Dear Lee,

Every September our office is full of excitement. It’s when the first copies of our annual price guide are delivered. Look around your local bookstore for our 50th Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2018, or order your copy from Kovels.com. We send special gifts with each book purchased from us. And every book includes the special insert section—a timeline of milestones, people, prices, fakes and other events of note that I was involved with during the 50 years.

I’ve been thinking about how collecting has changed since 1968. It was a treasure hunt through estate sales, thrift stores, and even grandmother’s attic. It’s still fun to check neighborhood garage sales and under tables at thrift shops or drive into the country to stop at yard sales. Country antiques shops often have large and strange things in the front yard, stoneware jugs, and boxes of old toys or vintage clothing. And dealers expect you to bargain for a better price.

But some of the rules of the game have changed. Techies who play games on their phones may discover treasures online with a clever search. (Hint: look for antiques under a misspelled word—try Wedgewood for Wedgwood.) Visit a few online websites and you will probably find a dozen examples of your favorite collectible and perhaps a bargain or something you never saw before that “speaks” to you. Something you just have to own. Living styles have changed. Tall windows with views of nature and large open-concept living room-dining room-kitchen areas call for a different type of antique. The most popular and expensive pieces now are large, colorful, in great original condition, and prominently displayed in the house. And if the item came in a special decorated box, the empty box is kept, an extra treasure that adds to the price. A day of walking at a flea market and getting exercise while learning new things from dealers, meeting new friends who also dig and collect bottles, and finding the perfect antique dresser for your bedroom at half the price of Ikea’s is very satisfying.

But collectors, new or old, still need help learning the values of things inherited or seen at shows. Old Kovels’ books tell you about the ups and downs of prices. The 2018 book reports recent sales. (Picasso-designed plates have gone from $25 to thousands of dollars.) So, we plan to keep reporting news and tips for buyers or sellers who may be experienced collectors or just starting to furnish a house. Or, for collectors like us, who just love to see more, learn more, and buy something interesting we don’t really need that will be our new treasure to brag about for a while.