[Milsurplus] Golden years of collecting?

[jcoward5452 at aol.com]

As far as I'm concerned, this is the "Golden Age" of collecting (we only get one shot at it!). eBay and www. have given me access to items I would never see at a swap, and if I did, it would be in someone elses hands already.And there is only one major swap in my area.I have not attended in several years because the sort of things I look for were no longer showing up.
 The cost of gas and time (I figure my time is worth my pay rate plus 20%), as I see it, to attend a swap, equals or outweighs the shipping of an item.What I miss, though, is seeing long time collector friends and sharing our stories.We do seem to all catch up at the annual MRCG meet and swap as Mark N6FX pointed out. And on eBay I always consider the shipping as part of the total value when I place a bid.
 As Mike KK5F has pointed out, some of us are getting to the "collected out" phase.I am now looking for the odds and ends and other detritus that attend this hobby.This is where swap meet "bottom feeding" (the boxes under the seller's table) can pay off, so I may start going back to the swap meet again.
 Marklin HO and VW's are another story....!
  Jay KE6PPF