If you decide to pursue a business idea selling on eBay and would like to specialize in collectibles, this article will explore 11 types of collectibles that have massive profit margins on eBay.
It’s really smart idea if you are going to specialize in a certain type of collectible to sell on eBay, to choose an item type that is in demand and promises high profit margins.
So what are some of these types of items?
In no particular order we’re going to briefly look at Disney collectibles, topographical postcards, casino memorabilia, vintage board games, gloves, magic tricks, Christmas collectibles, royal collectibles, bottles, vanity collectibles and vintage photographs.
Now I learned about these very profitable types of collectibles from the bonus ebook “Some Of The Easiest Collectibles To Sell On eBay For Massive Profit Margins” that I received from Avril Harper as part of her
collectibles package of info
on selling vintage postcards, photographs and collectibles on eBay.
Avril is also the author of the
Mags To Riches ebook,
which I highly recommend if you are interested in selling old prints, vintage ads and other paper ephemera on eBay.
But in Avril’s collection of info on collectibles there are 3 ebooks in this package, the main one being about topographical postcards, another ebook devoted to vintage photographs and the third about the rest of the collectibles I mentioned above.
And the funny thing is Avril doesn't even mention on the informational page that you get these two bonus ebooks with the postcards ebook. Hopefully she'll change that soon because the bonus ebooks are just as valuable if not more so than the postcards ebook.
Now while I will briefly cover each of these collectibles here if you seriously want to learn more about any of these items, Avril’s ebooks provide a wealth of information, research and ideas to help you on the road to becoming an expert buyer and seller in whatever area you choose to specialize in.
And it is good to specialize in just one or a few related areas when you sell collectibles or really anything on eBay.
It helps you narrow your focus and devote your learning time to just a few subjects and you can become master of a few areas instead of only knowing a little about a lot of different collectibles.
Plus when you become an expert on something, you start to attract a devoted following of buyers on eBay because these collectors know they can trust you and your knowledge of your subject.
So let’s continue on with each of these different types of collectibles.
1. Disney Collectibles
The market for Disney collectibles on eBay is massive and it has even coined it’s own category term “Disneyana”.
Disneyana is used to apply to items related to Walt Disney, his characters and his worldwide operations and it’s one of the fastest growing and most profitable categories on eBay to devote a business too – if you know what you are doing.
The problem with Disney collectibles much as any other collectible category is finding the precious among the thousands of different product types produced by and related to Disney.
If you check the Disneyana category on eBay you will find numerous sub-categories listing many of these different types of items and that’s a great place to begin your research to see what items really are in demand and fetch the highest prices.
2. Vintage Photographs
Avril has a complete ebook devoted to just this topic and after reading it I can see why.
There are reasons why some vintage photographs are worth lots of money on eBay and why some only bring a pittance or don’t sell at all.
Some of the most popular and best selling photos are related to a number of subjects, of which a few that she discusses in her book are: circus, Civil War related, Chinese, historical celebrities.
There are many more but this will give you some ideas and when you start to research this category you will find that these are the types of photos that can really hit the jackpot with some going in the $1000’s of dollars.
Another thing that increases a vintage photo’s demand is if it was taken by a notable photographer, some of whom are also listed in this book, along with the type of processing and size format.
And vintage photographs are usually some of the most profitable items to buy and can be more easily found at estate sales and even in lots on eBay itself.
This is a good opportunity for
eBay arbitrage
if you know what you are looking for.
3. Vintage Topographical Postcards
Did you know that postcards are the third most popular collectible in the world, right behind coins and stamps?
And postcard collecting even has it’s own moniker – deltiology!
I’ve even dabbled in this market myself, and after reading Avril’s info regarding this subject I am excited to see what treasures I might unearth once the summer estate sale and auction season gets into swing again.
Avril has devoted one of the ebooks in this set entirely to this subject and she also includes a chapter in the bonus ebook about massive profit margin collectibles because she is so knowledgeable about this subject.
It’s hard to go wrong with selling vintage postcards on eBay if you know what to look for. And the most popular are Real Photo Postcards, especially postcards depicting topographical places of interest.
As an example of this I bought a postcard that wasn’t even really old, from the 1950’s and it showed the corner intersection of the highways of Cumberland Gap, where 3 states join together. I bought it for $1.00 and it sold on eBay for $12.00.
Now older postcards with interesting locations can really fetch money on eBay. Railroad and ships are especially popular and I’ve seen final auction prices in the $100’s of dollars.
There is a lot to learn about which types of postcards to look for though, if you start to research on eBay you’ll see lots of postcards not selling or only going for a dollar.
If you decide to specialize in this category, do your research and know what to look for. Besides topographical postcards, animals, Halloween, and blue Santa Claus postcards are other types of cards that can bring in good money.
4. Casino & Gambling Memorabilia
This is an interesting market, and one where the items don’t necessarily have to be old to make money.
In the chapter in Avril’s ebook about casino items she even talks about how you can source certain casino related items from one overseas and sell them on eBay US for a profit.
So while vintage items related to gambling such as gaming boards, roulette wheels and slot machines are good sellers, there is a lot of opportunity for more readily available items such as poker chips.
