Well, as luck would have it, I managed to pick up another Auburn Fire and Rescue vehicle for our Fire Engine and Rescue Vehicle Friday, the Auburn #524 Rescue Vehicle. Our vehicle looks like it got a little too close to the flames! It has some silver paint loss, not uncommon for Auburn, and it's a tad dirty, also not uncommon for Auburn but is still a nice addition to the collection. Now, not to blow my own horn or anything but I have several 'collector' books which feature Auburn, and none of them have shown pictures of all the Auburn vehicles featured in this Blog the past couple of months and certainly none of them have featured as many photos of each item!
Now for a little collecting philosophy. Seasoned collector's will tell you to buy your collectibles in the very best condition you can. Buy them in Excellent or Mint and always buy with the original box. Well, that's a wonderful thing if you're independently wealthy - one of the Haves, but what about the rest of us - the Have Not's? I decided a long time ago that sometimes it's not fiscally possible to buy the very best but to go ahead and buy the item in lesser condition for now and upgrade later when funds are available, as long as you don't shell out a ton of money for items in used condition. But BEWARE - there are far too many sellers who think their vintage toy is 'rare and valuable' - BULL! Just because something is old doesn't make it valuable. Even 'rare' doesn't make an item valuable - if there's no demand for an item it doesn't matter how rare it is, it's just old junk. Also, buy what you like without the expectation of making money. If you're able to sell off some of the lesser condition collectibles for a profit that's great, but with the economy being as sour as it is, it may not always be possible. Collecting should be fun and half of the fun is in the hunt. Please don't stress out over money. Sometimes the cheapest way to involve yourself is through reading Internet blogs and websites where you're at least able to view some of these cool things. Hope you enjoy!
