At some point in many of our lives, we've tried to complete a collection of something. There's just something about having an incomplete set of collectibles that triggers this desire in our brains to go out and gather the rest of them.
But if we're truly honest with ourselves, many of the collectibles we've tried to amass, either as children or as adults, were ultimately rendered worthless. We spent all that time and money to finish the set only to realize that we wasted our resources.
So looking back on it, what are some of the most devalued collections out there? We checked out some of the collectibles up for auction on eBay (EBAY) and compared them against current selling prices for the same item on Amazon (AMZN) . Though the exorbitant prices at auction seem to indicate a robust demand for these items, the prices for those on sale through Amazon indicate majorly inflated price points from auctioneers. No one is dropping serious G's for Hummel figurines or Lladro statues. In fact, they're hardly spending peanuts. Here's our list of 15 collectibles that tend to be more worthless than not.
Hummel Figurines
Highest Price on eBay (as of 07/05/17): $7,000
Lowest Price on Amazon (as of 07/05/17): $19.12
These saccharine-sweet ceramic figurines first appeared in 1935 as three-dimensional representations of drawings by German nun Maria Innocentia Hummel.
When U.S. soldiers returned from Germany after World War II, they brought these keepsakes home for their wives and children. In the '60s and '70s, the figurines made their way into Hallmark stores and airport gift shops. As more Hummel figurines were produced and countless "special editions" were created, the resale value of these ceramics began to sink.
The supply of Hummels just keeps growing as the generations that collected Hummels pass away, leaving behind thousands of their diminishing-value dust-collectors.
Lladro Statues
Highest Price on eBay (as of 07/05/17): $15,000