And casino related postcards, posters and photo memorabilia items are also in demand and sell well on eBay.
5. Vintage Board Games
I think you will find this a fun and fascinating category to explore as I did. And vintage board games bring very high prices on eBay. This is not only because of the collectible nature of the item, but because games were so well loved and used that not many remain in good condition today.
Different era’s and different types of games all have their popularity, and you will have to do your research (or read Avril’s ebook) to learn more about this subject.
Some things that set popularity and determines bidding prices of vintage board games is the materials used in the manufacturer such as wood or mother of pearl, who the manufacturer was, and of course the subject of interest of the board game.
6. Gloves
Now this may sound like a fairly broad category, and it is, but the types of gloves that are popular on eBay and that have great profit margins are old vintage and antique gloves, along with sports related gloves.
These can be fashion gloves or sporting gloves such as for hawk handling or playing polo, along with other more contemporary vintage gloves such as boxing gloves.
This is another fascinating topic to research and read about and you’d be surprised at the different types of collectible gloves for sale on eBay, and some of the prices they go for, such as a pair of gloves from the Apollo 17 Space Mission that went for $4,000.00.
7. Magic Tricks
Magic enthusiasts are very devoted to their hobby and you’ll find a great market for magic collectibles on eBay.
An especially lucrative way to use this business idea is to find old magic trick books in the
Public Domain
and turn the information into books, cd’s and dvd’s to sell on eBay and/or on a website of your own.
In her ebook Avril mentions that she has regular listings of reproduced vintage magic books from the Public Domain listed for about $25.00 each and she regularly sells about 4 to 5 a week.
This is just one product to imagine what you could do if you had a number of products reproduced from the public domain?
And the nice thing is once you have the original book and have scanned it and made it ready for printing whether it’s in book format or on a cd, you simply have to make a copy every time someone purchases it and ship it out.
This means you don’t have to keep finding new stuff to sell and this is a great way to build a business on eBay and
with a website.
Now according to Avril the most popular sellers on eBay are card tricks and once you located a good source of material you could sell entire books, just a selection of tricks, or even a DVD of yourself or a magician demonstrating and teaching the card tricks.
Avril has lots more ideas, resources and info for this business idea, and of course vintage magic memorabilia and other similar items are also good sellers to research on eBay.
8. Christmas Collectibles
This is a fun category to specialize in, who doesn’t love Christmas?
And there is good profit in some types of Christmas collectibles. Who would think a antique cardboard swan ornament from 1890 would fetch almost $2,000 on eBay in 2007? But it did.
Now of course this is a more seasonal market, but some Christmas collectibles sell all year round.
But if you do decide to pursue a business idea around Christmas collectibles, perhaps you’ll want to include specialization in other seasons as well.
Halloween collectibles are very hot on eBay too, and you could research other seasons such as Valentines, etc., to see what is in demand.
Now Christmas ornaments are the most popular collectibles In this category, especially mouth-blown, hand-painted glass ornaments.
But you’ll find other small niches of more contemporary vintage Christmas that do well here too such as retro era items like aluminum trees, kitschy electronics and more.
There are also more modern era collectibles to look at to such as popular Christmas villages sets and pieces by Department 56, and ornaments from Radko.
9. Royal Collectibles
Princess Diana is probably the first royal personage you would think of here as having a healthy following and high collectibles market, and you would be right.
But this area is a lot more vast, encompassing eras and countries all over the world.
The Victorians especially loved royal collectibles and begin the manufacturing and collecting craze of royalty memorabilia such as plates, photos and paper items.
But before that begin coin and stamp collecting and today there is a vast amount of items and markets for royalty collectibles.
But again, you have to know your market and learn about this specialty. Avril’s ebook set is a great place to start, especially since you learn about these numbers of different types of collectibles to see if any interest you before spending money on purchases or more information.
10. Bottles
This is another huge market with a variety of items ranging from fancy perfume bottles, snuff bottles, old advertising related bottles, alcohol, food, medicine, baby milk, snuff and even poison.
And what the bottle held isn’t the only thing that makes it popular and brings in high prices on eBay, even into the $1,000’s of dollars.
It can be the manufacturer, the type of glass, the shape, the printing on the bottle and more.
And this is another area I found fascinating and also another area that presents some possible eBay arbitrage opportunities.
11. Vanity Items
This is another huge and profitable market, vanity and dressing table items.
And because there are so many collectibles in sub-categories under this main category you could find several areas alone just to specialize in such as hat pins, trinket boxes, ornamental hair combs, shaving utensils, powder boxes, hand mirrors and much, much more.
This subject is also fascinating to read about, and Avril also lists resources and guides that you can find to learn even more about some of these collectibles.
I hope you enjoyed and were inspired to learn more about some of the amazing collectibles markets that present an opportunity for a selling on eBay business and again I highly recommend
Avril Harper’s series of ebooks
if you seriously want to research this more.
Avril has put together years and years of research, experience and expertise as a buyer and seller both in traditional flea market and auction venues, and as a seller on eBay into these books.
You receive 228 pages of valuable information, advice, pictures, resources, tips and more that would be almost impossible to find anywhere else all together like this.
Good Luck with your selling on eBay endeavors, and Happy Treasure Hunting!
