Should I Buy One Lure or Many?

When going on a shopping trip, whether online or to the nearest tackle show, what to buy is a question on the top of every collector’s mind.

When buying vintage lures there are generally two frames of mind that a collector can be in at any given time. Those are buying quantity or buying quality.

Buying quality means you are looking for the rarest, oldest, and best condition vintage lures you have the money to buy. When looking for quality lures, the long term monetary value decision can come into play, as lures in this class should hold their value better by comparison to lower quality lures. Also, more experienced collectors who have already established a larger base collection may be focusing in on one or two items of specific make or color and are therefore looking to buy fewer items as well.

Buying quantity means that you are looking for relatively less expensive, lower quality grades, and more common vintage lures. When looking to buy quantity, a collector could be looking to expand a collection that is still smaller and needs some basic lures for showing well. There is also the “kid in a candy store” influence at work here. It seems more fun to buy a lot of stuff than a little and all those Ebay auctions or tackle at the show look very appealing and you want to grab as many vintage fishing lures for your collection as you can carry. When in this mindset, you can be a little less serious because of the smaller value per lure and lower grades that you will be reviewing. The pressure to make a very solid grade judgment won’t be as high if you are spending $10 on a lure versus $100.

Both of these mindsets will be experienced by collectors at different times and at different stages of the lure collecting process. If you lean more towards one than the other, then make a conscious effort to experience the other mindset to break out of old habits. If you normally buy 10 lures for a total of $100, then watch several higher value vintage lure auctions on Ebay and find one lure to focus on that you would really enjoy and see how that feels for you. On the other hand, if you prefer the thrill of hunting down a nice high price lure at $100 and have several of these on display, then try looking at some lower priced auctions and buy 10 lures for $100 to see how you like the experience.

There is room for people to learn new ways to enjoy the hobby of collecting vintage fishing lures even by experimenting with different buying styles. Keep an open mind and try something new for your next purchase.

Ebay Resources:
Vintage Fishing Lures on Ebay (Auctions)
Vintage Fishing Lures on Ebay (Articles)
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