5 So-Called ‘Collectibles’ Nobody Wants To Buy Anymore in 2026
Written by
Stacy Sare Cohen
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Many of us hold onto belongings for decades for sentimental value or in the hope that they will eventually pay off. You may have inherited them from family members, have them on display or have packed them away in a box in the garage or tucked away in the attic.
While many of these items were worth something years ago, thanks to mass production, many have lost their value and remain unsold on auction and resale sites. Here are the collectibles that nobody wants to buy anymore.
Wheat Pennies
The Lincoln wheat cent was produced to celebrate Lincoln’s 100th birthday in 1909. It featured an image of Lincoln on the front and two wheat stalks on the back. While rare wheat pennies like the 1909-S VDB are valued at $300 and $5,000 or more, depending on the year, most wheat pennies are worth between five cents and $1.50, according to Laceys-KC.com.
Vinyl Records
If you own first-pressed or limited-edition vinyl records from the 1960s and 1970s, they can be worth a lot. For example, if you have a rare copy in perfect condition of the Beatles’ “White Album,” it could be valued at $790,000, per PrintYourVinyl. Unfortunately, most mass-produced vinyl records are worth very little and draw little investor interest.
Beanie Babies
A cultural phenomenon in the 1990s, Beanie Babies with their original tags attached were coveted collector’s items to buy and trade. However, as production increased dramatically, the demand faded.
Today, only a small number of rare versions consistently draw buyers’ attention, such as the Princess Bear produced in honor of Princess Diana’s passing, valued at $500,000. According to Toy Street, valuable Beanie Babies include the following:
- Valentino the Bear: valued at $20,000
- Brownie the Bear: valued at $20,000
- Iggy the Iguana: valued at $10,000
- Claude the Crab: valued at $9,000
- Patti the Platypus: valued at $9,000
- Halo the Bear: valued at $7,500
- Peanut the Elephant: valued at $7,000
- Peace the Bear: valued at $5,000
- Nana the Monkey: valued at $4,000
If you happen to own one of these and it’s in mint condition with the tag attached, you’re in luck. Otherwise, they have little resale value.
Stamps
The value of stamps depends on several factors such as their age, condition and scarcity. Unfortunately, most U.S. postage stamps produced in recent decades are widely available and therefore hold little monetary value to collectors. As a result, collections made up largely of modern stamps attract limited interest on the resale market.
McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys
Fifteen McDonald’s Happy Meal toys have held their value, according to Chowhound. However, the rest are worth little. The collection that holds the most value for collectors is the limited-edition Cactus Plant Flea Market Collab from 2022, which is currently listed at $300,000 in mint condition. Since these toys were intended to be played with immediately, chances are their original packaging was removed, so they have lost their value.
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