I think most collectors are like me- we are interested in firearms and buy, sell and trade them to get hands on experience with them.
I think most collectors take a new-to-them firearm, take it apart, clean and lubricate it, take it to the range and shoot it. Shoot it without putting more dings in the stock or metal. Then we clean it properly, store it in a decent environment. Once something else takes a fancy, it’s fine to sell or trade what has lost interest.
In my family, guns are for shooting.
That said, it’s wrong to take every shotgun out duck hunting to be dropped in the boat, covered in muck, rinsed off with pond water. But a walk in the field on a sunny autumn day with the dog? That’s what a fine shotgun is for.
It’s not right to put a 100 year old Colt in a holster and go out horse riding with it in the dust, wearing what little finish it has even more. But kept free of abrasion, shooting it in a few Cowboy Action meetups per year is perfectly fine in my mind.
Taking old guns, preserving them from decay and using them… that’s what most of us do.
I think that buying a new revolver and putting it away without allowing the cylinder to even be turned once it leaves the factory is the rare fellow. That’s more like “investing in stamps” where ya don’t mail a letter with your stamp collection. It’s still fun for those who do it. I just don’t see the appeal.
Now.. the thing about the RIA is that it’s cheap enough to take apart, shoot, replace parts, tune up, and get your gun from it. Just as much fun as the Springfield but at less cost. I vote for the RIA. I bet it won’t be long before you can trade it at what you paid for it.
I used to own a Springfield National Match. That’s nicer than anything Springfield sells these days. They lost their panache but increased their volume.