Anyone who is new around here is probably wondering why on earth we called that category, Not a "Doll". It's a fairly straightforward, though tongue in cheek, play on "action figures", being referred to as "dolls" by people from your Mom to your co-worker who just can't seem to wrap their head around why you have them.

Simple, we never grew up, we still play video games, (hahah) and often, they're a serious investment.


For instance, the current world record for a piece of science fiction memorabilia honestly blew my mind at 576,000 US$. This handsome price for a miniature of the Starship Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation is probably going to fetch the current owner (or owners estate, because this is something you don't part with until death) a really nice return. I'd guess in the 20% to 30% range within the next 20 years, considering the return of Star Trek to the big screen. My personal estimate might even be conservative.

Those of us who don't fall into the category of dropping half a million on our collections, often end up searching through, not Christies, but eBay. Oh, now I hear you, "How provincial, eBay over Christie's indeed *harumph*". Don't knock it people, eBay is a great resource, especially for pop sci-fi merchandise / memorabilia. As I write this, a lower grade Boba Fett action figure, yes, that little hunk of 3 3/4" plastic that orginally sold for 2.49 US$ is now selling for 5,000. Quite a nice turnaround on your investment, let's hope your Mom didn't throw yours out when you went off to college.

Without getting into the perils and benefits of buying and selling on eBay too much, there's some really good advice at Follow the Eight Step eBay Sales Plan. Covering, in easy to read plain language, some of the finer points of selling on eBay, and generally good advice for all online auction sites, it's certainly worth taking a look at.

Some things that aren't covered, are how to use the most often utilized grading services that are particular to collectibles like action figures, vintage toy cars, Pez dispensers, etc. That's a blog post for another day though, until then, may the...finance be with your auction.