Anything is Collectible!
by Andy Moseley - reprinted with permission from the December 2000 Mariners’ Log
If you have driven around historic downtown Brunswick over the last few years, you’ve noticed that it is home to quite a few antique shops. In fact, if we give it a few more years, we can probably rename it the antique district. But why are all of these antique stores there? It’s simple: because people like to collect stuff. Some people enjoy collecting various plates while others prefer to collect a wide variety of lamps. Either way, these antique stores are making some money by selling these collectibles.
What exactly is a collectible? The Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the word collectible as “an object suitable for a collection, originally a work of fine art of an antique, now including also any of a wide variety of items collected as a hobby, for display, or as an investment whose value may appreciate.” The Andy Dictionary defines the word collectible in a different way, simply saying it means “anything.” Anything is collectible in the year 2000. My bedroom is a fine place to start deciding what exactly is a collectible.
My bedroom is known for being full of junk, to put it nicely. There’s stuff all over the place because I refuse to get rid of it. Why, you ask? Simply because I like it and I want to keep it - or collect it. My collecting roots started when I was six or so with baseball cards. I kept interest in this throughout high school, where I switched to collecting only baseball cards with Braves pitcher Greg Maddux on them. I’ve since given up on that hobby due to the fact that there are too many different sets to try to get cards from. In 1990, there were a total of 11 sets. In 2000, so far we have 49 sets . . . so far, but it’s still early. There are over 1,000 different Greg Maddux cards to collect in the year 1999 alone, and even if the cards were only a dollar apiece, I’m not spending every last cent of my publications scholarship on collectibles, not even Greg Maddux collectibles.
Tat explosion in the number of sets pretty much turned me off from the hobby some time ago. However, it hasn’t turned off thousands of other collectors who buy baseball, football, basketball, hockey, racing - and nowadd to that Pokemon and Digimon cards. That’s a whole ‘nother story, as children (and some adults) everywhere have thrown away hundreds of dollars buying pack after pack of cards, trying to either get their favorite creature or to complete their set.
The sports world gives collectors a chance to collect any number of things. Michael Jordan, Ken Griffey, Jr., and now Tiger Woods have graced numerous Wheaties boxes that collectors have snatched off the shelves of grocery stores. Newspapers and magazines from historic sporting events aren’t a bad catch either. How would you like to have the Baltimore Sun from the day after Cal Ripken, Jr., broke the consecutive-games-played streak in baseball (Ms. B’s dad, brother, and nephews all have that one) or the Sports Illustrated with Mark McGwire and the number “62!” on the cover? Not only is it a good read, but it’s also going to be worth some money to somebody one day. Other hot sports collectibles include basically anything that is autographed, balls from various events (game-used equipment is a plus), helmets, hockey sticks, starting lineup figures, plaques, and video games.
The action figures and dolls scene has always been a hotbed of collecting mania. Barbie, Ken, and the gang have been collectible for decades. The Barbies from the early years sell for eye-popping amounts of money, while various recent Barbies - the Harley Davidson Ke, for example - attract collectors with big bucks on services like eBay and in collectors stores. G.I. Joe has followed the same storyline. The earlier, larger Joes sell like hotcakes while modern-day Joes can do some selling of their own. Each year, there’s one particular action figure that sells well, and usually it’s based on a movie of the same name. Check out Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menacefor more information. Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? How about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? And yes, you can throw Pokemon and Digimon into this category as well.
One huge collecting trend of the late ‘90s and 2000 has been bean bag products. Leading the rush, of course, is Ty and their Beanie Babies, Beanie Buddies, Attic Treasures, Beanie Kids, and so on. Who would’ve thought that a baby-blue elephant filled with beans would be worth hundreds of dollars? (Oh, forgive me, probably the same folks who thought some one would shell out $30, $40, or $50 for some smooshed-face, ugly doll with a cabbage for a head!) Unfortunately for Ty and other beanie developers, the trend did start to fall off slightly not so long ago, so in late 1999, Ty announced the retirement of Beanies as a way to get sales to pick up again. It worked for a while, if only for a little while. The demand was there, and through online voting at Ty.com, production was set to begin again, along with the formation of several new lines. The bean bag business has continued to drop off, however.
Cars are another popular way to go for collecting. Of course, collecting real cars gets pricey after two or three, so many people go the route of toy cars instead. Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars are a very inexpensive yet vast line of collectibles that please both little three-year-olds and America’s blue-collar workers. Others go for more expensive toy cars, choosing to buy small-scale replicas of their favorite NASCAR drivers’ cars. Yet others choose to buy kits and build their own toy cars.
Another collectible that I personally collect is anything featuring Marvin the Martian of Looney Tunes fame. In this case, it doesn’t have to be just cards or bean bags. Instead, it can be anything that has the guy’s face on it. So far, I have bean bags, coffee mugs, keychains, figures, a baby toy, pens, ties, and even boxer shorts. If Marvin is on it, I want to buy it. Other popular characters among collectors include Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird, also from the Looney Tunes family, as well as Scooby Doo, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, the Taco Bell dog, and yes, Pikachu.
