Collectibles Not So Valuable Anymore...

I know that there are many readers of Collecting with Jeff that have stashed away collectible items for years.   They hope and pray that if they keep items long enough that the items that they purchased for a dollar or two will now be worth thousands.  After all, that is what usually happens.  Right?

Well, not so fast.  Yes, some collectibles may be worth a significant amount more after several years. Others will probably stay flat, and yes, others may actually decrease in value.  That can easily occur.  Many collectors will be extremely disappointed when they learn that what the items they had hoped would pay for their grandchild’s education, or even a long-anticipated cruise to Europe, will only buy them a cup of coffee or a Chai Latte tea at Starbuck’s.

However, the reverse can happen as well.  In today’s collectibles market, there are new types of items that are now the rage, and considered too hot to pass up.

But let me first focus on the types of items that were “winners” at one time, but are not worth much now.

First, remember the Thomas Kincade paintings and prints? Wow, they were everywhere.  You did not have to look very hard to see a Thomas Kincade Signature Gallery.  In fact, in the 1980s and 1990s there were about 350 such galleries.  You saw Thomas Kincade pieces in airports, in malls, and on the internet.  Kincade was the “Painter of Light.”

However, two things broke the Kincade bubble.  One was that there was a glut of Kincade’s work. Way too much of supply over demand will bring down values.  The other was the internet.  Consumers could easily buy the same works online that the Thomas Kincade Galleries were selling.  Kincade’s works were adored by a great number of people around the world.  However, there were simply too many of them, and too easy to purchase.  In fact, Thomas Kincade’s company, Media Arts Group, went public in 1994 and in ten years the stock decreased by 80 percent in value. Some Kincade works that were worth in the thousands of dollars can now be bought for a hundred or so dollars, and some for even less.

Along the same lines, commemorative plates have lost their value as well. It was common to see plates memorializing events by such noted artists as Norman Rockwell and LeRoy Neiman among others.  There have been plates of the Statue of Liberty, the World Series, and athletes like Michael Jordan. Some of Rockwell’s popular paintings have been on commemorative plates, especially after he passed away in 1978.

However, as with the Kincade items, there was a market glut.  Plates were sold on late-night television, on QVC, as well as by companies such as The Bradford Exchange, the Danbury Mint, Goebel, and others.  Today, most plates can be purchased for five dollars or less.  Some plates manufactured after 1980 are worth even less.  Rockwell plates may go for as much as $10-15, if you are lucky.  I myself am a huge Rockwell fan and of his Four Freedoms series, and am sorry to see that the value of his plates have dropped so much.

Another type of collectible that has seen its better day is porcelain Hummel figurines.  They first were produced in 1935, based on drawings by a German nun Maria Innocentia Hummel.  They were extremely popular after World War II, as American soldiers returned from Germany and brought Hummels home to their families.  Hallmark stores sold them starting in the 1960s.  However, simply put, there are too many Hummels around.  “Special editions” and limited runs were produced by the parent company Goebel, which created even more of a surplus.  The first wave of Hummel collectors have mostly passed away, and the younger generations have not expressed a keen desire to purchase Hummels.  Buyers can usually find Hummels they want either from the manufacturer or through a secondary market.  The hope that Hummels would be good investments has diminished. Today, most of the figurines can be bought for no more than $75.  There are a couple exceptions.  Figurines taller than 12 inches, and those made before 1949, can still command more money, even in the thousands of dollars. But those are the exceptions. 

Precious Moments figurines have little value as well. 

Lladro Statues have taken a similar downward swoop as with Hummels, but not to the same degree. Some Lladros can still fetch more than half of their original price. 

And any of you have bought from The Franklin Mint or the Danbury Mint are going to be disappointed as well. Items purchased from those companies have little value.   

Oh well, that is what the market is for those items. I will discuss other items that have lost their luster in the next “Collecting with Jeff”. I hope you don’t have too many Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Dolls around the house.