A collectible can be any item that carries a significant inherent value due to its scarcity. It is a regular occurrence to see a collectible being made out of something that has a limited release, such as a vinyl record, a special edition vehicle, a piece of designer clothing, etc. 

These items carry a certain degree of prestige and status, which is attractive for investors, as they assume that due to their scarce nature, these items will only keep increasing in value as the years go by.

Some common collectible items you can invest in include:

• Art - collecting artwork can be a lucrative investment, with the value of certain pieces appreciating significantly over time. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other forms of art can be bought and sold through galleries, auctions, and private sales
• Designer clothes - certain pieces have a very limited release to the public and quickly find themselves in private collections, which is why these designer items retain their market value over time 
• luxury/vintage vehicles - vintage and classic automobiles are sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. Rarity, historical significance, and condition play significant roles in determining a classic car's value. However, they require careful maintenance and storage to maintain their value 
• Collector’s items - certain collectible items may be released in celebration of a specific event, or be part of a limited-time offering to certain groups of collectors
• Watches - luxury watches, especially limited editions or those from prestigious brands, can drastically appreciate in value. Collecting watches requires knowledge of the market, brand reputation, and factors influencing their desirability
• Cards - trading cards with limited releases and notable characters/personalities depicted on them can increase in value gradually over time. This is especially true for basketball and hockey cards, which sometimes sell for upwards of $50,000 a piece
• Memorabilia - collecting sports memorabilia, such as autographed items, game-worn jerseys, and trading cards, can be a passionate and potentially profitable endeavor for sports fans
• Antiques - collecting antiques, such as furniture, jewelry, porcelain, or silverware, allows investors to appreciate the historical and aesthetic value of older items. A degree of craftsmanship is also another factor that adds to the value of these items
• Stamps - philately, the collection and study of postage stamps, has a dedicated community of enthusiasts. Rare stamps, errors, or those with historical significance can be valuable, particularly when they are well-preserved
• Comics - limited runs of vintage comic books carry a lot of value when well-preserved, as they depict a limited number of physical media that can be particularly hard to preserve 
• Rare books - Collecting rare and first-edition books can be an investment for bibliophiles. Books with historical significance, unique characteristics, or association with famous authors often hold substantial value
• Coins - numismatics, the study and collection of coins, is a popular hobby for many collectors. Rare and historic coins can be valuable due to their scarcity, condition, and historical significance

This is not an exhaustive list of potential collectibles that can be bought and sold on the market, as the list can contain items from an extremely broad range of categories. 

Before diving into the sophisticated platforms for collectibles investing, it is important to consider that collectibles can be bought and sold on a personal basis and may not require intermediaries to facilitate the trade. Certain collectibles with a lower market value are often bought and sold via traditional commerce platforms, such as eBay and Etsy, while others that carry a significant amount of value are often bought and sold via auction houses. 

These items may be particularly valuable and sell for hundreds of millions of dollars each. This is especially true for one-of-a-kind artworks and vintage vehicles and watches, but may also apply to other categories as well. 

For items that are more on the expensive side, users can check out 1stDibs.com (NASDAQ:DIBS), which is an online marketplace that offers a broad range of collectibles and luxury items for sale, including watches, clothing, furniture, jewelry, etc. 

Certain investment platforms have built their business models around buying collectible items and dividing them into shares, which are then sold to the public as LLCs that hold these items on their behalf for a certain period of time. Once the platform evaluates the items and decides to sell them, the proceeds are then distributed among shareholders. 

Such a business model allows for a more diverse group of investors to gain access to these investments and make the luxury industry more accessible via a liquid secondary market. 

Rally Rd

Rally Rd is a collectible investment platform that allows investors to acquire shares in classic cars, luxury watches, comic books, NFTs, sports memorabilia, fine spirits, rare literature, vintage video games, and so on. 

The platform manages over $15 million in clients' assets and also offers a secondary trading platform for shareholders - increasing liquidity. 

A notable investment made on the platform includes the sale of the 1985 Super Mario Bros copy on the NES, which was purchased for $150,000 in 2020 and sold for over $2 million after a year.

Rally stands out by its sheer selection of collectible investment products, which also include dinosaur bones. 

The selection and investment process, as described by the company on its website, is as follows:

1. Rally sources, verifies, and acquires noteworthy items from private collections and individuals from around the world
2. The company registers an LLC and sells the shares to investors 
3. Rally opens an initial offering open to investors of all sizes 
4. After roughly 90 days, investors have the ability to buy/sell shares in the LLC

The Rally secondary market gives investors added liquidity to sell their investments more easily. 

Collectable

Collectable is a platform that was established in 2020 and offers mostly sports memorabilia and trading cards for investments and manages over $50 million in investor funds. 

Collectable offers different methods of investing on its platform - from online auctions to fractional share ownership. 

The BWIC auctions on Collectable offer some major advantages to investors, such as:

• Seller optionality and price protection 
• Discreet bidding process only with vetted buyers 
• Fractional ownership and group bidding 
• Enhanced buyer vetting and AML/KYC policy
• Price discovery using institutional quality bidding process
• BWIC auction eligibility for all fractionalized assets 

Once an asset is accepted as a consignment into the BWIC auction, the bidders can each submit 1 discreet, non-cancellable bid during the 7-day qualifying round. 

The top 3 bids in the qualifying round advance to the extended bidding round, where the top 3 bidders can submit 1 non-cancellable bid. 

Trading cards and sports memorabilia are characterized by rapid appreciation in price, which is highly advantageous for investors. 

