One piece of advice for a vintage collector starting out

[Yoda]

One of the wonders of our hobby and love of old baseball cards is the baseball knowledge we acquire and the more of it we want. If you love the game then cards are a natural extension, and if we bought, say, a N172 Tip O'Neil, we want to more about the man, the player.
Cards can be addictive, just watch the wide-eyed wolves at the Nat'l this year, if you are going, foaming at the mouth. Please never extend yourself financially buying cards. I believe such gimmicks as fractional ownership, leveraged loans are inherently dangerous for the prudent man and are an ugly side of our capitalist system.