Collecting - what is it all about?

Collecting is a hobby that involves searching for, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that interest an individual collector. Collections can vary in many ways, such as the type and number of objects they contain, their purpose, and how they are presented. The possibilities for collecting are endless, and collectors have explored many of them. However, some subjects are more popular than others.

Collecting can be a hobby that starts in childhood and continues throughout one's life, or it can be picked up in adulthood. As collectors age, their goals may change. Some beginners start by purchasing items that they find appealing and then gradually learn how to build a collection. At the same time, others prefer to gain some knowledge about the field before making any purchases. The internet has become a global platform for collectors to connect, allowing many isolated enthusiasts to find like-minded individuals.

What's Collectible?

A collectible (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectible items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectibles and terms to denote those types. An antique is an old collectible. A curiosity is something deemed unique, unusual, or weird, such as a decorative item. A manufactured collectible is an item made specifically for people to collect.

Types of Collectibles

A "manufactured" collectible (often a contemporary collectible) is made specifically for people to collect. Examples of items commonly sold as collectibles include plates, figurines, bells, graphics, steins, and dolls. Some companies that produce manufactured collectibles are members of The Gift and Collectibles Guild.

Manufactured collectibles are products marketed as special editions, limited editions, or variants of these terms. They are used as a marketing incentive for various types of products. Initially, these terms were applied to products related to the arts, such as books, prints, or recorded music and films. However, they are now used for cars, fine wine, and other collectibles. A special edition usually includes extra material of some kind. On the other hand, a limited edition is restricted in the number of copies produced, although the number may be arbitrarily high.

Manufacturers and retailers use collectibles to increase sales in several ways. One of these ways is through licensed collectibles based on intellectual properties, such as images, characters, and logos from literature, music, movies, radio, television, and video games.

Collectibles have a significant role in licensing, which includes advertising, brand names, and character merchandise. Retailers also use collectibles as prizes, which are items of nominal value that come with a retail product at no additional cost, and premiums, which are items that can be obtained by redeeming coupons, boxtops, or proofs of purchase from the product along with a small fee to cover shipping and handling. Additionally, collectibles in the form of souvenirs have played a crucial role in tourism.

Collecting memorabilia is a significant field that has become a big business. It includes collectibles related to a person, organization, event, or media, such as T-shirts, posters, and other items marketed to fans. Additionally, it encompasses ephemera from historical, media, or entertainment events, which are items meant to be discarded but saved by fans and accumulated by collectors.

Valuable Collectibles?

Collectibles are items sought after for various reasons, such as their limited supply and the possibility of an increase in value. From a financial perspective, collectibles can be seen as a hedge against inflation. Over time, their value can also increase as they become rarer due to loss, damage, or destruction. However, investing in collectibles has drawbacks, such as the potential lack of liquidity, especially for obscure items. Additionally, there is a risk of fraud.

Contemporary collectible manufacturing witnessed significant growth from the 1960s to the early 1990s. While some people bought these collectibles for personal use, others purchased them as investments. As a result, speculative markets emerged for many of these items. Due to the high number of people buying for investment purposes, duplicates are common. Additionally, although many collectibles were marketed as "limited editions," the number of items produced was often large. As a result, there is little demand for many (but not all) items delivered during this period, and their market values are often low.

Collectibles in a Historical Context

The desire to gather unique and captivating objects is innate and not exclusive to humans, as seen in the bowerbird and pack rat. The Renaissance Cabinet of Curiosities was a precursor to modern museums and collecting. The earliest manufactured collectibles were given as incentives with other products, such as cigarette cards in packs. These popular items eventually developed a secondary market and sometimes sparked "collectible crazes." Over time, many collectible items were sold separately instead of being used as marketing tools to enhance the appeal of other products.

Manufacturers often create a series of collectibles to encourage collecting. Each item in the series is differentiated in some way, such as sports cards depicting individual players or different designs of Beanie Babies. Collectors aim to assemble a complete set of all the available variations.

