People collect the strangest things.

Collecting can be a sickness.

Yeah, yeah, I know, people collect things of the era of their childhood. And people collect things to match their dwellings… yada, yada.

So I’m sitting here, half dizzy from turbo lister crashes while sending my eBay listings and it strikes me to write a blog on the strangest reason that people collect things. Why not right? I mean all of us, even those only partially in the biz know the most common reasons people collect, but what about that 3 to 5% of the collecting population that just don’t fit. What about those who practically flip into a rendition of Biblical Toungues when they see a scarce shrunken head from Walla Walla or a blank back version of a 1970s Topps Baseball card… what about THOSE collectors.

Ok, now the first thing I want to say, is that I didn’t write this so that some of you out there could try to take advantage of such spirited collectors and completely seperate them from all their cash. No fair, don’t be out in the field doing things you don’t want done to you, Karma doesn’t like that.

In my years of selling to the public, here are some of the strangest reasons, at least in my opinion, why people collect what they do. Now if you happen to collect for one of these reasons, I want to say that A: To each their own, I am just looking for the unusual here to make for a fun blog. And B, you are welcome at my auctions anytime!

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here we go.

Some people collect things because they are obsessive compulsive completists. They just absolutely cannot stand to have holes in their collection of any kind. If they collect mason jars, they have every type ever made, your even likely to find a few with Gramma’s stewed ‘maters in them because well…they’re completists. (Those ARE stewed tomatos,… aren’t they?)

On one hand it can be a dealers boon to find these people to sell to because they will pay very well if you’ve got something they don’t have. On the other hand because they’re completists, they may very well have the one you want to sell them, and they rarely or never collect duplicates, no sale there. Know your collector.

Some people collect things that came from famous crash sites or tragedies. Yup, I know, but that’ just me and you that feel that way. To them, it’s part of history. Maybe they get a thrill living vicariously throught the items, chaining themselves someway to incredible events. Can you imagine having the bullet that took the life of Lincoln, or a copy of an executive order to send troops to abroad. Fragmented glass from Diana’s Limousine.

If all of these things make you shiver, your not alone. But some people collect things like these items and will often pay big bucks for an item to add to their collection. If you pick for this type of collector keeping within the law and your moral boundries would be the challenges here.

Some people collect things they think are haunted. Similar to the prior catagory I mentioned, yet in it’s own realm of collecting for sure. I’m not so sure there was much of a market for haunted items before eBay. Remember that “Posessed” doll brought outrageous money?

That eBay auction sent tons of sellers scouring their houses, looking for Barbies that had been to close to the heater in the basement, or the GI with hair that you shaved… yeah, this looks haunted. Then you put it up and it brings one 99 cent bid and you have to ship it to Bulgaria. But why did someone pay the mega bucks for the damn Ghost in a Jar, or the haunted dolls, music boxes and other items? Who knows?

Why do you collect?