Three Steps has a main body of text divided into three large sections—or as the title indicates—steps—laying out the book’s educational purpose. Within these three steps are twelve chapters dealing with various topics which inform readers in their educational progress from impulsive ignorance to purposeful and profitable investment in their buying practices.

This chapter describes what readers need to unlearn before they can start to think effectively about appreciable personal properties as investments. Using a large sampling of pervasive platitudes as a framework for discussion, this eye-opening chapter deals with misinformation, misconceptions, poor attitudes and poor buying habits rampant among the public at large. These platitudes are obstacles to rational thinking and action and are almost Biblical in their pervasiveness and in their hold on the popular imagination. By first describing--and then discounting--these ideas in an entertaining narrative style, the book should help readers to see themselves as severely lacking in their knowledge of the appreciable personal properties markets and compel them to discard old ideas and attitudes.

This chapter describes the numerous resources available for the average person or dealer to inform themselves intelligently about art, antiques, and collectibles; everything from taking classes to attending gallery openings to watching television. Getting to know dealers and appraisers as a part of this educational process is emphasized. Again, everything is tied to knowledge for effective investing.

The author realized that a major issue here not considered in published references is a description of the general structure of the personal properties markets. The book therefore provides an essential description of how personal properties move from manufacturer to consumer in the new property markets, and then again from new property buyers back through the all important used property markets to used property buyers, a process vital to determination of investment properties. This comprehensive roadmap of the markets and the properties in them orients the consumer in his decision as to what and what not to buy in consideration of long-term value. The author also describes different values pertinent to deciding worth, including retail prices, market values, and wholesale prices.

The structure of the personal properties marketplace is revisited, only this time the discussion is geared to advising readers where--and where not--to do their buying and selling. Finally, the importance of the used market and market values and appreciation and depreciation of properties are discussed

This chapter explores issues relating to buyers acting as investors in tandem with being aficionados and becoming truly value-minded collectors, budgets for investing, conservative investing versus more aggressive investment strategies, market timing, sophisticated strategies used by professionals and others in navigating the marketplace to maximum advantage, and other proactive investor issues, all with relevance to buying properties.

Covered in this chapter are everything from describing holding strategies for maximum benefit for properties considered from a financial perspective, to proper storage, handling, insurance, repairs, records, and correct appraisal of properties.

This chapter explores issues relating to collectors selling properties. These include market timing, conservative sales strategies versus more aggressive sales strategies (including speculation), the importance of understanding market values in tandem with selling, tax strategies for sales and opportunities for donations, issues relating to estates, correctly researching venues for sale of properties, discussion of how a dealer differs from an investor, sophisticated strategies used by professionals and others in navigating the marketplace to maximum advantage, and other proactive investor issues, all with relevance to effective disposition of properties for maximum value.