Top 10 Vintage Collectibles in Your Attic You Can Sell For a Profit

#10: Crayons

One may not immediately think of common crayons as a high-value item for resale, but the actual history of Crayola colors is anything but common, believe it or not. Vintage boxes and styles of crayons can be worth a little bit of coin, all these years removed from Crayola’s early twentieth-century origins. Their ticket value doesn’t generally range in the thousands or anything, but five-hundred-bucks for an old school box of crayons isn’t a bad deal, right? Or, you could just pass on your parents or grandparents' love of coloring on to a new generation. There’s no wrong answer here to be found.

#9: Retro Video Games

The reasoning behind why some video games can be worth more than others usually comes down to their availability. A retro cartridge for 1986’s “Stadium Events” is rare because it was intended to be utilized alongside a Nintendo peripheral called the Family Fun Fitness mat. This attempt by Bandai to merge physical fitness with video gaming failed. As a result, its compatible games, such as “Stadium Events” and “Athletic World,” became worth a significant amount. There are also other rare games, such as the gold “Nintendo World Championships” cartridge from 1990, one that was developed for a marketing tour and competition. Or “Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer” from 1994, which was developed for another failed peripheral, the Exertainment System.

#8: Timepieces

Just because we can all tell the time from the cell phones in our pockets doesn’t mean that the status symbol of a vintage timepiece has diminished all that much. After all, fancy watches continue to impress us on the whole. A flashy accessory that can easily tie together an outfit, making the wearer feel and look important. This makes old school Rolexes or rare, less mass-produced timepieces even more desirable in the hearts and minds of collectors. Watches such as the Tiffany & Co. Patek Philippe from 1954 sell for over $600,000 at auctions.

#7: Handbags

Jane Birkin was a famous singer, actress, and style icon who became famous in France after first emerging as an “it girl” from Swinging London. Birkin’s chic look became so beloved and idolized that famed fashion house Hermès would name an equally iconic handbag in her honor. The Birkin Bag remains a major status symbol today. So, it sort of goes without saying that vintage styles and colors from the 1980s would retain their value. Jane Birkin may have died in 2023, but the wonder of her legacy lives in her recorded work, film appearances, and these ultra valuable bags that bear her name.

#6: Board Games

Condition is often everything when it comes to hunting down those rare antiques at home, in flea markets, or at estate sales. The board games we used for family game night are usually found to be missing pieces by the time we get around to digging them out from the attic or basement. Then again, if you were the type of kid who kept a lot of these games intact and away from mold or mildew… then you just may be in luck. Cult classics like Fireball Island can net a savvy seller a nice payday on the secondhand market, while rarer or limited edition variants of games like Monopoly can also prove to be quite profitable.

#5: Recalled Action Figures

We’re probably all aware of how much those old school “Star Wars” figures from the 1970s can be worth today, particularly if they’re still in the package, or one of the rare, recalled variants. There are other, perhaps less obvious examples of recalled toys that can still be found out there in the wild. Kenner’s ill-advised toy tie-in to the 1979 “Alien” movie comes to mind, a merchandising disaster that saw parents taking a lot of offense to these frightening xenomorphs entering their happy homes. Stragglers from this recalled line have predictably skyrocketed in value, and can often be seen fetching upwards of four-digit figures in good condition.

#4: Cookie Jars

Never underestimate the value of nostalgia. It doesn’t even matter that items such as cookie jars used to hold food in them - they’re still a market for second-hand copies of rarer pieces. This is another niche item where the value can fluctuate, but it’s the relative innocuousness of cookie jars that can make identifying the rare ones difficult for all but the most seasoned antique detectives. Elsewhere, vintage Pyrex or other kitchenware gadgets can also serve as a source of alternative income for those intrepid enough to seek them out!

#3: Baseball Cards

A classic never truly goes out of style, right? Folks have been collecting baseball cards for generations, passing down their love of this hobby to their kids and grandkids. As a result, there continue to be numerous “holy grail cards” that continue to be mentioned within this market, from such players as Honus Wagner or Mickey Mantle. The mass-produced nature of many cards makes finding the rare ones as challenging as it is fun, but it isn’t only baseball that has all the fun. Collectors of basketball cards continue to compete against each other to see exactly how many Michael Jordan rookie cards can be flipped for a profit.

#2: Comic Books

Let’s face it: we all know that we’re probably never going to pull an Action Comics #1 or Amazing Fantasy #15 out of our parents’ attic. That said, this doesn’t mean that some valuable gems aren’t still out there for the finding. The speculative market of the 1990s essentially means that a lot of Marvel and DC from this era were mass-produced, not being worth very much today. However, both niche titles and small, independent runs from this era can fetch a profit for knowledgeable collectors. This is in addition to the rarer books from the Golden and Silver Ages of comic history.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Posters

Vintage One-Sheets From Movies Can Be Big Box Office

Fishing Gear

Don’t Spare the Rod! These Could Be Worth Money

Telephones

Particularly the Rarer, Earliest Models

Metal Signage

On-Brand Examples From Back in the Day Could Be Resold

Wedding Dresses

Sentimental Value Aside, Of Course

#1: Vinyl Records

Hey! Did you hear that “vinyl is making a comeback?” Truth be told, vinyl records have already “been” back in vogue for many years now, to the point where their resale value and MSRP price points continue to rise exponentially every year. Websites such as Discogs have become both invaluable and infamous for assisting buyers and sellers navigating the LP market, while at the same time also being ground zero for vinyl inflation. That said, ultra-rare LPs such as the “butcher cover” of The Beatles’ “Yesterday and Today” continue to trade hands at exorbitantly high amounts. Meanwhile, vintage turntables and hi-fi receivers from companies like Technics and Marantz serve as another avenue of the music collectors’ space, with impressive financial statistics.

Have you ever passed anything by in the antique store that you went on to regret later? Let us know in the comments!