The global collectibles market is vast. Seriously, it was valued at over $288.34 billion in 2023 and is on track to hit a staggering $489.48 billion by 2033.
But that booming number hides a painful secret. While money pours into scarce art and authenticated memorabilia, the nostalgia-fueled items many of us grew up with are getting left behind.
But here’s the harsh truth: many of us are learning that many popular collectibles were never actual investments to begin with; they were mass-produced products sold with the promise of future value.
It’s a classic story of a market bubble. For many of the items below, that loss of reality was fueled by market saturation, changing tastes, and the rise of the internet, which revealed just how common our “rare” treasures really were. So, let’s open up that dusty box and see which of our cherished collectibles have fallen victim to the great market crash.
Beanie Babies
These plush toys were the poster children for 90s speculative mania, creating a bubble that burst most spectacularly.
Back in the mid-1990s, these little $5 pellet-filled animals created a frenzy unlike any other. Creator Ty Warner masterfully created artificial scarcity by “retiring” popular versions, which fed a booming secondary market. The hype was unreal—in one month in 1997, eBay auctioned off an incredible $500 million worth of Beanie Babies. People sank their life savings into them, hoping to fund college tuition.
Then, in 1999, the bubble popped. Ty Inc. started mass-producing the newer Beanies, shattering the illusion of rarity that the entire market was built on.
At the market’s peak, a rare Princess the Bear was rumored to be worth as much as $500,000. Today? The hard truth is that around 99.9% of all Beanie Babies are worth less than $20, with most selling for just a few dollars. While a handful of first-generation or error-filled versions might fetch a few hundred, they are the lottery-ticket exceptions, not the rule.
Collector plates
Marketed as instant heirlooms and can’t-miss investments, most limited-edition collector plates are now worth less than a fancy dinner plate.
Starting in the 1970s, companies like the Bradford Exchange developed a business model selling decorative plates as a surefire investment. They were advertised as part of a “limited edition” series, featuring fine art, and were virtually guaranteed to appreciate.
The problem was that “limited edition” was more of a marketing slogan than a reality. Production runs were often massive, and the market became completely saturated. As with figurines, interior design trends moved on, and the practice of displaying plates on walls fell out of fashion.
While a truly antique plate from the 17th century can be worth a fortune—one Kutani plate from the 1600s sold for an eye-watering $116,670—the mass-produced plates from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s have tanked. Many now sell for under $15 on eBay, often less than what they initially cost. Even finding a buyer for a complete set can be a challenge.
Thomas Kinkade prints
The “Painter of Light” was a commercial powerhouse, but the mass-produced nature of his art means most prints are now worth a fraction of their original price.
Thomas Kinkade built an empire by selling “hand-embellished” prints on canvas, marketed as exclusive limited editions through a vast network of galleries. These pieces weren’t cheap, initially retailing for anywhere from around $600 to $10,000. His brand was so successful that one estimate claimed a Kinkade work was displayed in one out of every twenty American homes.
That widespread availability was its undoing. The market became entirely oversaturated. After Kinkade’s death, collectors began to realize that the prints were not as “limited” as they had been led to believe, and the galleries had significantly over-inflated their values. Critics often dismissed the work as “kitsch,” and tastes moved on.
The value drop has been severe. One collector who spent $6,000 on a print 25 years ago reported that the best offers she received were between $300 and $400.A resale company that buys Kinkade prints notes that its average cash offers are just $100 to $150 each. The only exception? An original oil painting by Kinkade himself, which is exceedingly rare and could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Precious Moments figurines
These teardrop-eyed porcelain figures were a staple for gift-giving, but today, most are worth little more than their sentimental value.
At the height of their popularity, the Precious Moments Collectors’ Club had more than 400,000 members across the globe. The “Original 21” figurines, first released in 1978, were especially sought after by dedicated collectors.
However, like other figurines on this list, the market was eventually flooded with similar products. The sheer volume produced over the decades, combined with a lack of interest from younger generations who didn’t grow up with them, caused the secondary market to crater.
One of the most famous “Original 21” pieces, “God Loveth a Cheerful Giver,” originally sold for just $15 in 1978. While it was once valued at over $2,000, its resale value has fallen dramatically, now typically selling in the $50 to $250 range.
The vast majority of standard Precious Moments figurines now sell online for between $7 and $25. Only a few scarce, limited-edition items or special releases, such as specific Disney collaborations, can still fetch several hundred dollars.
