You sure can! Especially if you have one of these in your cupboard.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-1954-Superman-Lunchbox-Excellent-Condition-/190709490863? pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c672be4af#ht_479wt_1214      This 1954 Superman lunchbox is currently on Ebay for $1000.

The most common question I get is "How do you make money"?

There are several ways but the old adage "buy low, sell high" always works. I know, easy to say, tough to do. As I mentioned in a previous blog the best way to buy an item is to buy what you know. You're less likely to make a rookie mistake and buy what you think is hot. 
1. If you're buying collectables to sell, remember, they don't make you penny one sitting on a shelf. Keep your must have personal collection separate from the stuff you want to sell. If you've had an item for too long and you haven't been able to sell it; dump it. some money is better than no money. Chalk it up to experience and get rid of it. You probably learned more in experience than you would have in cash

2. Buy Low, Sell High- How? buy lots; as in a lot of more than one, when you can. If you make an offer on 40 of an item as opposed to 1, you are in the bargaining position. You can get items for 10 to 15 cents on the dollar. Buy mixed lots, often I will find some gems when I buy a box of stuff, only takes one nice hit to pay for many many boxes. 

3. Get rid of it quickly.- Buy it, put it on the internet or in your store, price it reasonably and remember that you are trying to make money. If it's a fair offer, take it, you may have a customer for life. If it doesn't sell in a reasonable time, reduce the price of package it with another item. If you really can't sell it.

4.Do your Research!!! If someone told you that old lunchboxes sold for a hundred dollars and you put the Superman example above on Ebay for $99, you would be astounded when you received literally thousands of bids. You may wonder why. Because you screwed yourself out of $900!!!!!. When you sell an item, know what it's worth. If you're happy with a 500% markup and want to sell it for $500, then great, but know you could get more if you're willing to market it properly. The same is true for any item you want to sell. There are thousands of reference sites online, I'd be happy to help if I can. Just hit the comment button on the bottom. 

2012 Olympic Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. Here they are, the 2 newest Olympic collectables. With the London games at our doorstep, timing is everything. As with any collectable, there are highs and lows. No time is higher than right now for these two odd and ubiquitous characters. History shows that the Olympic mascots are always hugely collectable and they can retain their value. So now might be the time to jump on board with a couple of cyclop pencil erasers. Heck if you don't like them, I'm sure you know a couple of kids that would appreciate them. 

It's not really, but people collect things that bring back memories. Our friend above, Mr. William Shatner, aka Captain Kirk is the sparkplug for many people when they think of the storied Star Trek franchise. You can bid on Kirk's original screen worn tunic here;  http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/12137717_star-trek-series-william-shatner-cpt-kirk-tunic?utm_source=Auction+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=lot909_image&utm_campaign=pihjul20123
One lucky family has had this sitting in their closet since the 60's when it was gifted to them from a cast member. 

Everywhere! Depending on what you collect your world is your oyster. With the advent of the mighty "interweb" you can now shop from Amsterdam to Zimbabwe. (That's the Amsterdam flea market on the left). 
If you collect a broad category such as dolls or china or fill in the blank you can start next door. Flea markets, garage sales, auctions and friends are the old fashioned way to find them. The new fashioned? way: go online!. Start with where you know you'll find them.

 Ebay. Now the world's largest auction house (by far), you have a window into every-ones closet. You only need one more Midge doll to finish your 1966 Barbie collection? You can still find a new in the box (NIB or MIB) mint Midge for only $995. Out of your price range, how about your basic used doll Midge body for $9.99. 

Don't forget to try others with similar interests to you. There are hundreds of doll collectors clubs where you'll not only find what you're looking for, you'll become acquainted with all sorts of people with the same passion as you. They love to talk about what they collect..so you get a lot smarter too. 

Craigslist has a very cool feature that you may not know about. If you have a smart phone, download the app; Craigslist notification. You can have your phone send you a message every time someone near you lists your specific item. You don't have to hit CL every few hours and hunt under the category you hope someone has listed it in. Is it in toys, collectables, antiques, general? Nope, as soon as someone puts in "Midge" you get an alert. You're first in line!

If you collect a high end or super rare item, register with Liveauctioneers. They will send you every major auction from around North America every week. You won't miss out on that original Boris Karloff "Frankenstein" poster. You may have to pay deeply for it, but if it's the one piece you need to finish your collection? It's worth every penny.
 

