Dear Diana and any other "recent" collectors;
        There are an abundance of good sites you could look up - for
general shell links, Guido Poppe's links page is best:
http://www.conchology.uunethost.be/EN/Links.html - even if he hasn't
listed my site yet!  For Dealer's sites, and many other wonderful things
about conchology, Bret Raines's Mollusc Net is a MUST! -
http://www.molluscs.net/index2.htm.  A good introduction to shell
collecting, even if it is filed under "kid's collecting", is the
About.com page
http://kidscollecting.about.com/kidsteens/kidscollecting/msub30.htm?iam=mt.//
 There are several dealers with plenty of the innexpensive species -
Paul Monfils stands out in this category (mailto:[log in to unmask] ). Each
dealer has their own "specialties" - some are good at getting high
quality specimens of very rare species, others have fabulous variety,
others are best for certain families, while some have considerably lower
prices than others (the same shell would sell for VERY different prices
in the hands of different dealers!!) - so it definitely pays to shop
around!!// One of the things i like to do, is put together
highly-contrasting sets of variation, selecting from samples i recieve
from local populations (ie, from one locality, collected around the same
time) - these sets take some time to assemble, but nearly everyone who
ends up with them seems to think they are something special!// You will
find different dealers rather different to interract with - some are
more "businesslike" and formal (and usually also more efficient!), while
others are more friendly and casual - treating customers more like
friends.  Some are very quick in transactions, others not quite as fast.
 Some try to get the very best in data (one of my "things"!!), while
others are more concerned with other factors.//  Be very wary of
dealers' lists which consist of mostly "gem" shells - except for
cowries, there are very few absolutely perfect (to the unaided eye, ie -
all have microscopic imperfections of course!!) shells around!!  If a
dealer lists many specimens as "F+" (meaning still a good shell, with a
couple of minor flaws which do not detract from its natural beauty
signifigantly) and is not afraid to offer even some F or Good (in the
shell world, "good" isn't!!) specimens, they are more likely to be
grading "conservatively" Brian Hayes is a good example here), and you
can trust that their shells are usually pretty close to their
descriptions - although mistakes will happen to all of us occasionally
(like when i missed two pinholes in an otherwise Gem cowrie, and lost a
customer because of it..)!//
        Storing shells is a frequent topic on the list - you might go to
the Conch-l archives
(http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/CONCH-L/CONCH-Larchive.html) and take a look
around! Just don't use an oak cabinet :-).
        If at all possible, hook up with a shell club near where you
live - you are likely to find it **quite** worthwhile!!
Cheers,
Ross.
--
Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells:
Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
"We Specialize in the Unusual"
Phone: (902) 876-2241; Fax: (603) 909-8552.
But try to find "something for Everyone"!!
Snail Mail: 349 Herring Cove Rd, P.O Box 20005, Halifax, N.S., Canada,
B3R 2K9.