Hummel figurines
Once the quintessential symbol of sentimental value on grandma’s mantelpiece, the market for these cherubic German figurines has sadly collapsed.
During their heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, Hummels were the perfect gift, and enthusiasts built massive collections. Rare and early pieces could be pretty valuable. The “Adventure Bound” group, for example, could fetch over $4,000, and some pre-1959 versions were valued as high as $9,000.
The crash came from two directions. First, tastes changed. Younger generations, with a preference for more minimalist decor, don’t have an interest in collecting them. Second, the internet arrived. Websites like eBay suddenly connected every seller in the world, flooding the market and revealing that most “rare” Hummels were, in fact, incredibly common.
The drop in value has been breathtaking. A 1971 Hummel plate, which could have sold for over $2,000 in the 1980s, can now be found on eBay for approximately $50. Most common figurines now sell for between $15 and $30. Only the truly exceptional pieces—like those over 12 inches tall or bearing the earliest trademarks (TMK-1, 2, or 3)—still command high prices.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Famous for causing shopping riots in the 80s, the value of most Cabbage Patch Kids has dropped significantly since the days they needed a security detail.
The Cabbage Patch Kids craze of 1983 was a true cultural phenomenon, dubbed the “most successful new doll introduction in the history of the toy industry”. The demand was so intense that it led to actual riots, stampedes, and fistfights in toy stores across America. Scalpers were flipping dolls that retailed for about $25 for $150 or more.
That level of hysteria was unsustainable. It was a classic fad, and once the manufacturer, Coleco, caught up with demand, the scarcity that fueled the frenzy evaporated. While the brand has continued in various forms, the mass-produced dolls from the 1980s are now ubiquitous.
While a super-rare, signed 1985 doll named “Teresa Ann” once fetched $2,000, that’s a massive outlier.
Today, the average Cabbage Patch Kid from the 80s sells for just $20 to $50. The real treasures are the original, handmade “Little People” soft-sculpture dolls created by artist Xavier Roberts before the mass-market deal, which can still be worth $1,000 to $2,000.
Longaberger baskets
Once a billion-dollar empire built on home-selling parties, these handcrafted baskets have seen their market unravel.
At its peak in the year 2000, The Longaberger Company was a powerhouse, boasting $1 billion in sales and a network of 45,000 independent consultants who sold the baskets through a multi-level marketing system. These baskets were marketed as high-quality, American-made heirlooms.
A perfect storm of factors led to the company’s decline: the 2008 recession significantly impacted discretionary spending, home decor trends shifted away from the “country chic” aesthetic, and the company struggled with mismanagement following its founder’s passing. The company ultimately went bankrupt in 2018.
The secondary market is now flooded with these baskets. A telling symbol of the brand’s fall is its former corporate headquarters, a giant basket-shaped building that cost $34 million to build but was recently sold for a mere $1.2 million.
While some rare or early baskets might fetch $50 to $200, many standard designs struggle to find buyers at any price.
‘Brown’ antique furniture
That heavy, dark wood dining set you inherited? It’s likely worth a fraction of what your grandparents paid for it.
For generations, heavy, dark wood furniture—think mahogany, walnut, and cherry pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries—was considered a sign of a well-appointed home and a solid family asset.
But tastes have changed dramatically. Younger generations, such as Millennials and Gen Z, overwhelmingly prefer minimalist, lighter, and more versatile furniture that fits into smaller, open-concept living spaces. The formal dining room is a dying concept, making those massive dining sets and china cabinets particularly hard to sell. The decline has been so steep that one collector reported their collection of Early American furniture had dropped in value by over 90%.
Many of these pieces are now sold for pennies on the dollar or are even given away for free.
Stamps
Once the “hobby of kings,” stamp collecting has seen a dramatic decline in participation and value for all but the rarest specimens.
For over a century, philately (stamp collecting) was one of the most popular hobbies in the world. The American Philatelist Society (APS) hit a peak membership of 56,000 collectors back in 1988.
The digital age has been brutal to the hobby. Email and online bill-paying have made physical mail a novelty, with the volume of first-class mail decreasing. Younger generations don’t encounter stamps in their daily lives. Furthermore, online marketplaces like eBay revealed that many stamps once believed to be scarce were actually quite common, causing their values to crash.
Today, APS membership has been cut by more than half, down to 25,546 as of 2023.
