I will give you the steps I wished I had go through and have picked up along the way.
1. Join ComicArtFan.com This should be the very first thing you do. Once you join, search around to see what people own to get a sense of what sort of art grabs you.
2. Look at what is for sell. Check ComicArtFan, Heritage, Comiclink, Albert Moy, Romitaman, Anthony Synder, etc. There are links to most of the bigger art sellers on ComicArtFan.
3. Look at previous selling prices in the market analysis data section of ComicArtFan. It is pretty good to get a real rough idea of prices.
4. Don't settle, don't buy a piece to buy it. I did this early on and I have sold or am selling everything that fits into this category.
5. Be patient. Don't buy something you like, buy something you love. I haven't bought anything in over a year because I haven't found the right item.
6. When you find something you love, and you think "wow, that is way over priced, I will let it sit a while", don't! Try to negotiate a better price with the seller and buy it. Anytime I took the attitude that something was overpriced, I lost out on it because someone else loved I too and paid the price. (Daredevil 34 splash, still makes me cry today ... ).
7. Be nice to people. I have met a lot of great dealers and collectors and they have all been very helpful.
NO>>> do your homework; I will never pay over-price even if i love that particular OA. Alot of good advice on this thread. (thumbs u