How do I know which Collectibles will be worth money in the future

mwspiak

Hey All,

ive been in the process of selling off some of my Collectibles, mainly because my wife and I are looking for houses and I don't want to have to move all of it. I have a ton of stuff from collecting sports memorabilia since I was a kid. I also have a large collection of Funko pops and toys from my favorite tv shows. I've put aside anything that is special to me but my question is how do I know the collectibles wont be worth a small fortune in the years to come? Will funko pops go the way of Beanie Babies? How many collectibles is too much to have? I'm Just curious to see what the consensus is amoungst fellow baldies. 

Chinaski

i dunno why but i initially read 'How do I know which Celebrities will be worth money in the future' and thought 'well this should be fun..'

Travis

Unfortunately, I think the answer is simply that you don't. I've started grabbing a few pops and other odds and ends here and there, but I've been keeping it to stuff that I get personal enjoyment out of owning. I kind of see it like holding a stock that isn't expensive but it's a company that I like supporting, and if it hits, awesome! 

As for the "how much should you own" question, it kind of comes down to disposable space. I mean, you don't want to live in a hoarder house, but if you've got room for them and you enjoy them, and you're on the same page with your wife, that's where it comes down. It's kind of like my sort of music corner. I don't play nearly as much as I would like, but having about half a room devoted to a couple of guitars and a keyboard makes me feel good. If we had a bigger place (we're in a 1 bedroom + a den apartment)  I would love to have a music/fun collectible stuff/hobby stuff room, and I think that kind of thing is just a good thing for a person to have if the resources are there. I guess this is just a really long way of saying that everyone's circumstances are different, but I always default to balance and happiness. 

Alkaid13

If they’re made of some precious metal then they’ll probably be worth something in the future. Otherwise who knows really. Here are some internet articles that purport to be reasonably well informed on the issue though. 

http://www.wisebread.com/10-collectibles-that-almost-always-become-more-valuable

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/05/10-items-buy-now-could-make-fortune-future/amp/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/money/5-signs-cheap-toy-worth-5017124.amp

akritenbrink

You don't. BTW Funko has a hq nearby me in downtown Everett and they have giant funkos outside. Very cute.

Alkaid13

Theoretically early editions of comic books, usually #1s, typically become worth a nice chunk of change several years down the road but that requires said comic line to be super popular said several years down the road and also that comic better be in mint fucking condition or it might as well be garbage. Toys are kind of a wash, unusual factory defects tend to be valuable later on since they get recalled but I don’t know if Funko Pop figures are really going to be a money maker down the line. 

Doctor_Nick

Tough to tell.  I gave away a bunch of Elric pocket books a few years ago when I moved, then I decided I wanted them after all and they're worth 3x cover price now.  Apparently there haven't been many pocket books versions of Elric made.  Other old used books I have are worth $2.

Bunch of my Shadowrun books are worth <$5.  The GM's screen is worth $50+. 
I have a bunch of RPG dice.  Somehow the D100 I bought in the mid 1990s is worth $80+.

I would say anything that you know is some sort of limited edition or many weren't made have potential.  Things that aren't going to be remade have potential.  Things that are viewed as classics in their time have potential (some of the expansions and adventures for Shadowrun that were viewed as classics are worth $40+ in printed form now, while regular adventures are <$5)

Hatorian

2 things drive price.

supply and demand

so anything that will be worth money needs to be short on supply and large on demand. Like a rookie ty Cobb card or something where there are literally like 50 left on the planet with no means of recreation.

unforuntately almost everything today is so mass produced that the supply will never cause the demand to drive price high enough. There will be some specific cases such as a recall or a collectible where only 100 are made and certified. 

A_Ron_Hubbard

Yeah, I agree with Hatorian.  As an owner of like five copies of every variant of X-Men #1, I learned this lesson the hard way as a comic book enthusiast in the 90s.  It's not like the stock market where you can actually do empirical research and make reasoned investments and reap rewards.  Valuable collectibles are usually only seen as such in hindsight.

There are examples.  Like, con-exclusive POP figures of a hot property or obscure property with a cult following are a good get. But everyone knows that so you have to fight like hell to get one or pay $300 to get into the building to pick one up.  So... nice value add if you are going to the con anyway, but sound investment?  Not as clear.