Prices for the most common vintage stamps have collapsed, with many now selling for only 5% to 20% of their official catalog value. The only segment of the market that’s thriving is at the very top, where ultra-rare stamps are treated as investment assets for the super-rich, like the British Guiana 1c Magenta, which sold for $8.3 million in 2021.
1990s ‘gimmick’ comic books
Fueled by speculator hype, 90s comics with foil-embossed, die-cut, holographic covers are now primarily found in dollar bins.
The early 1990s saw a massive speculator bubble in the comic book industry. Investors, believing any first issue could be the next big thing, bought up comics by the armload. Publishers fed this frenzy by releasing issues with multiple “collectible” variant covers and flashy gimmicks. The most famous example,
X-Men #1, released in 1991, became the best-selling comic of all time, with stores ordering an estimated 8 million copies.
The bubble burst spectacularly when everyone realized the truth: if everyone has a “collectible,” it’s not actually rare. The market was flooded. One comic book historian estimates that a staggering 30% of all comics published between 1990 and 1994 ended up as unsold inventory in comic shops. The crash was so devastating that it pushed Marvel Comics to the brink of bankruptcy.
That record-breaking X-Men #1, which initially cost $1.50, can be easily found for just a few dollars today. Most comics from this era are now worth pennies on the dollar, if anything at all. The rare exception is a genuine key issue, like the first appearance of a significant character like Harley Quinn (Batman Adventures #12), which can still sell for thousands in pristine condition.
‘Junk wax era’ sports cards
If you collected baseball cards in the late 80s and early 90s, your massive collection is probably not the retirement fund you hoped for. The period from roughly 1987 to 1994 is known to sports card collectors as the “Junk Wax Era.” Card companies, riding a wave of popularity, ramped up production to insane levels to meet the demand.
The result was a market completely flooded with product. Rarity is the most critical factor in a card’s value, and these companies had effectively eliminated it. An entire generation of collectors who carefully preserved their cards, thinking they were protecting a future asset, was left with mountains of virtually worthless cardboard.
Most cards from this era are worth less than the plastic sleeves in which they’re stored. For example, a 1990 Donruss card of Ken Griffey Jr., one of the biggest stars of the time, can sell for as little as $1.04 in professionally graded condition.
The only cards from this period with any real value are a few key rookie cards that were genuinely scarce due to printing errors or design flaws that made them difficult to find in perfect condition, such as the 1993 SP Derek Jeter rookie, which can sell for up to $600,000 in gem mint condition.
Franklin Mint collectibles
This company mastered the art of selling “limited-edition” collectibles as investments, but the secondary market tells a different story.
Starting in the 1960s, The Franklin Mint built a massive business on a direct-to-consumer model, selling everything from commemorative coins and plates to celebrity dolls and die-cast cars. Their marketing was brilliant, positioning their products as exclusive, high-quality investments that were sure to appreciate.
However, “limited edition” was often a loose term. Production runs for items like their die-cast cars were often in batches of 1,000 to 5,000—far too high to create true rarity. As early as the 1970s, financial publications such as Forbes began questioning the investment value of their products.
Today, the consensus is clear. Most Franklin Mint coin sets are worth little more than the melt value of the precious metals they contain. Many of their other collectibles, like figurines and plates, can be found on eBay for under $35. While some pieces tied to major brands, such as Harley-Davidson, can hold some value, the vast majority have proven to be poor investments.
Royal Doulton figurines
Like their Hummel cousins, the vast majority of these classic British figurines have failed to keep pace with modern tastes. For decades, Royal Doulton figurines were a staple in homes across America and the UK, with millions produced since the early 20th century. They were seen as a mark of quality and a charming collectible.
But the market for these porcelain ladies and characters has faced the same headwinds as other figurines: a significant generational shift in decor preferences and a market flooded with the collections of an aging demographic. The sheer quantity of the more common figures produced over the years means there is simply no scarcity to drive prices up.
While a truly rare, early piece can still command a price upwards of $2,000, that is the exception.
The vast majority of standard Royal Doulton figurines now sell at auction for around $25 to $50. The key to spotting a valuable one is the “HN” number on the bottom—experts say the lower the number, the older and more useful the piece is likely to be.
Lladro figurines
Known for their delicate, high-quality Spanish porcelain, most Lladro pieces have proven to be poor financial investments.
