One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Like many Americans, surely you too have your own collection of old items or heirlooms hidden somewhere around the house. You don’t have to be the owner of a Qing Dynasty vase (sold for the incredible amount of $80.2 million!) or a limited edition Patek Phillipe watch to make big bucks. However, if your dusty boxes contain some of the following collector’s items, you might want to leave them be, as they are no longer worth a dime.
Curious to know what vintage items are not worth much money today? Then read on to find out if your vintage collections are among the valuable or the worthless ones.
Items worth nothing today:
Franklin Mint collectibles
Many people have bought Franklin Mint collectibles in hopes of doubling or even tripling what they paid for them in time. Sadly, there’s not much to gain from selling Franklin Mint items such as dolls, glassware, diecast cars, silver ingots, coins, or medals.
Some owners hope to sell their Franklin Mint dolls for $200, like the Kate Middleton or Meghan Markle dolls, but most are lucky if they receive what they’ve initially paid for the dolls. Not to mention that most Franklin Mint dolls that no longer have their original boxes are not valued at more than $20 to $50 on the market.
Model train sets
Who here, boy or girl, hasn’t dreamed of having their very own model train sets when they were kids? Unfortunately, as fun as it might be to play with such sets, it’s not as fun when trying to sell them, especially if they’re not vintage enough.
As explained by model train manufacturing company Lionel, “the value of a particular set or piece is dependent on several factors such as condition, rarity, and the presence of the original box in good condition”. If your train set doesn’t comply with these requirements, then the opportunity to cash in has left the station from the very beginning.
New baseball cards
It’s true that certain baseball cards can make their owners very rich. But cards such as the Babe Ruth baseball card which was sold for $500,000 at an auction are quite rare. Most people have newer baseball cards which might have great sentimental value but little financial value. Such cards can be sold for a couple of dollars at most. Not much of an investment, is it?
Ceramic or porcelain dolls
If you also think that porcelain dolls are kind of creepy, join the club! However, many people appreciate and collect them. Some dolls might become extremely valuable if they’re rare enough and kept in good condition. Unfortunately, for most owners, these creepy China dolls don’t add more than $10 dollars to the family income.
Recent comic books
Not all comic books are valuable. Fans and collectors dream of finding the ones that are extremely rare and valuable, but most people own comic books that are not worth more than their original selling price. The comic books that are considered the epitome of comic book collections are the ones created in the 1930s through the 1950s. The more recent books, superhero books or not, are just not that worthy, especially if they are not in good condition.
Royal family memorabilia
If you’ve bought some plates with Kate Middleton or Meghan Markle’s face on them in hopes of selling them for more in a few years, tough luck. Such items are mass-produced, so there are thousands of them out there, used for various events such as jubilees and weddings. Sorry to disappoint, but there’s nothing special about them and they won’t be worth any money anytime soon. Better said, never!
Vinyl records
Sure, there are vinyl records out there, such as the original Beatles album, that can make their owners very rich, tens of thousands of dollars rich, but most are of little value. Apart from being good conversation starters when you have guests, vinyl records won’t bring you any other joy than that of listening to music. Experts say vinyl records are no longer something to invest in in hopes of their value appreciating in time.
If you do have a vinyl record that seems valuable, have it appraised by a specialist.
Barbie dolls
There have been auctions where Barbie dolls, rare ones to be exact, have sold for thousands of dollars. Take the Original Barbie 1959 which was sold for $27.450, or the rare Pink Splendor created in 1996 which can be sold on Amazon for around $300.
However, most Barbies, even if in mint condition, do not sell for more than $10 to $20 on eBay. While the Barbie motto is “You can be anything”, in this case, as a Barbie doll owner, you definitely cannot be rich.
Vintage “silver” serving plates
These plates might look expensive, but you know what they say, looks can be deceiving. This is also the case with these apparently sophisticated serving plates. If you’ve kept these vintage plates in hopes of becoming rich one day, sorry to burst your bubble. Your grandma might have had the best intentions when giving you these “silver” items; unfortunately, they do not sell for more than$10 to $50 on eBay.
Seemingly valuable stamps
Collecting stamps was once a craze among Americans. But finding the holy grail of stamps is difficult and most collections have no value nowadays. That’s because most stamps were mass-produced and what you have in one copy, others have in three.
Earlier stamps can be sold for more if they have no creasing or defects caused by water. Unfortunately for stamp collectors, not even the collections that were once valuable are not worth that much money nowadays, as explained by the Guardian.
Most Beanie Babies
Contrary to what many people believe, Beanie Babies are basically worthless. Sure, some have been sold for exorbitant amounts of money, but times have changed. Nowadays, these cute critters can be sold on eBay for no more than a couple of dollars. If you’re lucky to find a buyer, that is!
Read also: YES, You Can Break These 7 Money Rules
Pandora charms
Pandora is the third-largest jewelry company in the US and gained extreme popularity in the 2000s with their mix-and-match charms. On the official Pandora website, the charms cost around $$40 to $65 but you might want to explore other options such as eBay. Due to their popularity fading over the years, you can now find Pandora charms selling for as low as $10 or $20. That’s not charming at all for those hoping to cash in on these pieces of jewelry.
Vintage band T-shirts
You might look cool wearing a vintage tee at a rock concert, but coolness will not bring you any money. Not the ones you might have hoped for, at least. That’s because most vintage T-shirts are not worth more than $20 dollars on eBay, regardless of the band’s popularity. Don’t think a Rolling Stone tee will make you rich either.
Unless you have a rare vintage T-shirt, your best bet is to get other people’s appreciation when wearing a vintage T-shirt, definitely not their money.
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