Add to that list: Anything produced in huge multiples, anything a million other people are collecting, anything mundane or humdrum, and most of all anything called a collectible . . .
Better choices: the truly ephemeral that no one else has thought of collecting, anything connected with an obsessive fan group, anything that has a strange appeal to you and you alone and you don’t know why, anything that evokes nostalgia and will never be made again . . .
Keanu Reeves movies?
anything that evokes nostalgia and will never be made again . . .
I collect glass perfume bottles/presentations. Much of my collection is from 1920-30, some earlier,none after about 1955, all by noted glass artists, historically evocative brands, emphasis on the figural. I bought them carefully over 40 years. I limited myself to paying no more than 1/3 of *book*. In 2007, my collection was worth more than 2x what I had paid for it. Since 2008, it is worth about half, IF a buyer existed.
I see wonderful, rare, pristine, historically important pieces up for sale on eBay for 1/3 of their value and the pieces do not sell. It is a fantastic time to buy, of course, but fewer collectors have the extra money and they are savvy enough to wait until the seller is desperate.
These are real, irreplaceable antiques made by recognized masters and many are historical cultural icons, not manufactured *collectibles*.
However, a dedicated website I follow seems to have a better track record and is realizing prices which are closer to real value. That might be the best way to sell, rather than eBay, given good keywords and search engine visibility.
My husband inherited a set of Copenhagen plates from his mother. Next to worthless, from what I can tell.
>anything that has a strange appeal to you and you alone and you don’t know why, anything that evokes nostalgia and will never be made again . . .
I collect Soviet and cold war stuff, medals, tea glasses, postcards, etc. A bunch went up for sale on Ebay, cheap, after the collapse over there.
I plan on leaving it to my nephews, who never knew what it was like to fear them and never had to duck and cover under their elementary school desks in preparation for the nuclear attack that thankfully never came.