[the-royal-mail]

I'm sure we must have some hobbyists on here such collectors of coins and other valuables. Have you considered collectibles as an investments? What is the consensus out there? Good idea or not? Opinions encouraged but remember to tell us WHY you feel that way.

 

[ssimps]

I know someone that collects paintings and purchases not just for the art but also as an investment. Not cheap to get into based on what he buys, but I guess if you know what you are doing it can be a very good long term investment, and you get to truly enjoy it while you hold it.

Not something I am interested in though.

 

[Dr_V]

I'm sure we must have some hobbyists on here such collectors of coins and other valuables. Have you considered collectibles as an investments?

A close friend of mine was a collector of various things. He had a huge (and financially-meaningful) collection of comic books, as well as a great coin collection, and a beautifully-conditioned 1964-and-a-half mustang.

He never collected any of these things as investments -- he collected them because he enjoyed doing it. He bought (and kept) Superman #30 because he remembered seeing it in the store when he was a kid. He bought (and kept) Spiderman #11 because he liked that comic when he was young. He let me read -- and keep -- a few of his older Justice League comics, which are fascinating to me not because of the financial value but because I find enjoyment in them and they remind me of him.

Over time, as he divested himself of most of these collections, he looked back and said to me: "You know, I'm very lucky for having made money off of these things, but more than anything, I simply enjoyed having them." He made quite a lot of money off of these collections, but it was a very long time before he realized any financial return on them.

So, I guess that's the advice that I'd leave you with. Investing in these types of things are hard and (in my opinion) unlikely to yield reasonable returns in your lifetime. You're far better off collecting things only if you enjoy doing so.

K.

 

[bean438]

I hold the same opinion as Stephen Jarislowsky does:

Collectibles have no intrinsic value. They do not produce any income, and are simply worth what someone else is willing to pay for them.

If you enjoy collecting cars/stamps/comic books the do so. Maybe you get lucky and make some money in the end you can enjoy.

 

[Dana]

We collect a specific genre of art. I consider it an asset for the purposes of computing our net worth, but I do not consider it an investment from an-income-producing perspective. It is an investment in our quality of life since we enjoy having it and admiring it. If our kids are inclined, we would likely pass it on to them.

 

[Berubeland]

If you have a collection the first purpose must be to enjoy it.

This thread brings to mind that couple who were given a lot of art. They also bought a lot. They loved artists and just hung around them. They had a Warhol and some other very famous artist's pieces. They donated their collection for an amazing sum of money to a museum.

Do I remember their name - No
Do I remember the museum - No

In any case my point is that these people worked in very modest jobs and had modest income and just collected this stuff because the loved it.

I hope this description reminds someone of who the heck these people are because it's driving me crazy.

 

[humble_pie]

when living in france had some friends, a canadian professor on sabbatical w his wife & kids.

she was knowledgeable about antiques & they bought lots because, she said, french antiques from france would sell really well when they got back to ontario.

towards the end of sabbatical year they rented 40-foot container & somehow squashed this into the narrow 13th century street outside. Found that container was only half full so swanned into antique-buying-on-steroids mode in order to fill it up (shipping costs would remain the same.)

at one point they bought a gigantic pair of 15 foot high 20 feet wide wrought iron 18th century chateau gates & tossed into container.

things got crazier, they found out the expensive euro car they'd bought had to be kept in europe one extra day past their paid-for plane ticket home if they wanted to get the vehicle into canada duty-free.
so papa planned to stay over 1 night in paris & buy extra ticket home while family flew out on the charter.
anyway that's what he said about the night in paree.

in the midst of container packing confusion i explained my philosophy for living abroad with a young family. Take Only What You Can Fit In One Suitcase.

wife wrote me after they all traumatized back to ontario. They were having trouble selling the antiques. You Have The Right Idea, she wrote. Don't Ever Leave Home Without It.

 

[Berubeland]

Herb & Dorothy Vogel......

http://vogel5050.org/#about&page=2&image=1

finally I remembered