All the new collectibles can be very alluring and just begging to be taken home with you. But before you put down cold cash, think about it a bit and do some research. Are you collecting for later appreciation or just because you love the items? Are you looking for something that is seasonal and decorative?

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: n a

Here's How:

1. Collect what you really love and the rest of the tips won't matter.

1. Do not purchase new collectibles with the idea of sending your kids to college on the proceeds. Many new items are made in the many, many thousands and will never be worth more and sometimes, even what, you paid for them down the line. They often depreciate in price and value.
2. If interested in Limited Editions, check the edition size. The smaller the number, the more limited it is. A limited edition of 10,000 is not very limited. An edition that is limited to a year or a time is even less limited!
3. If values are a concern to you, check out the prices of other items from that company to see how value has held up. Look at auction prices of items from previous years to see how much they might have gone down in value or, hopefully, increased in value.
4. Join the Collectors Club (most manufacturers have them) to get items only for club members, these are at least limited to just number of collectors in the group.
5. Save all the boxes and packing from your collectibles. It's always worth much more with the original box if you sell the item later on. Most times values plummet without the original boxes and/or even the packing materials.

1. Do not remove any price tags from boxes or tags from collectible. Or carefully snip them and store in original box. Removed tags will take away from the values of many items, but I don't like to see store tags on the items I display, so I remove them.
2. Some collectibles SHOULD be NRFB (Never Removed From Box) to retain their value. But is it really a collectible if you don't enjoy it? Or is it an inventory. Think about it.

Tips:

1. Collect Only what You Love.
2. Enjoy your items by displaying them, boxed up collectibles are just not fun!
3. Many items issued under the term 'collectibles' are produced by the many thousands, they will never appreciate greatly in value, if at all.
4. Remember -- if the company calls an item a collectible, it usually isn't.