I don't know, Mike (and Coco )...I think that if you like organization, you shouldn't collect! I keep trying to organize our collection(s), and some parts are semi-organized...but there's always piles and stashes and baskets of stuff that hasn't been organized yet. And some of those stashes go back a few years . But it's a fun kind of semi-organized chaos !

As for which of 2 items, for the same price...don't know 'til I see the items. I guess I'd look at the perceived value...if one "books" for $10 and the other "books" for $100, I'll choose the $100 item (I can probably find the $10 item again, sometime down the road). Downtown Las Vegas is probably my favorite collecting area...so if it's a choice of a downtown LV item, or...I don't know, maybe a Reno item, I'll probably choose Vegas. BUT, I love a great story or unique history...so I might choose something with a story, over something from downtown. Then there's appearance...an arodie is prettier than a H&C, so if everything else is equal, I'll take the arodie.

Odd as it may sound, one thing I probably wouldn't look at is condition . I don't mind if an item isn't minty-fresh. The older stuff was made to be used...not collected. If a chip shows some wear, or a book of matches is missing a few matches, I don't have a problem with that. We have a few napkins with notes on them...I love them, because they have a story!

If I happen to be looking at 2 postcards, and they have the same picture on the front, and one of them has been written on and mailed; the other is in pristine condition...I'm probably going to take the one with the message .