Lladro figurines are undeniably beautiful and well-crafted. The brand built a loyal following, with its Collector’s Society boasting over 100,000 members at its peak in 1985. Large, intricate pieces can still sell for thousands, with one record-breaking sale in Japan hitting the equivalent of $130,000.
Despite the brand’s prestige, the secondary market for common Lladro pieces is, as one dealer bluntly stated, “lukewarm”. The delicate, pastel, and romantic style of the figurines doesn’t mesh well with the more modern, minimalist decor favored by younger generations.
While new pieces are sold on the official Lladro website for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, the resale market tells a different tale.
The typical resale value for an ordinary Lladro figurine is just $50 to $75, and that’s only if it’s in perfect condition with its original box. Many can be found for as little as $29.
Swarovski crystal figurines
These sparkly animals and objects are beautiful, but because they are made of glass, most don’t hold their value like precious gems.
Swarovski has done an excellent job of associating its brand with luxury and craftsmanship. The Swarovski Crystal Society (SCS) created a dedicated community of collectors who eagerly bought the exclusive Annual Edition pieces each year.
The fundamental issue for value appreciation is that Swarovski crystals have no real intrinsic worth—they are a type of high-quality, man-made glass, not a naturally rare gemstone. The market is constantly being updated with new designs, which limits the demand for older, mass-produced pieces.
Most Swarovski items depreciate just like other luxury goods, such as designer handbags. Their resale value typically falls into the 30% to 60% range of the original retail price. Many standard figurines can be found on sites like Etsy for between $25 and $75. The major exception is for rare, retired, limited-edition pieces, especially the very first SCS Annual Edition from 1987, “The Lovebirds,” which has an insurance valuation of around $2,500.
Pogs
The ultimate ’90s schoolyard fad, these cardboard milk caps went from must-have to worthless almost overnight.
Pogs exploded into a massive trend in the mid-1990s, with origins tracing back to a game played with milk caps in Hawaii. Kids across the country collected, traded, and played with thousands of different designs, featuring everything from popular cartoons to sports logos.
Pogs were the definition of a fad. Their value was tied exclusively to the game’s popularity. When kids moved on to the next big thing in the late 90s, the market for Pogs completely evaporated. They had no artistic or material value to fall back on.
The current market reflects this. While a complete, sealed set of extremely rare Jurassic Park promotional Pogs recently sold for an unbelievable $2,500, this is a massive outlier.
Most common Pogs are now sold in bulk lots, with collections of over 300 discs selling for as little as $32.99—less than ten cents apiece. Heavier, metal “slammers” tend to be worth more than the cardboard caps, but not by a significant amount.
Vintage Playboy magazines
While the first issue is a collector’s dream, the massive print runs of later years mean most vintage Playboy magazines are not a hidden treasure.
Playboy was a cultural force for decades, and its first issue from December 1953, featuring Marilyn Monroe, is one of the most iconic collectibles of the 20th century. At its absolute peak in November 1972, a single issue of the magazine had a circulation of 7.2 million copies.
That massive popularity is precisely what makes most issues worthless today. High circulation is the mortal enemy of rarity, and with millions of copies of each issue printed for decades, the supply is enormous. The rise of the internet also made the magazine’s content less exclusive, causing its cultural relevance and circulation to plummet.
The first issue, which initially sold for 50 cents, is the holy grail. A high-grade copy can sell for thousands of dollars; one lower-grade copy still fetched $6,100.However, most common issues from the magazine’s peak in the 1970s and 80s are worth very little, often just a few dollars each.
Key Takeaway
The journey through these fallen collectibles reveals a clear pattern: what we collect says more about our hearts than our wallets.
The true joy of collecting has always come from passion, nostalgia, and the community of fellow enthusiasts—not from the expectation of a financial windfall. As collectibles expert Harry Rinker puts it, these items are “all risky” and should not be confused with actual investments.
Ultimately, lasting value is almost always found in genuine rarity, historical significance, and pristine condition. It is not found in mass-produced items that were marketed with the illusion of scarcity. The best advice for any collector is simple: buy what you love, not what you think will make you rich.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
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15 Foods From the ’60s Most Boomers Loved With a Passion
15 Foods From the ’60s Most Boomers Loved With a Passion
The 1960s were a period of profound social and cultural transformation in America. As the baby boomer generation came of age, they embraced new ideas, fashion trends, and music styles. And when it came to food, some beloved dishes defined this era.
Here are 15 foods from the ’60s that most boomers loved passionately.
