Can somebody enlighten me regarding items in the game? As I travel about either there are no items to see or pick up, the items are there and I can't see them because my perception is to too low, or I am not doing something to be able to see and pick up any items. Will my character automatically find items, or do I have to search for them somehow? What am I missing? Thanks.

The odds of you coming across an item laying on the ground is very low, and will only happen in extremely rare cases.

With that in mind, there aren't really any "freebies" lying around. If you want to obtain items, I would recommend contacting the leaders of the factions that produce the items that you want. They should be able to help you purchase them. :)

Also, many items have not yet been implemented.