All my valuable shit I got just by being involved in a hobby.  Who knew the first appearance of Gambit would be worth over a thousand dollars?  He was just an unusually goofy mutant dude (which is saying something) in the goofy storm as a young girl plot. Same thing with Cable and Deadpool.  Who knew my Nobel Hierarchs from my obscure Bant deck from my glory days of MTG would be worth over 100 dollars while my foiled Nicol Bolas planeswalker that I shit my pants when I opened the pack now wouldn't buy me a big mac value meal?  I probably have a $1000 dollars worth of unhinged era basic fucking land cards that were a literal joke at the time I bought them for ten cents each.  

I weep when I think of 12 year old me selling my star wars collection to some sweaty fat dude at a garage sale for $100 to finance a Nintendo.  The figures alone even unboxed unboxed would be worth several thousand dollars.  But, what would that summer have been like with out a Nintendo?  Fuck that noise.

Travis

Let's all just hope that Parks and Recreation is seen as the next Friends or Cheers in the coming decades.

Doctor_Nick

Sounds like  I need to go find my boxes of Beta MTG cards.

Who knew my Nobel Hierarchs from my obscure Bant deck from my glory days of MTG would be worth over 100 dollars while my foiled Nicol Bolas planeswalker that I shit my pants when I opened the pack now wouldn't buy me a big mac value meal?  I probably have a $1000 dollars worth of unhinged era basic fucking land cards that were a literal joke at the time I bought them for ten cents each.  

Hatorian

A_Ron_Hubbard said:

I weep when I think of 12 year old me selling my star wars collection to some sweaty fat dude at a garage sale for $100 to finance a Nintendo.  The figures alone even unboxed unboxed would be worth several thousand dollars.  But, what would that summer have been like with out a Nintendo?  Fuck that noise.

Yea. It’s tough knowing I had things that are worth over 1000 now. But I don’t regret opening it and playing with it because I had so much fun playing action figures and Star Wars. And it helped me become who I am today. Kids today are lucky to what they have access too. When I was a kid it was toys, video games, your backyard and your own mind. 

I do wish I still had my old box of toys so I could let my kids have and play with them thogh. 

Ajas

I was just listening to the Highlander podcast today and my favorite part, BY FAR, was their discussion on the logistics of being a 400-yr old immortal antique collector as a line of work.

Lesser podcasts would have thrown on the brakes and thought "let's get back to the focus of the film", but the folks at Bald Move really leaned into it to consider-- how do you KNOW which bottle of liquor will be valuable? You still have to buy at market price, and storage is an issue. Inflation defeats interest, so it's pure speculation.

Then there was conjecture about the difficulties a typical Immortal would face transferring assets from one identity to the next without drawing the ire of the IRS.  Oh and while we're at it, let's sketch-up some ideas for a TV show  and video game.

That's why I love Bald Move.

As to Hatorian's question-- definitely consider the density. You are essentially buying futures in whatever collectibles you have and you're paying for it with the space you require to accommodate them for the duration of your investment, times the cost to maintain them, plus transport them.

Hatorian

Ajas said:

As to Hatorian's question-- definitely consider the density. You are essentially buying futures in whatever collectibles you have and you're paying for it with the space you require to accommodate them for the duration of your investment, times the cost to maintain them, plus transport them.

Yep. Good point. I have a ton of Magic the gathering “rare” cards from the 90s. But last I checked their value was was pretty close to the inflation cost. IE they are worth more than they were but taking into consideration other costs like inflation and space I haven’t made any money. 

Also i I have a buddy who has an entire room of collectibles and he said almost anything from the 90s is worthless. Baseball cards, comic books, etc they are so mass produced that they have no value. Obviously they are exemptions but extremely hard to identify.

He said the best chance of making money was just taking risks and buying things with short supply now and hoping in the future it becomes valuable. Like buying a rookie Mike Trout used signed jersey for a couple hundred and hoping in a hundred years he’s the best baseball player ever and there is only so many signed items from him. 

Doctor_Nick

I found some of my MTG cards.  Alpha and Beta sets have really taken off in value, the Beta lands are like $10 a piece.  So the truly limited stuff they did has beaten inflation by quite a bit.  I guess it just helps to get lucky on getting in on the ground floor when everyone didn't know what the game was. 

