Ipod noob question

OK My wife is thinking about getting an ipod, If I am understanding right you need itunes for putting music, so does itunes allow you to put music in your ipod that you already have in your harddrive? I have a vast MP3 collection already and dont see myself paying for all these songs that I already have on CD and MP3.

Yes, you can put your MP3s on after importing them into iTunes.

ok cool, just wanted to make sure before dishing out $240

Just make sure you take care of any DRMd WMAs