What Was Your Absolute Biggest Mistake As A Beginner?

As the title says, what do you look back on now and wish you'd done differently when beginning your stamp collection?

Starting to purchase expensive stamps without first acquiring the requisite knowledge to correctly gauge their condition and genuineness (or getting certs for the more expensive stamps).

As a child back in the 1960's, I wish I'd not used sticky tape to mount stamps when I ran out of hinges!

None of those stamps survive now as I started again when I retired. I still find stamps with that tape on in some local auction finds though...

Taking collecting advice from grumpy old men who had forgotten how much fun beginning collecting can be.

I have to remind myself of that when replying to questions from beginners, especially as my own age and grumpiness grow.

Dale

Checking for watermarks with carbon tetrachloride. Fortunately, I seem to have survived without I'll effects...I think.

Not following my own instincts when I was in my late teens and wanted to work in the hobby. I should never have listened to those who told me "you don't know enough". There were dealers at the time where I could have started out as a beginner and my desire to learn would have carried me through.

licking mint stamps & putting in my first album. (NTW: all low value & bought at Woolworth's in 15c-25c packets)

Two huge mistakes as a beginner and somewhat intermediate collector...

#1: My grandmother got me into collecting stamps when I was 10 years old (1974) with a paper H.E. Harris album for each of us, a few worldwide grab bags of stamps, and glue sticks to put them into the albums.

#2: Fast forward a decade and a half...I was building a U.S. collection on a limited monthly budget and started collecting at the present day (then 1988) and working my way backwards. I would buy everything I could at the post office, then year sets through approvals and mail order. I ended up with lots of stamps that had little more than face value.

Oracle of Delphi wrote:




Yes, yes and yes. Oracle channeled my first thought when I saw the topic title. I "got out over my skis" big time.