Some people can go a little too far with collecting. Some choices of things to collect might seem a little questionable. Among the least cool collections we’ve ever heard of include:
1. Low-quality plastic toys
In the 90s, tons of collectors tried to buy up complete sets of toys from Happy Meals, Kinder Surprise, vending machines, etc. However, these were all boring and cheap, destined for the landfill from the very moment they were designed. Nobody tries to relive their childhood by choosing the worst toys they had as kids, so nobody is willing to pay any money for them now.Most of the existing collections will likely be trashed long before anyone puts value on them.
2. Clown dolls
The most terrifying motel in the entire world, the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, includes a massive wall filled with clown dolls of every shape and size. These include a full-sized clown mannequin seemingly pulled from a child’s nightmare and plunked down in a corner chair, watching the whole lobby. Interesting collection? Sure. Good publicity? Maybe. Likely to cause potential customers to run away screaming? Yes.
3. Genital casts
Back in the 70s, an enterprising entrepreneur, Cynthia Albritton, had a disturbingly brilliant get-rich scheme: take plaster casts of the breasts or genitals of celebrities and then sell them. She weaseled her way into the hotel rooms of a lot of major rock stars, finding that a large number of them (especially the men) had no qualms with immortalizing their assets in plaster. These can still be purchased, if you have way too much money and a driving need to know what KISS’ members’ members looked like thirty years ago.
4. Nazi stuff
We get that there might be value to historians in artifacts of the Third Reich. However, if you aren’t a historian, and ever want people to visit your house without wondering if you’re a skinhead, please, please, please, don’t join the disturbingly huge numbers of people buying up Nazi gear on the Internet.
5. Murderabillia
If you can wrap your mind around the fact that the English language has a special word for the artifacts left behind by serial killers, then you might truly understand the darkness in humanity’s heart. Seriously, we have no idea why anyone would need to own, say, Charles Manson’s shoes, but someone, somewhere out there, apparently wants to own just that.
There are lots of great collectibles. These ones just don’t come off very well.
