Trending Collectibles in 2022



Collectibles can yield some of the greatest returns across the investment landscape because of their often low purchase price. The trick to being able to turn a profit is knowing which collectibles will still be coveted for years to come.

What Are Collectibles?

Collectibles can be any physical (or now digital) item that people collect and are willing to spend a significant amount of money on. Vintage handbags, baseball cards, fine china, or rare books are all examples of potential collectibles.

Some collectors purchase and hang on to their items because they have a passion for them, while others choose investible collectibles in hopes that they’ll appreciate in value over time.

Collectible investments are defined as real assets that are worth more now than when they were originally purchased. Rare collectibles will frequently earn higher prices. Many collectibles such as art, handbags, and cars are considered Veblen goods, meaning demand for them increases as prices increase.

About The Collectibles Market in 2022

The collectibles market saw a surge in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic that has continued through 2022.

As the pandemic forced everyone into their homes, hobbies like collecting took off. More people were going through their homes, discovering antiques, and becoming interested in new hobbies that they could only buy in online auctions.

Neal Glazier, a top executive at Invaluable, an online marketplace for collectibles, said that from July to September 2022 collectible sales grew by 104%, with toys and dolls up 36%.

1st Dibs, an online flea market, reported that games, books, sports memorabilia, and maps surged in popularity in 2020, with games up 35% for the year and maps up 165%.

Sales have normalized a bit from this original surge but remain strong. An August 2022 report from Market Decipher found that the collectibles market was valued at $402 billion in 2021 and is forecasted to reach $1 trillion by 2032.

Despite the pandemic, total global wealth continued to rise in 2020 and 2021. The re-opening of economies and social activities saw collectors’ pent-up demand matched with quality sales and improved sentiment.

Popular Collectibles in 2022

Vintage collectibles are in demand right now for a variety of reasons and the interest in antiques goes beyond just those who consider themselves collectors. As inflation spikes, investors are often searching for long-term value storage and portfolio diversification, both of which collectibles can help with.

As millennials age, items from their childhood are getting closer to becoming “vintage,” creating nostalgia-driven demand for those items. The mania around Y2K and the popularity of thrift shopping with Gen Z also have broadened interest in collectibles for younger generations.

Practically any item can be considered a collectible: antique furniture, rare coins, a Rolex, the McDonald’s Happy Meal toy you got for your 6th birthday. So, what collectibles are hot right now?

Contemporary Art

Fine art may be one of the more traditional collectible items, but the market is still booming. At the onset of the pandemic, auction houses moved quickly to hold sales online. Sotheby’s held over 100 online sales between March and June 2020, bringing in nearly $200 million.

The trend has continued. Christie’s transactions totaled $7.1 billion in 2021, the highest it’s been in five years, while Sotheby’s brought in $7.3 billion for the year, its highest ever.

The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report assessed the value of the art market in 2021 at $65.1 billion, representing a 29% annual increase. Post-War and Contemporary art auction sales had their strongest year at $4.14 billion, up 35.7% from 2020.

In the first half of 2022, Christie’s reported its best performance since 2015 with total sales of $4.1 billion. This included the record-breaking sale of Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” (1964) for $195 million.

Sports Memorabilia

From cards, balls, and sneakers to jerseys, autographs, and even NFTs, the sports memorabilia market is one of the largest in the world. A mint-condition Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million in 2022, the most money ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia.

The rare Mantle card broke the record that was set just a few months prior by a Diego Maradona jersey from the 1986 World Cup which sold for $9.3 million.

Comic Books

The comic book market was booming in 2021 and hasn’t slowed down yet. As Marvel keeps pumping out superhero movies and tv shows, there are continually more and more fans looking to read the source material.

An original drawing from a 1984 Spider-Man comic set a new record for the most expensive piece of interior comic art at auction in 2022, selling for $3.4 million. In the same auction, Superman’s debut in Action Comics No. 1 sold for $3.2 million.

Toys and more info Action Figures

The global pandemic caused many to seek comfort in the past, many through collectible toys and related memorabilia. The market for figurines from past decades is strong with toys tied to movie franchises such as Marvel or Star Wars making up some of the most valuable collectibles.

Disney collectibles have strong demand overall, especially the limited edition series. Some limited edition dolls from the movie Frozen currently cost up to $3,000 on eBay. This number is especially jarring given Frozen is less than a decade old.

Action figures, especially in their original packaging, can be worth a ton. For example, a 1978 Luke Skywalker figurine sold for $25,000 in 2015 as part of a $500,000 Star Wars collection at Sotheby’s.

