Cindy Miller
NASCAR Collector
Southlake, TX

Sometimes collections are triggered by the most unlikely pairings. In the case of Cindy Miller of Southlake, TX, she brought her four-year-old boy to his first NASCAR race - and a NASCAR collection was born!

"We didn't know anything about NASCAR back then," she recalls, "But we decided to take our son Craig to a race, and he really loved it. Before we knew it, he had all the drivers and their numbers and sponsors memorized. He could tell you who was what number, from one to 99."

Now, at age seven, Craig has a NASCAR-themed room, complete with cars of different sizes, bedding, posters, flags, autographs, carpets, hats, and t-shirts. His favorites are the cars. Cindy says, "The serious collectors keep theirs in boxes. Those are the ones that can run up to $100 each. Craig, on the other hand, likes to play with his cars, so we buy the ones that cost around $20. We want items that he can touch, not those that you have to keep on a shelf."

According to Cindy, she bought 40 to 50 percent of Craig's collection on eBay and now has more than 400 pieces. "I've been using eBay for a good eight years," she says. "My friends and I love it for whatever we're looking for. We live near the Texas Motor Speedway, and Craig always finds things there that he wants. The problem is they tend to be expensive unless you find a bargain bin. So I just go to eBay, and eventually it shows up there at a reasonable price."

On average, she spends around $40 every month adding a couple of items to Craig's collection. She appreciates the convenience of shopping from home and having items delivered quickly. She adds, "My kids are both into items that are not that easy to find (offline), but if I know the details - in Craig's case, the size of the car and the driver - I can look online a few times a week, and I can be confident that it will show up. eBay has great variety. For example, they're coming out with a Shrek car, and I expect to see it followed by one for Garfield - all those movie characters inspire cars - then there are the Jeff Gordon items. I know Craig will want them, and I expect to find them on eBay."