1. Determine what it is that you really want to collect.  With literally thousands of transistors to chose from, you could never collect them all.  The earlier you can narrow down what will be in your ultimate collection, the less money you will waste buying radios that you will just end up unloading later.  
        

    

    

2. Once you chose your passion, learn everything you can about those radios.  Gather information from the internet, service manuals, books, and contact other collectors so you can learn from their experiences.  The goal here is to avoid the expensive lesson of learning by making mistakes.  Hopefully, if you collect Zenith transistor radios, you will find the detailed information on this website helpful.  But for general advice, the next section “What to watch out for when buying a transistor radio” will help.  Another good way to learn is to join a radio club.  Search google to find one that meets in your area.  
       
3. Once you have determined what you want to collect and learned all you can about them, be patient.  Don’t jump at the first example you see or you are likely to get a radio that you will only want to upgrade later.  It is smarter to save your money and be ready for the right one when it does become available.  
    

4. Get to know the seller.  Is this radio being offered by a fellow radio collector who has a reputation for being knowledgable, fair and honest, or is the seller a vendor who picks up all kinds of items cheap with the intent of turning them over quickly at a profit?   
        

    

    

5. Try to understand the criteria the seller uses to determine condition.  If it is described as an excellent example, be sure that you know what that means.  Too many times it means “excellent for how old it is”.  Not the same!    
        

    

    

6. If you still need more information, ask questions.  This is tough to do in an auction format where there is a time limit.  Usually it is ineffective as well because many auction sellers state ”I know nothing about radios so feel free to ask questions”.  To who?  Certainly not them! 
        

    

    

7. Realize that transistor radios in truly excellent condition are the exception and not the norm.  Most have resided in collections for many years and are seldom offered for sale.  Therefore, the supply of collection worthy radios has dried up.  However, some collectors are starting to sell now that these are of the age where they are now technically antiques.  So be ready and don’t miss your chance to get the one you want when it does get offered for sale. 

Now you are ready to start to build your collection by making smart decisions for yourself.  Have fun and happy collecting!