[anonymous5133]

hahaha, this is so funny because I was cleaning out my closet and noticed the same thing. Even though the cards were 20-30 years old...they were basically worthless. I live in a high cost of living area so to me there is no point keeping them around taking up space. I must've tossed well over 10,000 cards into the trash.

Moral of the story: teach your kids how to invest in the stock market instead of them "investing" their money into collectibles. Teach your kids the value of investing early and encourage them to do it. They can still buy collectible toys but make sure to remind them that they won't be worth much in the future and to encourage them to buy stocks if they want to invest their money for the future.

[bluGill]

Invest in a collection because you like the collection. If you love baseball cards, the fact that a few years ago you paid $100 for a card that you could get for $1 today doesn't matter because you had that card to enjoy for those few years. Note that love is different from fad. If you just buy the card because everybody else is, with no enjoyment, then it is a loss.

My life is better for having a few collectibles around now. I could have instead invested the money spent, and it would have already doubled, and it would double a few more times before I die - since I don't enjoy collecting money in my bank account it would be a waste.

Don't get me wrong: I to enjoy financial security. I can't retire today (well I could, but I couldn't afford to live the life I want), but the money I'm setting aside for retirement is planned to be used to enjoy life when I retire.

[skookumchuck]

Sometimes I watch Antiques Roadshow and Strange Inheritance. The big scores people make still rarely justify their investment - investing in land or the stock market paid much better, and much more reliably.