Whatever "treasures" you collect -- someone else collects them and they have probably even written a price guide for your treasure. So, you rush out to buy the latest "treasure" price guide and lo and behold, the prices are astronomical. Hmm, you could sell off your collection and travel the world on the proceeds! Son wants to go to Harvard, no problem -- there will be plenty of cash from the great Treasure collection sale.

As collectors, we've all been there, done that and now know better. Not all price guides are created equal and after you've been collecting a few years you'll be able to spot those inflated prices immediately. Unfortunately it usually takes a reality check for new collectors, a visit to eBay or trying to sell a few treasures to the local antique shop to realize a price guide in hand does not always mean cash in the bank.

THE GOOD -- General Price Guides
The Kovels, Huxfords, Millers and Rinkers of the world have been writing books for many years and bring to the collector experience and knowledge that we can never amass individually. Their books are constantly being updated with new editions and are well worth the money. Kovels Antiques & Collectibles Price List 2003 is the thirty-fifth edition and the current Schroeders Antiques Price Guide is edition twenty-one. Meanwhile Judith Miller has over eighty books to her credity. Although I don't buy all of these books every year, I do get most of them.

Instead of buying the next treasure you see, spend the money on a few books to learn more about your treasure and other fun stuff too. A price guide is like a good mystery novel to me, I can't wait to get comfortable with a pot of tea and spend an hour or two browsing the newest addition to my shelves.

THE GOOD AND BAD -- Specific Price Guides
It's always fun to get a book about your treasures and spend some time checking it out to see what you are missing. Or to find out more about the history of the treasures. One factor to consider when looking at the values is -- who wrote the book and what methods were used to figure out the values. Is it an experienced collector that uses the book to help document items with pictures, history and values? Or is the author a person who is very sentimentally attached to their collection and it shows in the prices they are trying to establish in a field that was previously uncharted?

Things to look for in a Price Guide book:

• Overall background and history of the collectible.
• Background of author -- Why they were qualified to write the book.
• Information of when individual items were produced and how they were obtained.
• Markings -- How to tell if it is the real McCoy.
• Size -- Especially important if item is illegally reproduced.
• Variations -- Are there variations you should be aware of.
• Pictures -- Should be clear and with good lighting.

Some of the excellent specific price guides in my collection is Hopalong Cassidy by Caro, Don Winton Designs by Ellis and the Complete Cookie Jar Book by Schneider. These books are more than just "pretty" pictures and it is apparent the authors have spent much time researching and documenting facts. The Charlton Catalogues are all excellent and basically cover just about everything you could want to know. The only drawback at all is that the majority of the pictures are in black and white, which is understandable when realizing how many pictures are in each book.

THE BAD
Perhaps bad is not the right term to use, but the content or lack of, sure is. Pretty pictures do not make a good reference book and sometimes that is the main content of a book. A big disappointment was the Beckett Christmas Collectibles guide. The pictures are gorgeous -- but what are they? Most of them have no legend and a newer collector would have absolutely no idea what the pieces were. The book reminded me of the brochures from the "big" Christmas companies in book form.

The Official Coca-Cola Collectible Polar Bears book was also disappointing. When there are great pictures on the pages, I want to know what they are. Many of the pictures did not have a description and unless you were already a big collector, you would have no clue as to who made the item or when.

I won't mention other bad collectible books, but we've all seen them -- poor pictures, wrong information and ridiculous pricing. Although it isn't always easy to check out a book before buying it online, ask a few other collectors and see what they have in their library.

SPEND A FEW BUCKS!
The cheapest and best investment you can make for a collection is a good reference or price guide book. Even if the prices are not quite accurate -- it should give you a ballpark figure. If you are lucky enough to find several different price guides, check them out to see how they compare as authors always bring a different slant to their books. Buying several different books will mostly likely be less than buying one or two of your collectibles and you might even learn a few new facts. But don't buy a book just because it covers your treasures, make sure there are good facts and pictures in it.

If there is not a good specific guide for your treasure, check the big general price guides -- find out which one best covers your type of items. Also, keep checking the bookstores, there will probably be someone soon, who will publishing a book that covers your particular treasures!