Vintage Collectibles For Fun And Profit

Finding a collectible that you truly enjoy is the most important point. Try to find something that fits your personality and interests. For example, if you like color and beauty, you may want to try collecting marbles or stamps. If you enjoy sports, try vintage sports memorabilia and trading cards. If you have fond childhood memories, look for vintage toys you had as a child. Again, the main reason to collect is to find something you have interest in that brings you joy. Don't just collect items because of how much they are worth. Interest may fade and you are stuck with items you no longer want or need.



HUH . . .?!? BERNARD DEHYDRATED WATER Product. (At last, Stephen Wright has some instructions: "I bought some powdered water but I didn't know what to add.")*
by EraPhernalia Vintage . . . (playin' hook-y ;o) -Flickr

As with any endeavor, knowledge is the key to everything. Pretty much anything that is being collected now has fakes. You always want to know what price range an object is going to fall in, before making a fair offer to purchase it. The more you know about collectibles, the more you are going to enjoy collecting.

Here some great ways to learn about a particular collectible.

1. Find another collector and talk face to face with the person. - This is probably the best way to learn.

2. Internet Forums. - This is a great tool, even if you only read the posts you can learn a great deal.

3. Books - The old fashion way to learn, but they still work.

4. Go to collectible flea markets and shows. - You may get to see items that you have only heard about.

5. Go to live collectible auctions. - If you learn how to buy collectibles at these auctions, you can get great deals.



Ralph and Terry Kovel by Kovels.com -Flickr

Finding the right collectible can be a hard and rewarding task. There are many locations that hold the treasure you seek that include some very unusual places. You also may have to do some out of the box thinking when you choose the best method to find items.

The best place to purchase collectibles in my opinion is at auctions. Keep in mind that I am not talking about eBay or some other online auction. I am talking about estate auctions and auctions at the local auction houses. Estate auctions are auctions where the auctioneer is selling off a pretty much all of the possessions of a particular individual. Most of the time, these are due to the person passing on and the family is trying to settle the estate. I know that it is kind of sad when you think about all the memories that are laid out on the tables. This is easy to overcome if you make a promise to yourself that you will treat the items you purchase with the respect the previous owner would have given.
If you have not been to an auction before, it is a wise choice to listen to the auctioneer for a little while to understand his rhythm and methods. Understand that no to auctioneers are alike. Once you are comfortable, start bidding. It pays to look through all of the boxes under the table; many small items get thrown into boxes and may not draw the attention of many bidders. One of the most foolish things that you can do at an auction is getting too attached to an item. Many bidders will get into a bidding war because of the attachment and end up way over paying. Be knowledgeable about the item and set spending limits. Also don't fall into one of the auctioneers traps. Auctioneers are notorious for bragging on an item to get more bids. Words they may use are "Unique", "Rare" and "One of a kind". The best way to do well at an auction is to know about the items, keep calm, be skeptical about what the auctioneer says, and above all-just have fun.


Yard sale patrons
by kirinqueen- Flickr
Two other places to find collectibles can be at flea markets and garage sales. The best tool to help you find items at these locations is an alarm clock. Many flea markets open at 6:00 am and it is important to arrive early to beat all the other collectors that are attempting to find deals. The same can be said about garage sales, except the open up just a hair later. Don't be afraid to haggle. You never know when it may work. Just be courteous and offer a reasonable price. If you start off on wrong when it comes to haggling, the seller usually won't budge.


Country Auctioneer
by Mangrove Mike- Flickr
I know it sounds disgusting, but a great way to find old bottles, silverware, marbles and the occasional nice piece of glassware is by digging.
Before the days of curbside pickup, most people that did not live in towns (and some that did) would dispose of their garbage in mainly one of two ways, burning and dumping the trash in a back area of the property. Many people used to dump trash over the riverbank. Many bottles and other great items have survived decades and sometimes centuries being buried, all the while waiting for someone to discover them. I will get more in depth about digging in my soon to be completed collectible bottles lens.


Bottle Digging
by Ryan Stanton- Flickr
Other places that I have found great items include thrift stores, through collectors groups (mainly through trades) and an occasional back alley. Alleys are great a great place to find antique furniture. Finding collectibles is not just black and white, you have to think out of the box. Do this and you will do just fine.

National Cash Register
Photo by landofnodstudios-Flickr

One of the most important think you can do is to ask yourself if you truly wish to sell the item, just to make sure you won't regret selling the item later in life. Also make sure that you have a good reason to sell. Don't just sell because of an impulse.

Here are two good examples of these statements.
Between fifteen and twenty years ago (when I was young and stupid) a friend of mine needed some cash quickly and offered to sell me a collection of baseball cards from the 50's and 60's. I ended up paying him $200 for the lot that only included stars like Mickey Mantle, Satchel Paige, and Jackie Robinson to name a few. There well over a hundred of these cards and they were in great condition. I all I was thinking about was how much money I was going to make when I take these to the next card show later that month. The day of the show came and I ended up with about $2000 in cash and trade for them. At the time, I was really happy to have all that money to blow. That's exactly what I did and in the end ended up with very little to show for it. I did however give my friend another hundred to help him out.

The other example includes the same friend and a collection of between 75 and 80 early Redline Hot Wheels. I think I paid him a couple dollars each for them. These cars were nearly mint condition and were worth way more than the $10 each I got out of them from a local antique dealer. Again greed got the better of me and I didn't use good judgment at all.

I now look back at these transactions and think to myself "WHAT AN IDIOT!!!". I am not sure what would have been worth more, the cards or the cars. Either way I could have done much better.

Make sure you know exactly what you have, so you won't lose out by selling a rare item cheaply.

Some great places to sell vintage collectibles are online, antique malls and at flea markets.
I tend to lean toward the online method because it is just easier.

Please note that all photos used are either mine or from Collective-Commons Commercial Use