adopted as my main tenets: 1) always follow the Three C's of Collecting (condition, condition, condition), and 2) only buy something that you truly like and will enjoy for years to come. If you follow those two rules, you'll be in good shape regardless of market cycles and price fluctuations. So far, so good!