You may have read my recent post covering a recent newspaper article on one man’s Action Man Collection. If it is your intention to invest in collectibles like this, you should spend some time researching which items are worth buying, as not all items will actually have an investment value. So today, I have a word of warning.
Some manufacturers will market what they’re selling as ‘limited edition’ collectables. This should set alarm bells ringing the moment you see the phrase! It’s often little more than a promotional ploy to encourage sales.
Just because a manufacturer says something is a ‘limited edition’ item (and, by implication, is valuable and worth having), doesn’t mean it is.
You’ll even see the phrase ‘limited edition’ all over some plastic movie action figures in toyshops – and 100,000s of those are probably being produced. In a strictly legal sense, it may be a ‘limited edition’ but they are limited to so many that they’ll never sell out and will still be being found in backstreet shops’ bargain bins in five or ten years!
A useful tip - the more you see something advertised, the less likely it is to turn into a valuable alternative investment. If big money’s being spent on advertising, the manufacturer has a lot of items to sell!
For more tips and ideas on alternative investments, have a look at The Alternative Investor.
No comments:
Post a Comment