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steve yawitzI can't offer too much novel advice as there's plenty of great suggestions here already: looking out for bulk deals, establishing a price/condition range and being patient with the overwhelming majority of the cards - for T206's are always readily available.
But I do want to add that the beauty of collecting T206's is that there's a very good chance that your interest in the set will remain high. I'm sure some prewar collectors don't find the set terribly compelling because of the design or ubiquity of the cards, but I'm equally sure that most who start dabbling in the set end up getting hooked.
Since I've been collecting the set, I've assembled, broken up and sold off several other sets; started and given up on still others; and changed my general collecting focus and style too many times to remember. But T206's have been the one constant for the last few years. And I suspect they will be for as long as I'm a collector.
I certainly go through phases. Sometimes I'm simply adding a lot of common bulk to my set. Other times I'm focusing on my favorite tougher backs or looking out for St. Louis front/back combos I don't have yet. Or sometimes I'm just saving up for a major HoFer or true rarity. That one can approach T206's in so many ways along with the fact that there's a great - and still growing - body of knowledge about the set makes the Monster what it is.
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