One typically can't just decide to start collecting and then randomly buy lures. First, you could go broke and second, more than likely you would buy a bunch of pretty junk. Not the way to start. Museums preserve historical pieces just like individual collectors, but museums hire staffs who assemble collections with great care and study. Great collections are built on knowledge, study, perseverance, a good deal of luck, and money.
Someone has to know what to buy and why.
Whether it is a dealer with connections or the collector him or herself, the knowledge aspect has to be there. Knowledge can be the result of long-term experience or dedication to the accumulation of a specific area. There are collectors who build collections by themselves, who study and assimilate information. But there are precious few collections which are not built on a strong base of information. This is why collecting tends to follow the publication of knowledge in one form or other.