The ‘80s, specifically, have gained a lot of popularity, likely stemming from the popularity of Netflix’s cult show Stranger Things. Other popular vintage toys include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, Barbie dolls, and Cabbage Patch dolls.

Music Memorabilia

The music memorabilia market is comparable to the sports memorabilia market. Musical instruments, vinyl records, artist memorabilia, and fan magazines from iconic artists or bands can often make valuable collectibles. For example, Kurt Cobain’s Fender Mustang guitar was sold for $4.5 million in May 2022.

There has been a recent explosion in the availability of vinyl records, gaining a lot of traction during the pandemic. Whether people were going through their old collections or their parent’s stash, more and more were purchasing new and used vinyl in 2020 and beyond. In 2020 and 2021, LPs outsold CDs for the first time in decades.

While the most expensive more info music collectibles sold have all been electric guitars, other memorabilia such as concert posters, ticket stubs, vintage vinyl, and even music trading cards can be worth money.

The most valuable sale of a record was for Wu-Tang Clan’s single pressing of Once Upon A Time in Shaolin which went for $2 million. In April 2022, a slab of cardboard promoting The Beatles’ August 23, 1966, concert at New York’s Shea Stadium sold for $275,000 to set a new auction record.

Even recent albums with limited pressings can give significant returns. Taylor Swift’s limited edition translucent orange vinyl of her 2017 album Reputation is listed by multiple sellers for over $1,000 on eBay.

Trading Card Games

Trading cards have experienced a resurgence in popularity and value in recent years. Games such as Pokemon are still seeing positive growth in 2022.

In 2022, a 1998 Pikachu Illustrator Holo promo card was auctioned for $900,000 by Goldin. This sale broke the record for trading card game auctions.

NFTs

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have made headlines globally in recent years. While becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry, NFTs have started making their way into the traditional art market.

Notably, the sale of digital artist Beeple’s collage, “Everydays: The first 5000 days,” at Christie’s for $69 million in 2021, positioned Beeple among the top three most valuable living artists.

The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report revealed that the market for art-related NFTs expanded more than 100-fold in 2021 to reach $2.6 billion. Even more growth was seen for collectibles such as CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, reaching $8.6 billion.

NFT collectibles can include avatars, digital art, sports memorabilia, video clips, designer fashion, and almost anything else.

Handbags

Designer bags are one of the most stable alternative assets — Hermes Birkin bags even outpaced the S&P 500 from 1980 to 2015. According to Business of Fashion, the designer bags and small leather goods market is set to grow by $100 billion by 2027 from $72 billion in 2022.

In 2021, luxury handbags showed strong growth: +11.8% for Chanel bags and +38% for Hermes Birkin bags, according to Credit Suisse’s 2022 Collectibles Report. The same report found that of all collectibles they tracked, Chanel handbags were the best store of value with the lowest volatility.

Classic Cars

Classic Car Collectibles on Display at Sotheby’s Auction / Shutterstock

Classic cars are one of the most popular passion investments and are one of the few collectibles that can be enjoyed without losing value.

While most everyday cars lose value almost as soon as they leave a dealership, classic cars appreciate over time owing to factors such as rarity, performance and provenance.

According to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, classic cars have been one of the best-performing assets globally, sometimes outperforming the more traditional asset classes, over the years.

Since its inception in December 2008 through December 2021, the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) Top Index — which tracks the value of classic cars — increased 264.5%.

Looking ahead, the market is projected to grow from roughly $20.9 billion in 2020 to $43.4 billion in check here 2024.

Where to Buy and Sell Collectibles

Online marketplaces make it easier than ever to buy and sell collectibles. Aside from eBay, websites such as Etsy, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and even e-commerce giant Amazon have collectibles markets.

If you prefer to shop in-person, local swap meets, flea shops, and collectibles stores are available.

Where you buy or sell collectibles will vary on the type of collectible you are looking for/looking to sell. Shopping for contemporary art, for example, is very different from hunting down vintage baseball cards.

Key Takeaways

There are risks associated with collecting as an investment strategy. Fraud is prominent in the website collectibles market, especially on auction sites like eBay which are highly unregulated. Collectibles are also largely illiquid and do not provide any cash flow unless an investor is flipping them quickly for a profit.

On the other hand, collectibles can be strong investments that act as long-term stores of value and aid in portfolio diversification, not to mention the joy of ownership that comes along with investing read more in your personal interests.

If contemporary art is more your speed than a stamp collection or a copy of an original Atari video game, Masterworks is the first platform to make it possible to invest in blue-chip art with fractional shares.

Investing in fractional shares of art collectibles is an easier way to dip your toes into the collectibles market without risking the $30,000 price tag of a Birkin bag.

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