Whether you already have over 200 helmets or only have 2 helmets; Where do you start is the big question. Since I have been collecting helmets for over 10 years now, Ill share my experiences with you as far as my ups and downs of this fun hobby.
When I bought my first mini, I was addicted! I wanted all of them all at once! The problem I had was two fold. I didnt have the money all at once, and second, I couldnt find all of them at once. A few years later, the internet fed my addiction. Once I found Ebay and the helmet clubs, I was off to the moon.
Quick buying started to be wasteful. What I mean by that is whenever I saw a helmet I needed, I quickly bought it, thinking someone else would get it before I did. Unless I understood the "need' of that particular helmet, I was wasting my money and my time.
I started to get a feel of this hobby: watching ebay auctions; seeing how people communicated among the clubs; even the dealers. After getting to know a few of you, mostly good I might add, I began to get a feeling of this hobby.
Now most of you might already know, I look for Sharcos. For those of you that dont know, Sharcos to me are the original helmets. To learn more about Sharcos, click the Sharco heading in this website. Anyway, I began to see people putting mini helmets on Ebay saying "this is a rare Sharco". But when I looked at the helmet with excitement, I was dissappointed. People think that just because it had a metal lineman mask, it was considered a Sharco. I would email the seller letting them know they didnt have a Sharco, and most would reply basically saying I was wrong! It drove me nuts.
When the Chrome helmets came out, I was pumped! I really liked the way they looked along with that 2000 limited edition bull. I had a whole set within 2 months. I really thought they would sell quick, and I wanted to make sure I had a complete set. Well, to this day they are selling for half what I paid.
I have also defined my collection. To keep it simple, there are too many helmets out there to collect. from the NFL,NFLE,CFL,AFL,AFL2,COLLEGE,DIV.1,DIV. 2, AND SO ON. Way too many for me. So I narrowed it down to my main interest. To me the NFL was simple enough yet not to the point where it would get out of hand. I really admire some of you that focus on college, even to go into div. 3. Thats digging deep and I appreciate your desire for that!
Ive learned that in this hobby, there are alot of great people, who devote alot of time enjoying their collection. I really enjoy seeing other collections. It gives you a perspective of what is out there. Most of the people I know are by email only. I have also learned there are also alot of misleading people. I wont name anyone, but you know who you are.
Unless you know alot about how the hobby works, dont take too many steps at once. If you do your homework and be patient with your collection, you will appreciate your collection much more.