Goldin

Goldin is a relatively older investment platform that was launched in 2012 and has amassed over $500 million in assets under management. The platform allows investors to put their capital into pop culture memorabilia, comic books, and sports cards. 

Goldin offers a few distinct services to its customers, such as:

• Auctions - investors can participate in weekly auctions where new listings are presented to the investor base and the bidding process starts 
• Marketplace - Goldin offers a secondary marketplace where investors can trade shares in their collectible holdings 
• Vault - the Vault is a collection of all assets available for investment on the platform

Goldin offers two types of auctions - Weekly and Elite. Weekly auctions start from $100 in estimated value and a starting bid price of $5. Extended bidding lasts 15 minutes and is open for 9 days.

Elite auctions start from $7,500 in estimated value and a starting bid price of $500. Extended bidding lasts 30 minutes and is open for 17 days at a time.

Alt

Alt is a card investment platform launched in 2021 and offers a wide variety of sports cards. The platform offers a storage service and a secondary market for investors to easily buy and sell their cards. 

Some of Alt’s features include:

• The Alt Vault - a free and fully insured storage for graded sports cards, which also includes transportation. Once the cards arrive, the owner can scan them into their collection and flip through them regularly
• Instant transfer - investors can buy, sell, and store their cards instantly without the need for physical possession
• No fees for buyers - purchased cards don’t have sales taxes or premiums
• Asset-backed loans - users can borrow cash against their holdings to expand their collection or to use for other purposes

The price data on Alt is updated in real-time and users can frequently review the going market prices of their collections. 

Otis

Otis offers a wide range of collectibles for investment assets, such as sneakers, sports cards, jerseys, vintage books, NFTs, etc. 

Investors can buy and sell shares of collectibles and art pieces - each of which is divided into shares. Investors can manage their portfolios and be informed about the latest pricing changes and news. 

Users can trade in real-time with just a few clicks or taps on the phone screen by selecting the number of shares to buy/sell.

Otis also hosts pop-ups where users can see the assets physically at the dedicated gallery space in New York City. 

Another feature offered by Otis is the Otis Magazine, which presents curated articles from the world of collectibles, including major auctions, new limited releases, etc. Otis is a subsidiary of the popular social trading stock brokerage Public, which has integrated its services. 

Masterworks

Masterworks is an online platform that allows users to invest in shares of fine art. The platform includes works from world-famous artists, such as Banksy, Andy Warhol, etc. 

Masterworks buys the artworks from private collections and auctions, forms an LLC that holds these assets, divides them into shares, and sells them to its users. 

Masterworks identifies some of the most sought-after pieces to offer its users to make sure that the value of these pieces increases considerably in the future. 

Masterworks claims to offer higher returns than the classic diversified portfolios of stocks and bonds, as well as major indices, such as the S&P 500. 

Direct ownership of collectibles requires a certain amount of knowledge and expertise on behalf of investors, as these collectibles are often quite old and fragile and require considerable upkeep and maintenance, which can be expensive. 

For example, an artwork needs to be protected from the elements to preserve the paint and color in optimal condition. If not, the collectible will lose value and the entire investment could be rendered useless. 

Investing in collectibles places all of this burden on the investment platform, which often employs the services of professional curators who can take care of the collectibles, and the platform charges fees for these services. Investment platforms also give users considerably more liquidity and convenience, as well as the opportunity to make particle investments. 

However, this does not mean that platforms are clearly superior. Certain investors prefer having tangible assets at their disposal where they can oversee the maintenance and safety of their possessions themselves - giving them much more autonomy over the process. 

Investing in collectibles may not be for everyone and it is important to consider the inherent risk and rewards associated with investing in such alternative assets. 

Pros

• Potential for high returns - certain collectibles start accumulating value after a certain period and when demand for the item starts to rise, the value of the item also increases considerably
• Diversification - collectibles can offer diversification to your investment portfolio. They often have a low correlation with traditional financial markets, such as stocks and bonds. Thus, adding collectibles to your investment mix can help spread risk and reduce exposure to market volatility
• Tangible assets - owning collectibles provides the added benefit of knowing which tangible assets you are holding and what to expect from the market of these items 
• Hedging against inflation - some collectibles, like precious metals, have historically served as a hedge against inflation. When the value of currencies decreases, the value of certain tangible collectibles may rise, helping to preserve your purchasing power

Cons

• Lack of liquidity - collectibles are notoriously illiquid assets, which can make it difficult to quickly convert them to cash. Finding a buyer for a specific collectible at the desired price can be challenging and time-consuming
• Volatility and market fluctuations - collectibles markets can be volatile and subject to significant price fluctuations. The value of a collectible item may depend on various factors such as market trends, popularity, condition, and demand, which can be unpredictable
• Expertise requirements - investing in collectibles requires a certain amount of knowledge regarding the particular market to make informed decisions
• Maintenance and storage costs - directly owning physical collectibles requires careful storage and maintenance, which should be done by professionals and could be costly for investors

• Alternative investments, such as collectibles, have become more and more popular over the years - especially during times of high inflation
• Collectibles are assets that derive their value from craftsmanship, sentiment, and scarcity and may include anything from classic cars to sports cards and pieces of clothing
• Most collective investment platforms divide their holdings into shares and offer them to investors, who can then trade them on the secondary markets operated by the platform 
• While collectible investments may require plenty of research and offer low liquidity, they are a solid way of diversifying existing portfolios into assets that have a low correlation with the financial markets