Combed from an article by Rose Reilly.
If you find joy with these items, then they are not worthless. However, the fact that they give you satisfaction does NOT translate into their being able to command high prices on the resale market.
- Ty Beanie Babies
- The Majority Of Vinyl Records
- Norman Rockwell Collector Plates
- Pez Dispensers
- Pandora Charms
- Newer Star Wars Toys
- Royal Family Memorabilia
- New Comic Books
- Stamps
- Pogs
- Antique Silverware
- Porcelain Dolls
- Model Train Sets
- Barbie Dolls
- Vintage Playboy Magazines
- Precious Moments
- Cabbage Patch Kids
- Baseball Cards
- Funko Figurines
- Hummel Figurines
- Franklin Mint Collectibles
- Vintage Band T-Shirts
- Film Cameras
- VHS And DVD Collections
- Morgan Dollars
- Indian Head Pennies
- Happy Meal Toys
- "Brown" Furniture
- Children's Books
- Vintage College Pennants
- Hot Wheels
- Autographed Sports Memorabilia
- Cookie Jars
- Souvenir Bells
- Salt And Pepper Shakers
- Old Playbills
- Thomas Kinkade Collectibles
- Hess Trucks
- License Plates
- Vintage Pins
- Vintage College Clothing
- Wheat Pennies
- Costume Jewelry
- Farm Tools
- Unremarkable Vintage Clothing
- Disney VHS Tapes
- Pokémon Cards
- Old Newspapers
- iPods And Other MP3 Players
- Patchwork Quilts
Some commonalities:
The medium is not archival-durable. Beanie Babies? Get real. VHS tapes, nearly everything made of fabric. Anything made of wood-pulp paper.
The items were mass produced by the millions or billions. Hummel figurines were stamped out like pop-bottle caps. McDonalds Happy Meal Toys even more-so. Coins. Hot Wheels. They don't have the artistic detail or rarity to appreciate in value.
Many of them were sold (new) by hucksters at inflated prices. The hucksters sold them as speculative, profit generating vehicles. "It doesn't matter that I am charging you five-times what they are worth because they will be worth even more tomorrow."
Many of them had little intrinsic, underlying function. They were ornamental/dust-collectors. Cameras, farm tools, quilts, vintage clothing, "brown" furniture and MP3 players are exceptions to that.
Many of them "created rarity" by proliferating variants. Beanie Babies and (vanity) license plates being prime examples.
Of the items like coins and stamps, the market-makers create a market with extreme concave-up quality/price characteristics. They can sell you a coin as super-duper extra minty prime good in 2015 and then grade it as super-duper extra minty good in 2026 when you sell the exact same coin back to them and you will lose money even though prices relentlessly rose in the intervening 11 years.
Another factor that comes into play with stamps and coins is that many collectors will sell a "lot" of their collection when they need some money. The market-maker only needs to mark down the quality of one high-value items to low-ball the entire bid. Of course, the market-maker marks up the quality of that item when he resells it.
To quote Ken (Stan) Howell, the wine expert at Michigan State University in the 70s and 80s "A good wine is any wine you enjoy." If an item gives you joy, it is good. But don't spend your hard-earned money on something that gives you fleeting joy just because a "market-maker" tells you it is guaranteed to make you a fortune.
I am in favor of buying out-of-fashion items that provide solid utility to the user when the price is right. But buy them for their utility and personal, sentimental value. Don't expect to make a fortune on your collection of Harmony House, Sage Green china. Buy it because that is the pattern that Grandma had and it brings back very fond memories.
And it may come to pass that your solid oak and sugar maple, vintage furniture will still be soldiering on while four generations of disposable, minimalists, IKEA, tropical-hardwood, press-board vundar-furniture has been sent to the landfill.
Hat-tip to Lucas Machias the tireless.
Winchester Model 12s. Had collector value in the ‘70s. Not so much now. But I love mine anyway. American made. Steel and walnut. No plastic or pot metal... And still a pheasant killer.
ReplyDeleteEven with the PAPER price of silver down today @ $65.74 USD (premiums on actual physical misc 1 ounce rounds is around 75+)
ReplyDeleteSNIP Morgan Dollar (1878-1921)
Melt Value: $50.79
Last Updated: 2/5/2026 7:05 PM EST
Aside from the time value of money (old school given the rate of inflation today) if you bought your Morgan Dollar at used-cull prices (I always buy cull worn as melt is my value) just two years ago you've done well.
Current price a roll of 20 Morgans various marks averages out to 95.88 each.
Fancy coins are collectables, yet "Collectable" coins bought even 5 years ago are doing fairly well.
Good tools, cast iron and such bought from yard-estate sales repaired-restored are quite worth your time.
Michael the anonymous
Oh she’s dead wrong about vintage concert tshirts. 4 years ago I sold my vintage 1980s rock, punk, and heavy metal tshirts for $200 to $300 each.
ReplyDeleteNot all of these, but more than a few have another thing in common. The demographic that collected them is aging out. I saw a version of this locally a few years ago. We used to rent the cold storage section of our shop out to an older fella. He had a couple 1930s era Fords in there as project cars, and as his health took a turn it was time for the stuff to go.
ReplyDeleteHe sold it all for just barely more than scrap price, and in talking to the auctioneer and some of the bidders they all said a similar version of the same story. People that wanted that vintage of stuff are almost all about that same age, many are in similar health. Additionally the number of people left in that age bracket shrinks every year, so there are fewer buyers for all that stuff. The ones that still want to buy it can buy the premium stuff for cheap, not a project that needs a ton of work in their 70s or 80s.
Stamp collecting is something that fell off the cliff, price wise. It's unlikely anyone would even pay face value.
ReplyDeleteAn estate auction guy I know said it's a hard part of his job letting people know that their "stuff" is not worth much.