Sci-fi & Fantasy Memorabilia | Collectibles & Collectors Items

Collecting sci-fi or fantasy memorabilia is a hobby that can be enjoyed by many people, young and old, and has seen an increase in popularity over the past decade. This is largely due to the wider ranges available to collectors. The following guide is intended to help you decide which area to specialise in and how to take you first steps as a collector.

Your reasons for building a collection
Before you start thinking about how you will go about building your collection, you will need to define your goals. Are you the type of person that would like to collect, with the intention of building a profitable collection or are you just interested in the sci-fi or fantasy culture as a whole? This is an important question that needs to be answered before you start and will dictate the way in which you plan and build your collection.

Research your area of interest
No matter what your reasons are for building a comprehensive sci-fi collection, you will need to research your intended area to ensure success. This is especially important for those individuals who intend to build a collection to make a future profit. When you begin to complete your research you will find that collectibles values differ vastly from product to product. Generally value will be closely linked to uniqueness and demand. New collectors could find themselves spending a great deal of time and effort building a collection that just doesn't produce profits so researching your genre of choice is critical. This is however of less importance to those collectors who are building a collection because of their attraction to the subject. For these individuals future value may not be high on the list.

Your buying options
Your next step will be to investigate your buying options; this will definitely save you time and money in the future. Collectibles can be purchased from a number of different sources including toy and hobby shops, speciality shops and from collectible dealers (found on or off-line). Use the internet to not only search for potential sources but also to find out where other collectors have been buying from. Buying collectibles from some of the larger shops such as department stores can be great for children or collectors starting out but they will usually be stocking mass produced items. This will have a detrimental effect on value so if you are aiming to build a more valuable collection go for the smaller, more unique locations.

Another excellent option when looking to build your collection would be the various sci-fi and fantasy trade shows or conventions hosted throughout the country. These events will typically focus on buying, selling and trading in all areas of science fiction, so you can find some excellent (and often very rare) products that may not be available anywhere else. These events will often be advertised in magazines, hobby/toy shops and online at many of the sci-fi or fantasy enthusiast sites, and are a great way of communicating with other collectors. You will find that many collectors will be only too happy to offer their views on what to collect, or to give you a nudge in the right direction if that is what you need.

How much to pay
When purchasing items to add to a collection, it is important to focus on the price to be paid for such pieces. You will of course want to ensure that you are not overpaying for collection pieces, even if they do seem to be valuable or unique items. It is therefore important to have a view towards long-term profits, even if that is not your main goal. This is again where your research skills come into their own.

There are many ways in which to research costs and future values. Try, not only to focus on selling prices, but also product availability. Items which are hard to find will generally increase in value as time goes on. Check the various online auctions and sci-fi collector sites. Most of the time, you can gauge the value of the collectible by comparing all of the available sources. Also bear in mind that sometimes the seller may not be an enthusiast like yourself, so you may be able to pick up a bargain if you are in the right place at the right time.

Use the contacts that you have built whilst investigating your buying options to bounce figures off. Impartiality is often the key and you may wish to join online forums which will enable you to ask fellow collectors for their unbiased opinions.

The basic guidelines above are aimed to give you a good start to your sci-fi or fantasy collecting adventure. Even if you only follow a few of the pointers you should be well on your way to building a personally and financially valuable collection to be proud of.