I'm usually pretty open. One man's garbage etc, etc. But REALLY! Here it is, the link to the dumbest collection anywhere. Belly Button Lint! Yup, you read it correctly

http://www.feargod.net/fluff.html 

Wouldn't it be cool if we had a giant closet that we could throw our old stuff in when we were done with it? Or better yet, a time machine. Let's just throw out all the old crap that just takes up room and no one could possibly ever want, like the old computer games, those annoying cell phones that used to be the size of small children,  all your old computer components, all those stupid He-Man dolls. Uh...wait, you may have thrown out about $20,000 worth of "junk".

People collect nostalgia. For some, that's the 50's where they remember the Bonanza lunchboxes. For others it's the 60's, the era of the Beatles. Of course you 40 somethings remember the 70's, where you saw the first video game Atari's "Pong". It was soooo cool. It beeped and this white rectangle bounced back and forth and...well that's kind of all it did. Well that system now sells upwards of $300. If you were an 70's baby, you were there when the first Apple computer came out. Steve Jobs only created about 200 of the first Apple 1's. One recently sold for $374,500. What about you 80's kiddies.  Well, in November of 1984 the first cell phone available to the public became available. It sold for an incredible $3995. People lined up around the block to buy one. It was portable (2.2 lbs) in name only. You can still find this phone for about $120. Will it ever get back to the original selling price? Who knows, but you can be assured that being the first of an iconic item that changed history, it won't go down in price. How about calculators, when they first came out they were over $100. Now they give them away in cereal. Do some homework and find out who put our the first ones. How about MP3 players, old walkmans? 

Now not all of us want to save old electronics. Quality and rarity are hallmarks when it comes to collectables regardless if it is old toys or fine china. Watch for the first of any item. A copy of Sports Illustrated #1 is about $125. SI # 2, about $10. There's only a few weeks between them. People want the first of anything. 
As I wrote last week, condition is imperative. It can't be overstated how important this is. NIB (new in box) can increase value 20 or 30 fold. 
Here's one to try. Asian art, especially Chinese is increasing in value in leaps and bounds. When the Peoples's Republic decided to give the Chinese more freedom and in turn many Chinese became extremely wealthy, a lot of these new millionaires decided to start buying back much of the exported jade and collectable pottery and decoratives. Most good quality Chinese art has increased about 300 to 400 percent in the last decade.

So think of those things that made you smile as a kid. Many of them are now collectables. Now think of what makes your kids smile. That may be the new "hot" collectable. By the way, the original He-man in box ($450)!

Quite simple really. Take the plunge! You've decided to start or restart your collection. There are several things to consider. First (or second, you can rearrange them all you like), ROOM. My suggestion to you is even if you've always wanted to collect vintage 1950's Chevys, if you live in a townhouse and own a single parking stall, probably not  a good idea. Maybe change your focus to the chrome name tags from  those same 50's cars. Not nearly so much room and they do look way cool on old fridge or feature wall. If you're stuck for room, allow yourself a small space devoted to your collection. When it's full, reconsider either more space or selling some pieces and changing up the look.  Are you trying to build around a theme? If for instance you are collecting Marilyn Monroe, look for varied items, some choice pieces. Instead of collecting every book you can find on Marilyn; of which there are thousands, think maybe about investing in a signed piece and 3 or 4 specific books. Your collection will be more interesting to you and anyone who sees it. You could try to find a few small photos instead of one of the billion run posters. Put them on the shelf with the books and the framed signature and you have the start of a really interesting collection. Try and keep it all together when showing it, not scattered amongst several rooms. Far more impact when your stuff stays together.


The other major hurdle is budget. Everyone's on one so try and stick with it. Your budget may allow you to pick up a dress worn by Marilyn in "Some Like it Hot" for around $100,000 or you may want to select only items that cost under $10. There are literally hundreds of thousands of items available and your collection will never be complete. 

OK, number one thing to consider. Condition, condition, condition. If you are buying a piece only to fill in till you can find a better one, good, no problem. But if you have your choice between a 5 and an 8, always try and go for the 8 even if it costs a lot more money. When you go to sell your item (I know, you never will) you will get much, much more for it. Example; Bobby Orr rookie card.  You can buy a 2 or 3 graded card for between $500-$1000. There is currently one on Ebay rated 10, mint gem. $250,000. I know, a lot for a card but it proves my point on buying the best possible example you can afford. Especially true for old furniture, unfinished, unrestored, and unrepaired examples can bring 10 and 20  times the price of the redone cousin. 

