What to collect, right now!
A part of Fanboys’ ongoing “Guide to Collecting” blog series
For those of us who are already into collecting we may not want to shift gears and start to focus on something new. But for newbies the sky is the limit! And if you are one of those newbies the question may be, “What to start collecting”? If you’re getting into collecting hoping it will be an investment you can cash in later read on! Below is a list of things you can start buying and saving now. Most of these just may pay off both in the short term and the long. Let’s get into it!
No.1 Funko Pops. No surprise there! Funko Pops are the not so recent collectible toy figures that seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Why? I think the secret is that as long as Funko can license it, they can make it. This means that Funko can keep on producing their figures just as long as pop culture keep delivering fandoms we fall in love with. Funko Pops cover everything from sitcoms like The Office to Anime like Dragon Ball Z, Marvel to DC, videogames, comic books, celebrities and fandoms both old and new. And Funko’s proven to deliver returns. According to MoneyWise.com a Chewbacca figure released at Comic-Con in San Diego in 2011 recently fetched $2,700 on eBay. Based on the usual retail price of about $20, that’s a 13,400% profit!
No.2 Recent first edition books. If you happened to be a fan of Harry Potter from the beginning, chances are you may own a first edition print run of the world famous novel. If that is the case, you may be sitting on a huge bag of cash if the time comes that you ever want to sell it. First editions are valuable and collection hunters will pay top dollar for a first edition print run of a super popular book. So, Twilight, The Hunger Games, or Game of Thrones could very well be worth keeping on the bookshelf for quite a while.
No.2 Sneakers. Oh man, the sneaker game can be pretty intense! There’s a huge market for first edition or limited edition sneaker’s when they’re released! People love their shoes. Again, according to MoneyWise.com, “Used, original Nike Air Jordan 1’s from 1985 can go for more than $1,500, and a mint-condition pair in the box recently sold on eBay for close to $4,000. The original retail price? About $65.” When it comes to shoes, collectors don’t play. Even without age you can buy a pair of shoes that’s super popular and, simply because they sell out of them so quickly, turn around and re-sell it for those who weren’t first in line for double or triple your money. That’s an immediate turn around!
No.4 McDonald’s items. I said items instead of toys specifically because, get this: “The fast-food giant has begun shifting from plastic straws to paper ones, because of environmental concerns. In the U.K., where paper straws are already a thing, someone on eBay recently paid the equivalent of nearly $100 for 400 of the plastic sippers.” (MoneyWise.com) $100 for a pack of straws…really? Really! I also should mention what we all first assume is that those little Happy Meal toys can also fetch quite the dollar value if it’s old enough and well kept. In the case of the straws though, pay attention when things start to disappear, they can be a collector’s dream!
That’s a quick list! But here are some runner ups:
- Cereal Boxes-are a story book of pop culture! Especially if they feature current celebrities (think Michael Jordan on the Wheaties box).
- Newspapers-the front page headlines from September 11th, or 2016 election results could fetch a pretty penny.
- Retro Gaming Devices-like the Nintendo DS or even the older GameBoys. If you have one in good shape, hold onto it!
- Comic Books-lest we forget a collectibles fave. The speculator market is in force these days. It’s a good idea to look for first issues and first appearances of anything!
If you’re looking for the other parts of this series you can find them here: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.
Power Rangers in Space Reunion Event!
On November 19th and 20th Fanboys Marketplace is hosting a Power Rangers in Space Reunion Event. VIP passes and photo tickets are available now for purchase ahead of time. Click the link here, and we’ll see you in November!
