I don’t watch it regularly, but when I come across PBS’s Antiques Roadshow while channel-surfing, I can’t resist it.
I always get a kick outta seeing some highbrow appraiser astound a fourth-grade teacher from Wisconsin with news that her great-great-great uncle’s dentures, carefully preserved in a jelly jar, are worth somewhere around fifty grand.
On the other hand, some people on the program discover that the crap in their garage really is just crap.
The Street.com recently listed eight so-called “collectibles” that, well, certainly won’t make you rich, despite what you might’ve hoped.
— Hummel figurines
— Cabbage Patch Kids
— Baseball cards
— Beanie Babies
— Norman Rockwell plates
— Lladró figurines
— Franklin Mint collectibles
— Thomas Kinkade prints
So what’s the deal? Why have these once-popular mementos dramatically lost their value?
Well, there are a lot of reasons — the economy, overproduction, changing public tastes, eBay…
But the lesson seems to be this:
Invest in things you love, not in things you think might someday be of financial value.
Which reminds me…
Are you investing your time in what you love to do? In what excites you?
Or are your hopes and dreams still tied to the old 9-to-5 treadmill, with you thinking there might be a big payday at the end of the road?
Just wondering.
I still remember the millions of copies of the “new” Spider-Man #1 (or was it X-Men #1?) (or both?) that were purchased during the 1980s and tucked away in hopes that one day they’d be as valuable as Action Comics #1. Today they’re worth less than face value, the difference being that NO ONE in 1938 did much of anything with Action Comics #1 except bend back the pages, stuff them in a pocket, clip out the coupons or treat it like a collectible.
Scarcity, rarity makes a collectible valuable – If everyone’s collecting something, it might still be fun to collect but it won’t make you rich.
You’re right, Warren. For instance, of all the Star Wars merchandise that was produced some 30 years ago, the things that are REALLY worth something now (due to their legitimate scarcity) are those that came with McDonald’s Happy Meals and such. Things that had a 1-2 week lifespan.