You don't need to be a professional to find a bargain, but you do need to know what you're looking for. Reading up on what you love to collect will give you an idea of marks to look for, marks that might prove it to be fake, designs that are common or rare, and what good condition pieces should look like. Some listings or books might even give you a going rate.

Then you have to keep your eyes open; constantly. People don't always know what they have, so strictly limiting yourself to auctions or dealer stores might be too narrow a scope. Like Abuzz Antiques said previously, check all the yard sales, church rummage sales, your local Salvation Army Thrift Stores, flea markets, and estate/household sales.

I love collecting things like McCoy pottery and Trifari jewelry...and I have found both items at each location listed above. I've picked up $35 McCoy planters for .10 at an estate sale run by the children of the parent who had passed. They didn't know what they had, but I did, and I came away with a steal!