Collector editions are another way of supporting collectibles. They typically are produced in limited amounts and contain additional content that can be valuable for a collector. This practice is prevalent primarily in video games and movies.

Products produced in smaller quantities before they became popular collectibles can sometimes be sold for very high prices on the secondary market. This is especially true for dolls and toys made during an adult collector's childhood. However, unless a collectible is extremely rare or one-of-a-kind in a mature market, it is unlikely to be an excellent investment.

Collectible items can be categorized as either antique or relatively recent. Antiques are at least 100 years old, while other collectibles can be of any age. "vintage" describes rather old collectibles that are not yet antiques. These items can be found in collections of manufactured goods.

Types of Collecting

Collections can be categorized based on the type of objects they contain. While most collections consist of manufactured commercial items, some collectors may collect natural objects such as birds' eggs, butterflies, rocks, and seashells. For certain collectors, including an object in their collection may not be based on its type but rather on some incidental property, such as the identity of its original owner.

Collectors can take different approaches to their collections. Some are generalists with broad inclusion criteria, while others focus on a specific subtopic within their area of interest. Some collectors aim to accumulate as many objects as possible that meet their collection's thematic and quality requirements. In contrast, others, known as completists or completionists, strive to acquire all items in a well-defined set that can be completed.

Some collectors prefer a limited number of items per category, such as one representative item per year of manufacture or place of purchase. Collecting items by country, such as having one collectible per country, is also common. The monetary value of objects is essential to some collectors but irrelevant to others. Additionally, some collectors prefer to maintain their objects in pristine condition, while others use the items they collect.

The Psychology of Collecting

Collecting items can be motivated by various psychological factors, which can positively or negatively affect the collector's life. Hoarding is often associated with a keen interest in the collected objects and what they represent. For instance, collecting postcards may indicate a fascination with different cultures and places. As a result, managing a collection can have educational benefits, and some collectors may even become experts in their chosen field.

Collecting items can be a calming activity that helps alleviate stress while providing a meaningful pursuit that prevents boredom. This hobby can lead to social connections between individuals with similar interests and is particularly popular among academics. Additionally, it can foster the development of new friendships.

Most people collect as a hobby, but for some, it can become a compulsion similar to obsessive hoarding. In some cases, children may inherit symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder from their parents, leading to a strong desire to collect things. Collecting can sometimes be a reflection of a fear of scarcity or a fear of discarding something that may be needed in the future.

According to Carl Jung, collecting is popular among people because it is linked to hunting and gathering, which was once essential for human survival. Collecting is also related to memory; the human brain needs to categorize and arrange information and give significance to one's actions.

The History of Collecting

Collecting is a practice that has been a part of human culture for thousands of years. In Mesopotamia, ordering was a pastime of royalty and elites as far back as the 3rd millennium BC. The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt collected books from all over the known world at the Library of Alexandria. During the Renaissance in Florence, the Medici family was the first to collect art through private patronage. This allowed artists to be free from the financial constraints imposed by the Church and Kings, and this tradition continues today with private art collectors. Many of the world's famous museums, such as the Metropolitan in New York City, the Thyssen in Madrid, and the Franz Mayer in Mexico City, have collections formed by the collectors who donated them for the general public to see.

The hobby of collecting is a modern version of the "cabinet of curiosities" that was popular among scholars from the 16th century onwards. They had the means and opportunities to acquire unusual items. George Thomason planned the collection of ephemeral publications during the reign of Charles I, and Samuel Pepys designed the collection of ephemeral publications during the reign of Charles II. Collecting engravings and prints by those who could not afford original works of art has been a practice for many centuries. The progress made in 18th-century Paris in collecting both works of art and curiosities was faintly echoed in English curiosities. The origins of the modern art market in Paris, Amsterdam, and London have been increasingly well-documented and studied since the mid-19th century.

In the later 19th century, as prosperity and leisure time increased for some in industrial countries, more people became involved in collecting activities. This was when ordering antique china, furniture, and decorative items from oriental countries became established. The Stanley Gibbons catalog, issued in November 1865, was the first price guide.