Collectibles:A Great InvestmentOctober 28, 2009 9:28 AM
Do you buy collectibles every month? There are some smart SmallWorlds citizens who never, ever miss a monthly collectible. These collectors know that not only do all collectibles look fantastic, they get a healthy return on their investment. In fact, some citizens are sitting on a comfortable fortune thanks to their regular collectible purchases!
In this article, I look at the current market prices of all SmallWorlds collectibles, as well as speaking with a few citizens who have recognized what a great investment they are.
Each time a new collectible comes out, the prices of all previous ones take a hike... in the upward direction! Keep reading and you'll understand why it's a wise move to buy each collectible as it's released.
Monthly Collectibles
Every 1st of the month, there's a brand new monthly collectible. It's always exciting waiting for the new one to come out. The great thing about monthly collectibles is that they can be worn by all SmallWorlds citizens as they require no XP to wear - and the current month's collectible is always available in Mysterio's. Collectibles are limited to one per SmallWorlds account. When their month is over, they are never available in official stores again!
Let's look at all the Collectibles released to date, how many of them there are in-world and at their current market value... remembering that they originally cost just 2000 Gold to purchase. Note that the prices quoted below are totally dynamic; I've simply quoted the highest, most recent transaction for each collectible.
• Dec 08: Snow Fox. Number in-world: 270. Now selling for around 325,000 Gold.
• Jan 09: Chinese Dragon. Number in-world 584. Now selling for around 80,000 Gold.
• Feb 09: Gorgeous George. Number in-world: 942. Now selling for around 35,000 Gold.
• Mar 09: Sir Croaksalot. Number in-world: 1128. Now selling for around 20,000 Gold.
• Apr 09: Wascally Wabbit. Now selling for 20,000 Gold.
• May 09: Ollyphant the Baby Elephant. Now selling for 10,000 Gold.
• Jun 09: Woods the Tiger. Now selling for 10,000 Gold.
• Jul 09: Abe Bald Eagle. Now selling for 15,000 Gold.
• Aug 09: Leo the African Lion. Now selling for 5,000 Gold.
• Sep 09: Spacesuit. Now selling for 5,000 Gold.
• Oct 09: Roswell the Alien - Still on sale in Mysterio's for 2000 Gold.
• Nov 09: What will it be?! It's due out 1st November, again for just 2000 Gold
Other Rare / Collectible Items
Occasionally other items are released which also become rare, and valuable! The rarest item in SmallWorlds is the Birthday Cake, which was in fact an accidental release (whoops!). Then there's the Haunted Pumpkin Head from Halloween 08 (currently selling for 20,000 Gold), and the Snowglobe (currently selling for 30,000 Tokens) which we gifted to citizens last Christmas.
And here's a hot tip for you: the Brain in a Jar is destined to become another rare collectible, so do the Halloween Mission and get yours while it's still available!
Loyalty Challenge Items
The Loyalty Challenge items are another branch of collectibles. They are free to collect, but can be worth Gold later! For more information on how it all works, click on your gem holders in-world. Our Loyalty Challenge collectibles come in a series of 3, which you earn over a three month period. Just look at the last two series of Loyalty Challenge collectibles - they're simply stunning!
The Dragon Egg Series
• March 09: Fire Dragon Egg. These are currently selling for an average of 40,000 Gold.
• April 09: Ice Dragon Egg. These are currently selling for an average of 11,000 Gold.
• May 09: Whirlwind Dragon Egg. These are currently selling for an average of 8,000 Gold.
If these three eggs are Combobulated, they turn into a Dragon. There are only 374 of these Dragons currently in-world! They are selling for an average price of 35,000 Gold.
The Vial Series
• June 09: Snake Vial. These are currently selling for an average of 10,000 Gold.
• July 09: Condors Claw Vial. These are currently selling for an average of 7,500 Gold.
• Aug 09: Amazonial Plant Vial. These are currently selling for an average of 5,000 Gold.
If the three vials are Combobulated, they turn into a Venus Fly Trap. There are only 714 of the Fly Traps currently in-world and they are selling for an average price of 15,000 Gold.
Current Loyalty Challenge Series - The Goblet Series
...What will the third item in the Goblet Series be? You'll find out in a few days time!
What will the Goblet Series turn into when Combobulated? It's a great idea to try to collect two sets of the Loyalty Challenge items each month (you can only earn one of each item, but you can hold two of each in your inventory, and they are usually cheaper to buy during the same month in which they can be collected). You can then Combobulate one set and hold onto the other set. All will become rares, as they won't be available again!
Collectible Collector: Hathaway Browne
Hathaway has collected all of the monthly collectibles to date. He considers them to be a great investment "...they are only sold for a set period of time and once they are retired they never come back!". Hathaway has noticed that as more and more people join SmallWorlds, they also become new collectors.
"These newer members often try and get the older suits they missed and as a result the price goes up. Also, how many other full suits in Mysterio's are as affordable as 2000 Gold and Limited Edition to boot?"
Collectible Collector: Zenzen Supernova
I also caught up with Zenzen Supernova who's another avid monthly collectible fan! As well as possessing all the monthly collectible wearables, she also has all Loyalty Challenge monthly items on display at Smokes-Zenzen's Twlight Retreat, should you want to take a look.
ZenZen says that they are "the best investment there is on SmallWorlds, as their value appreciates over time." Like Hathaway, she says she'd never miss buying a monthly collectible "because: 1) they're extremely cool and fun to wear and/or display (in the case of the loyalty items); and 2) their value goes up over time so they're almost like a little "piggybank" that you can crack open some time in the future if you ever need to liquidate and increase your gold reserves. lol!"
Zenzen is quite a collectible trader. When I heard her "buy low sell high" comments, I did wonder if I was dealing with a part-time stockmarket trader! "I bought and resold a Snow Fox several times (buy low, sell high), each time making a profit. And with those profits I bought more collectibles as they came out. Buying and reselling collectibles on SmallWorlds actually made me quite wealthy, as it has with other players who have done the same thing as me. =). I would never ever miss a monthly collectible, EVER! Zenzen offers some wise advice to others starting their Collectible collection: "It's always best (and cheapest) to buy them from Mysterio's while they're still being offered. Sometimes the price can double in as little as a week after they're taken off the market."
Collectible Collector: Nikki Blanc
Nikki first started collecting for a museum so others could visit to see all the rares and collectibles. Athough it's since turned into a hobby for her, one that she genuinely enjoys and one that she also does for investment purposes. "They always go up in value. For instance, the Snow Fox is now worth 5 times what i bought it for! Also, SmallWorlds never brings out the same collectible; therefore that makes each item unique. A great example is last year's Halloween pumpkin. It was not reproduced this year, and so it has gone up in value dramatically".
Nikki says that she would never miss a monthly collectible, "not only because I am always satisfied with the item that comes out, but also because it is the least expensive way to continue my collection".
Start YOUR Collectible Collection Today!
As you can see, starting your own collectible collection really pays off! Buying the monthly collectibles in the month they are released equals smart investing. They seem to rocket up in price, so you should at least get your investment back even if you sell them the following month. And, if you can sit on them for a few months more, well... just check back again at some of those current prices!
The current monthly collectible - Roswell the Alien - is still on sale in Mysterio's for only 2000 gold, but he'll be disappearing from there on the 31st of October, so get in quick! The next monthly collectible is due out on the 1st of November - I can't wait to see what it's going to be! If you buy them both, you'll be well on your way to starting your very own collectible collection; one that's bound to increase in value as the months go by!
~ Honesty Blaize
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Topic: 10/27/2009 Collectibles: A Great Investment (Read 7025 times)