Each year, a new wave of collectibles hits the market. While they may be mass-produced, value is assigned based on overall rarity and popularity, making some a bit pricier than others. As a kid, you may see toys and collectibles and become convinced that they could make you rich.
Here, we are going to take a look at some classic toys and collectibles that we all thought would make us rich one day. We’ll also go over whether they truly became valuable or not. This list will primarily focus on items from the ’90s and 2000s, as these decades have tons of iconic collectibles.
8Beanie Babies
If you were around during the Beanie Baby boom, then you are familiar with the craze surrounding them. At first glance, these are just cute little stuffed animals with an iconic tag. Not all Beanie babies are created equally, though, especially if they went on to be discontinued.
During peak popularity, everyone was buying Beanie Babies in hopes of getting rich. Was it actually possible though? It depends onwhich ones you happened to get your hands on. Generic Beanie Babies aren’t valuable, but after a quick search, we found a retired Princess Diana memorial bear (named Princess) going for a whopping $19,000 USD.
7Pokemon Cards
Imagine opening a new pack of Pokemon cards as a kid and catching a glimpse of something shiny. Could this be a rare and valuable card? The idea of owning a valuable Pokemon card was enticing, leading to people collecting even if they didn’t actually play the card game.
Now, there are a lot of Pokemon packs and cards out there, with many being a bit worthless. Still, you can find some cards selling for hundreds of dollars. Newer cards can be valuable, but it’s common to find Pokemon cards from the ’90s with a hefty price.
6PEZ Dispensers
PEZ dispensers were simply just little toys that held the rectangular PEZ candy. They had the same basic shape, but each one could have a different ‘character’ on top. Personally, I received a Lord of the Rings PEZ set and didn’t even take them out of the box, as I was convinced that it would be valuable one day.
This Lord of the Rings PEZ set is, unsurprisingly, not a valuable collectible yet.
For the most part, PEZ never really became an extremely valuable collectible, but that didn’t stop us from getting them only to never open the packaging. If you’ve never owned a PEZ dispenser, you can still buy one and save it for a few decades.
5Hot Wheels
We’ve all gone to the store as a kid and passed by the Hot Wheels display in awe. Everything about Hot Wheels was enticing. Not only did the toy feature real cars, but there were unique crossovers as well. Who didn’t want a Mystery Machine Hot Wheels?
Interestingly,some Hot Wheels cars go for a lot of money. By this, we mean a few thousand dollars. As with Beanie Babies, not every single car was a hit. If you managed to get a rare one though, you could make a considerable amount of money.
4Barbie
Barbie dolls make great toys, but every year, Mattel releases a holiday Barbie. This collectible seems to have started in the late ’80s, with yearly holiday Barbies still releasing. While a yearly, limited collectible sounds like it would be worth a lot, these Barbies are too expensive.
Rather than being limited in terms of quantity, they were limited based on when you could buy them. This means that each holiday season, thousands of people could buy the Barbie. We found a few listings for the 1993 doll, all going for under $50 USD.
3Alternative Monopoly Versions
If you were plugged into the Monopoly world in the early 2000s, then you may know that there aretons of versions of this classic board game. Some of them were described as limited or special, so who’s to say they wouldn’t be valuable one day?
Personally, I thought that my SpongeBob Monopoly would become valuable one day, though this never came to be. You can find a few rare Monopoly listings online, but for the most part, this didn’t become a desirable collectible.
2Mighty Beanz
This may be a bit more niche than previous entries on our list, but do you remember Mighty Beanz? These pill-shaped toys launched in 2006 and were originally intended to race down tracks (each Bean had a weight in it that caused it to tumble forward).
I had a binder-sized Mighty Beanz carrying case with dozens of them strapped to the sides.
The real fun came with the designs on the Mighty Beanz. Each bean had a different design, ranging from original characters to icons like Elvis or the Hulk. In 2005, a Pokemon set of Mighty Beanz launched; we found a full set on sale (60 Beanz) for $300 USD.
1Furby
Last but not least, we have Furby. This little furry toy was released in 1998 and could talk. Interestingly, they initially spoke in Furbish, but gradually switched to English, as if they were learning. Sure, many people bought Furby as a simple toy, but if you had an eye for collecting, then you may have picked up a few with the hopes of getting rich… eventually.
The original Furby went for around $35 USD, but now, you can find rare versions listed for over $100 USD. You can still buy Furbies, but they don’t have the same eerie look to them, giving older ones a charm that many people desire.
