Hey Jimbob, I too have just started this game, only played 25 hours, so yes very new, watched a few tutorial videos on utube, but to be honest I just dont get what they are lootwise.
I have died from starvation for the lack of a knife or even a second stone to craft one... for me a waste of money more than likely, I have never even seen another player, justs seems a bit boring to run around kill a few infected and then die to just start over.