LOS ANGELES, Cal. (WZMQ) – From music memorabilia to K2 action figures, the collectibles market is vast and increasingly valuable. Catherine Williamson with Julian’s Auction says social media is helping fuel the surge, with millennials making up the bulk of new buyers.
“Now you really just have to be scrolling, right? You just have to kind of tell the algorithm what you like, and the world will serve it to you,” said Catherine Williamson, owner of Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles.
One of the year’s biggest sales was a rare Pokémon card, which sold for a record 16.4 million dollars. Williamson says three things can make or break an item at auction: scarcity, cultural relevance, and condition.
For collectors, old isn’t enough. Condition can be the difference between a piece of nostalgia and a valuable asset.
Fourth Cone Restoration is a female-owned art studio that preserves and repairs vintage posters, prints, and collectibles. “Posters were made to be thrown out with the cheapest materials possible. When you get it linen-backed and maybe restored, the thing doesn’t look like garbage anymore. It looks like a piece of art or a piece of your own history,” said Katie Diamond, owner of Forth Cone Restoration.
Restoration can take anywhere from two hours to more than 20. Some damage can be repaired, but the stakes are high. Not just because of the money, but because of the memories attached to each piece. Really, the core of the industry. “The biggest impulse is your own personal nostalgia,” said Williamson.
In a market where millions can change hands, sometimes the most valuable thing isn’t what an item is worth, but what it means to the collector.