Freddy

This autographed Billy Dee Williams Colt 45 clock will certainly fetch a fine price. Especially since Billy Dee Williams didn't even know it existed:

Signed by BDW and Lando, no less. Apparently he asked the owner why it was stuck on 5:00, and he responded with "it's always happy hour somewhere, right Mr. Williams?", to which Billy Dee responded "damn right."

emnofseattle

Alkaid13 said:

Theoretically early editions of comic books, usually #1s, typically become worth a nice chunk of change several years down the road but that requires said comic line to be super popular said several years down the road and also that comic better be in mint fucking condition or it might as well be garbage. Toys are kind of a wash, unusual factory defects tend to be valuable later on since they get recalled but I don’t know if Funko Pop figures are really going to be a money maker down the line. 

As for unusual factory defects, the most famous example is the inverted Jenny, the postage stamp that sold for 24 cents, the stamp was supposed to feature a JN-4 “Jenny” biplane but 100 were misprinted with the plane upside down, these routinely fetch 7 figures at auctions. 

I buy stamps for collecting at the post office, it’s a fun hobby and who knows, maybe one day my Wilt Chamberlin or Ray Charles or Charlton Heston stamps will be big money 

Freddy

Doctor_Nick said:

I found some of my MTG cards.  Alpha and Beta sets have really taken off in value, the Beta lands are like $10 a piece.  So the truly limited stuff they did has beaten inflation by quite a bit.  I guess it just helps to get lucky on getting in on the ground floor when everyone didn't know what the game was. 

This little beauty was worth less than toilet paper when I bought it:

Now it's worth as much as toilet paper. Woosh! Worst part is I don't even know what happened to it. I can't even wipe my ass! If only I had some more collectible toilet paper...

True story. An unopened roll of this sat around my dad's house for years. $21.59 buy it now price on Ebay. Knowing my pops, he definitely used it. What a waste. Could have made literally tens of dollars.

Travis

If only I had a time machine I would slap the Star Wars figurines out of my little kid self's hands and so "NO! Those aren't to be played with. They stay in their packaging and they'll buy you a fucking European vacation someday. Fucking idiot child." 

I also managed to just flat out lose like thousands of baseball cards (had some decent ones too). I literally have no idea what happened to them. They probably just went to the dump in a garage purge at my parent's house at some point. Man, what a waste.

Aww_PHuuCk

So I ordered the Headless Ned Stark Funko Pop directly from HBO several years ago just for shits and giggles. Never thought to look it up until the boyfriend of my wife's friend saw it last weekend and he kept trying to subtly/not so subtly get me to sell it to him. Once I called attention to the fact that he's making it painfully obvious he likes it, he offered as high as 200 bucks. Of course I didn't sell it because I like it alot but I did look it up and this little piece of crap is fetching at 1,600 to even 3,000!

You can bet I got a case for it and it's in a locked unit now. And also I'm never letting that douchebag that tried to lowball me in my home again because I'm pretty sure he'd rob my ass.

mwspiak

Aww_PHuuCk said:

So I ordered the Headless Ned Stark Funko Pop directly from HBO several years ago just for shits and giggles. Never thought to look it up until the boyfriend of my wife's friend saw it last weekend and he kept trying to subtly/not so subtly get me to sell it to him. Once I called attention to the fact that he's making it painfully obvious he likes it, he offered as high as 200 bucks. Of course I didn't sell it because I like it alot but I did look it up and this little piece of crap is fetching at 1,600 to even 3,000!

You can bet I got a case for it and it's in a locked unit now. And also I'm never letting that douchebag that tried to lowball me in my home again because I'm pretty sure he'd rob my ass.

I had a similar situation. I didn't have a headless Ned but I did have a bunch of Game of Thrones pops that were worth anywhere from $80-$200 each. I decided to tap out and sell them on eBay. I made about a grand selling them after shipping and fees and I'm happy with it. Maybe they will be worth 10K some day but to me making a $900 profit on toys I paid $8 for a couple years ago is good enough for me. I feel like it's only a matter of time before people realize that they have too many of these Pops and no room for them and the value goes down and if not oh well it wasn't  worth the gamble of losing a shot at a grand to me.