The post-pandemic increase in nostalgia-based purchases and actions extends to collectibles, that are reminiscences you’ll be able to maintain in your hand. One of the widespread locations to purchase these mementos is on eBay, the place greater than 25 % of customers who purchased one thing on the positioning in 2023 purchased at the least one collectible merchandise.

On eBay, world listings for classic toys have been up about 10 % this yr, in comparison with the identical interval in 2022. Searches for classic Star Wars toys have been up 20 %. And a few rarities can go for giant bucks. In Could 2023, a one-of-a-kind “Tyler The Nice Warrior” Yu-Gi-Oh! card bought on eBay for $311,211, making it the most costly Yu-Gi-Oh! card sale on eBay up to now.

“Nostalgia is a strong driver of accumulating, and we’ve seen robust curiosity in nostalgic objects in our market,” Gene Prepare dinner, VP of World Collectibles at eBay, tells Mashable. “Whether or not it’s pushed by movies like Barbie, tendencies on social platforms, or individuals desirous to tangibly join with toys and objects that introduced them pleasure of their childhood. Accumulating is not nearly buying objects however being a part of a neighborhood, and that’s true for all generations.”

We broke down a few of eBay’s 2023 tendencies information to seek out out what individuals have been looking for on the positioning this yr.

Snoopy, Sonny Angel, and Miffy

Sonny Angel dolls, all in a row.
Credit score: Edmond So/South China Morning Put up by way of Getty Photos

Cute collectibles have had fairly a yr, with fictional Dutch bunny Miffy, candy Sonny Angels, and Snoopy taking heart stage on TikTok and Instagram. On eBay, customers searched Miffy 5,000 instances per thirty days, and searches for Sonny Angel elevated greater than 250 % globally in comparison with the identical time final yr. This yr, eBay customers looked for “Snoopy” over 18,000 instances per day, globally, and the most costly Snoopy merchandise bought on eBay was an unworn Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Snoopy Anniversary Sequence that went for $38,500. Individuals particularly love the Peanuts in the course of the holidays; eBay says the variety of ‘Snoopy’ and ‘Peanuts’ collectibles bought on the positioning elevated double digits from October to November 2023.

WAG recreation day glam

Taylor Swift at Kansas Metropolis’s Arrowhead Stadium on October 22, 2023, watching the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
Credit score: David Eulitt/Getty Photos

eBay says quarterbacks Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers) and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) have been the 2 most-searched soccer gamers in world sports activities buying and selling playing cards on eBay, however it was the gamers’ girlfriends that made an affect this yr. Travis Kelce jersey gross sales elevated 340 % the day after girlfriend Taylor Swift cheered him on at a recreation (a pattern additionally mirrored on buying app LTK), whereas searches for Dolphins receiver Braxton Berrios skyrocketed over 4,300 % within the US and Canada the day after his girlfriend and TikTok celebrity Alix Earle posted a video customizing her beau’s jersey.

It is unimaginable to attribute these search spikes on to Swift and Earle, however there is no denying the duo’s affect on type tendencies throughout the web.

Taylor Swift (and popcorn buckets)

A Taylor Swift commemorative popcorn tub.
Credit score: Daniel Knighton/Getty Photos

Talking of Swift, the pop star was the highest search throughout all leisure memorabilia on eBay between July and October 2023. And with the debut of Swift’s Eras Tour Movie, eBay says Swifties looked for film merch, from popcorn buckets to posters.

Basically, popcorn bucket collectibles have been a scorching commodity this yr. In April, after the March 31 launch of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves, searches for “dungeons and dragons popcorn bucket,” an AMC unique, elevated practically 200 % on eBay.

VHS Tapes

Credit score: Anya Semenoff/The Denver Put up by way of Getty Photos

Climb up into the attic and poke round for any VHS tapes as a result of they might be accumulating greater than mud. In an October look on The Tonight Present, Pete Davidson recounted his plan to resell sealed VHS tapes at a premium. Primarily based on the sale costs for the format on eBay this yr, Davidson could also be onto one thing: a 1984 sealed copy of Raiders of the Misplaced Ark bought for $10,050. The positioning says classic horror motion pictures from the late 70s and 80s — assume The Goonies, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Road — are particularly widespread purchases.

Sports activities memorabilia

Olga Carmona celebrates with the trophy in the course of the FIFA Ladies’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Last match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia on August 20, 2023 in Sydney, Australia.
Credit score: Marc Atkins/Getty Photos

A few of the costliest sports activities memorabilia objects bought on eBay in 2023 have been true archival items (a 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle Rookie card was the priciest buy in April and one is at the moment listed on the positioning for $253,500). However fashionable sports activities drive big visitors spikes on the positioning.

For instance, following Tom Brady’s (second) retirement announcement on Feb. 1, gross sales of his rookie playing cards elevated greater than 500 % on eBay, and searches for his memorabilia jumped round 230 % within the US. On June 6, world searches for “Lionel Messi” collectibles on eBay elevated by over 75 % when the soccer star introduced his departure from Paris Saint-Germain. When he made his MLS debut in July, searches for his buying and selling playing cards elevated over 130 % on eBay in comparison with Could 2023.

And after Spain’s Olga Carmona scored the singular objective in opposition to England to safe her workforce’s first-ever Ladies’s World Cup on Aug. 19, world searches for her collectibles had ballooned by 5,400 % by Aug. 20.

Barbie (#JusticeforAllan)

There’s only one Allan!
Credit score: Mashable composite; Mattel, Inc.

Barbie was among the finest motion pictures of the yr and, it appears, on eBay. Customers looked for “Barbie” over 14,000 instances per hour, globally, within the week earlier than and instantly after the discharge of the movie (July 14 to 29). And Barbie shared the eBay highlight with an unlikely pal: Allan, the discontinued friend-of-Ken depicted by Michael Cera within the blockbuster film. Searches for “Allan doll” elevated by over 1300 % on eBay between July 14 and July 21, the day the movie opened.