Q&A for How to Start a Collection

Nothing is too childish if you enjoy it. If you want to collect squishies, that is fine. It is a personal choice.

Give the sellers a bad rating and review. It might not help you, but it will stop others from getting scammed.

No, not at all! You can collect absolutely anything, and a lot of people really like owls. You should have no problem finding things for your collection.

There are many hobbies that are free. One that I'm going to take up (soon, hopefully!) is a rock collection. Rocks are free AND you can get them almost anywhere. Even school playgrounds have them! If not, why not start a coin and/or a stamp collection? Again, they're both free. Or, if you like reading, what about an old book collection? You say that you can't go and buy things, but you could try finding cheap old books or just regular ones. If you have pocket money, you could buy them through that and your parents won't have to worry about budget!

Buy them and start collecting! You can keep them in notebooks, stuck on pages, or you can cut around them and place them in books designed for small collectibles, like baseball cards.

You could make an Excel document. Then, you could track every item you collect there.

Buy them or make them. You can buy them online on sites like eBay or Amazon. Alternatively, you can look in toy stores and stores that sell odds and ends or knickknacks.

Keep collecting and searching for rarer and rarer items.

Lego Friends are marketed up to those 12 years of age. However, don't worry about whether something is specific to your age; if it's something you enjoy and wish to have as a collection, go for it. There are plenty of adults who collect things that might be considered juvenile, but that doesn't diminish the collectors' enjoyment of their collections.

A collection doesn't need to be useful, and it usually isn't. You should collect whatever makes you happy. That's the whole point!

It depends what the items are! Small items like pins can be put onto bags, hats, clothes, etc. Posters could be hung up, in frames or just with some sticky tape. Things like key rings can be displayed on a cork board (or on bags too). Figures, books, and CDs can be displayed on shelves, etc. Try to work with the space you have.

Not at all. It may not be the most common thing to collect, but it's not weird either. If you like collecting bugs, feel free.

Check dollar stores, thrift stores, and eBay for good deals on snow globes. Also, you don't have to spend a lot of money up front. The fun thing about collecting is adding items to it slowly over time.

Definitely! Lots of people collect autographs. You can try to go to fan meet and greets to get autographs, or you can send letters to famous people and ask them to send you autographs. Get a cool scrapbook to store them in!

It's easy! Pens are sold in stationers everywhere. I would recommend buying a pen for every new place you visit, instead of buying a handful whenever you can.

You could press them in a book and then place them in a scrapbook or photo album.

You can start your collection by starting with cheaper pogs. You may even own some already. You may want to find different milk caps online and buy some. Just be careful about your purchases, don't spend a lot until you know what you're doing.

If you want your collection to be free, try collecting rocks, pebbles or small stones of varied kinds. Other options include leaves of different colors and shapes, twigs, feathers, bottle caps, bottles, found objects, shells, etc. If you collect free items, always take care they are actually free and allowed to be taken, and if they are human-made, that they are free of such problems as insect infestations, sharp edges, lead paint, asbestos, insecticide, etc.

No, it is not. The point of having a collection is to choose a hobby or interest and make it stronger. You should have fun with it! Fossils are amazing and special. It might be hard to find, but that'll just make it challenging and fun for you. If fossils interest you, then it's a great hobby for any age.

You can always make room on a shelf if the items you collect are physical and be placed on flat surfaces, or you can frame them up, or have a place for an open binder. It all depends on what you collect.

You might start by simply going to a yard sales and seeing if they have any you could even look on auctions to see if the are selling any or even ask relatives if they have any they do not want and after awhile they might even look for some for you. Another place to look would be at charity shops.

Yes, but you may need to be careful where you collect them from. In some places, such as the UK, it is illegal to take seashells from the beach, so check your local laws first.

It's up to you. If you are passionate about your collection, you'd probably want to keep it, but if you are less bothered, then you could sell it to someone who may appreciate it.

The wikiHow Find Rare Coins has some good advice. It is unlikely that rare coins will be in circulation, but occasionally they will be, so check the money you have. You can also ask people you know (especially older people) if they have any rare coins they may be willing to donate. You could offer to trade for the coins.