Have a good idea of what you want and what else could scratch that itch.
Know what it's worth, when you find it.
Already have the money.
Don't plan to sell something to cover it once you find it.
It may not wait.
Above all else, be in the right place at the right time.
Sometimes dumb luck comes into play.
A great example from my own life;
A few years back, I was killing time at GC and spotted a Squier 5 string Jazz bass.
I had no intrest in ever owning a freakin' Squier.
I was bored, so I played it anyway and found it much more solid and comfortable than I expected.
At this point, I am getting some interest, but I went home did a quick search and found the Chinese Affinitys were made of alder
instead of basswood or some such crap.
Then it hit me that it would be at least a good candidate for upgrades.
I decided, what the heck, I don't have a fiver or a J and they have it marked at $159, which I had.
Here's where the dumb luck comes into play, not only was it still there the next day, but when I took
it up to the counter and they scanned the bar code, it had the wrong tag and rang up as a Squier Strat @ 115 bux!
They commented that they had to sell it for what it rang up at.
I left the store with a 3 year old, like new 5 string J and a used hardshell case for something like $170.
Still have.
Still play it.
Have gigged with it.
So, there are deals out there.
Never felt the need to start swapping parts.