It's very simple really. The basic reason anyone collects is because they like something. They have an affinity for it. This should be your primary reason. The only way you will truly be able to grow a collection is to learn as much as you can about the subject. The only way you can continue to learn is to have a passion for the subject. Whether you collect signed Star Trek comics (mine, on the left, all signed by the penciller Gordon Purcell) or military buttons, it doesn't matter. There are so many resources out there that you will soon find that you are becoming an expert on your subject. 
One of the other reasons I like to collect is that I get to share. Just recently I started my granddaughter  into the coin collecting field. Your hobby can be inexpensive and easy to accumulate (try finding a penny from every year since WW11, I bet you can do it in a month) to ridiculously expensive (high end and rare art). If you've ever tried finding a common interest with a 12 year old girl you'll find you may be able to create a conversation starter. You could interest her in Justin Bieber posters! I bet you get her attention then. Take a son or a daughter to a garage sale and give them $5. Ask them to find their one favourite thing. I guarantee you'll have that kid begging to go with you again. (Don't put any restrictions on them, you can do some research with them later).
You don't have to justify your collection to anyone. It's for you, no one else. Possibly the most enjoyable part of collecting is getting close to finishing part of a collection. You only need the Pavel Bure rookie card from the 1991 Upper Deck series to finish you collection of "Every Russian Rookie Card of every Russian that  ever played in the NHL" See, you just made up your own category! Even if no one else has ever collected a specific set like this, you can. You know what? You just became the expert on Russian Rookie cards. 
Many people collect because it brings back memories. Old toys, dolls, lunch boxes, TV related memorabilia; you'll end up collecting what you remember, what made you feel good when you were a kid. You grew up in the 60's? Your favourite show was Bonanza? You can collect cards, pistols, lunch kits, plates, knives, autographs, clothing, props, etc, etc.  Your only limit is your imagination and your budget. (Quite often, your budget takes a kicking). 
In short, you can collect anything your heart desires. If you'r e like me, you'll have several collections. Some are small, some large, some complete and some will never be finished. Some I'll grow tired of and sell, some I'll keep forever.  So if you're looking for a place to talk about collecting and need a question answered, I'll be pleased to try and answer it for you. I may not know it off the top of my head, but I get to find out the answers and learn some more about some other kind of collecting. Hope to see you or hear from you soon. Thecollectordude!

Watch for the next post "How to start a collection"

It’s simple; you should care because you get something very valuable - for free . . . knowledge - and experience. What started out as a hobby 40 years ago has turned into an almost full time obsession. As a youngster, like many small boys I collected hockey cards. They were cheap, plentiful and they came with free gum! What could be better?

In the 4 decades since, my love of collecting objects only intensified. Stamps, magazines, watches, coins, books and onto antiques, signs, sporting goods, it really didn’t matter. Whatever I could organize and sort, catalogue and collect, I wanted it. There were 2 things that soon became abundantly clear. I needed more room - or more money. One of the things I needed to make clear to myself was: “why am I doing this?’ Is it for the chase, or because I wanted to make money? The answer was clear . . . I wanted BOTH. Once I established that in my mind it made it much easier to collect not only what I loved, but what I could resell.

I’ve been eBaying since 1997. I’ve sold everything from scrimshaws to Christmas lights, silverware to signs and everything between. The biggest item I’ve ever eBayed is the ultimate collectable: MacGyver’s float home from the 80’s TV show. This item was listed in May of this year and had over 126,000 views from around the world! I’ve made over $10,000 on a single item that I could mail in an envelope. I visit at least 3 auctions a week. I Craigslist, I Kijiji, I flea-market, I garage sale, I do liquidation sales, estate sales, clear-out sales, final sales and fire sales.

The purpose behind this blog is simple. I want others to enjoy this weird hobby as much as I do. I will try to organize the entire collectable (or “collectible”, both spellings are acceptable) hobby into workable bites. You will find out how to, where to, when to, why to and most importantly, why not? I’ll show you how to find the money, the time and the inclination. I’ll show you how to research, price, buy, organize and catalogue. Most importantly I’ll show you how to have fun. Welcome aboard. Come on in and play!