Reading the newspapers this week, it seems that during these uncertain times, the world of alternative investments has gone mad!
Earlier today I mentioned an article in the Sun newspaper (17th January 2012) reporting coin collecting has become a rising trend. I was so interested in this article that I almost forgot to mention another article in the very same newspaper!
A lovely story was printed about a toy enthusiast, Richard Briggs, who had been collecting Action Man memorabilia for some 12 years. According to the report, he now has an impressive collection of 150 items, many in original packaging, that he plans to sell for £10,000.00.
The report does not mention what he paid for the items, but I would imagine that he paid far less than the £10,000 he aims to bank!
Many collectables like these are linked with the collectors’ childhoods – they are nostalgia-driven. Unfortunately, we do not know whether Mr Briggs will achieve his goals, that will probably be down to whether or not he has his timing right when he comes to sell. As collectors age, and no new collectors come into the market, interest and prices fall away. Timing the sale is therefore just as important as the initial purchase.
Whether or not Mr Briggs has got his timing right and makes a profit now that he has come to sell, it would be fair to guess that his exposure to risk very low as he probably built up his investment with several small one off purchases over a long period time. Not only that he probably had great fun in building his collection!
If you like something, it can be both an investment and a pleasure. If it doesn’t increase in value quite as much as you’d like, you’ll still have had the pleasure of owning it, looking at it, touching it and displaying it makes alternative investments like this a form of investment that you can enjoy!
In the alternative investment world, investments like these are collectively termed as antiques and collectibles. You don’t have to invest in Chippendale furniture to be an investor of antiques!
If you would like to know more about this and other alternative investment ideas, why not visit The Alternative Investor.
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