thumb|A set of collectable teaspoons from [[World Expo 88]]
thumb|Collectible [[Soviet gold rings with rubies]]
thumb|The [[original iPhone in its box. Unopened "vintage" items which are part of popular brand lines are widely regarded as collector's items.]]
A collectable, collectible, or collector's item is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old. A curio is something deemed unique, uncommon, or weird, such as a decorative item. A manufactured collectable is an item made specifically for people to collect.
The business of collectables
Created to be collected
A manufactured collectable (often referred to as a contemporary collectable) is an item made specifically for people to collect. Examples of items commonly sold as collectables include plates, figurines, bells, graphics, steins, dolls, and art. Some companies that produce manufactured collectables are members of The Gift and Collectibles Guild. applied to products related to the arts—such as books, prints or recorded music and films—but are now used for cars, fine wine and many other collectables. A special edition typically includes extra material of some kind. A limited edition is restricted in the number of copies produced, although the number may be arbitrarily high.
Collectables in commerce
Manufacturers and retailers have used collectables in a number of ways to increase sales. One use is in the form of licensed collectables based on intellectual properties, such as images, characters and logos from literature, music, movies, radio, television, and video games. A large subsection of licensing includes advertising, brand name, and character collectibles. Another use of collectables in retail is in the form of prizes (items of nominal value packaged with or included in the price of a retail product at no additional cost) and premiums (items that can be "purchased" by redeeming coupons, boxtops, or proofs of purchase from the product along with a small fee to cover shipping and handling). Also, collectables have played an important role in tourism, in the form of souvenirs. Another important field of collecting that is also big business is memorabilia, which includes collectables related to a person, organization, event or media, including T-shirts, posters, and numerous other collectables marketed to fans; but also includes ephemera from historical, media, or entertainment events, items that were meant to be thrown away but were saved by fans and accumulated by collectors. Collectibles have become a huge market globally coupled with the rise in application of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) which are now used as a medium for digital collectibles sales. The collectables market size in 2020 was $360 billion with an estimated increase of 4% by 2028. Digital collectibles may become a reliable revenue stream for creators as NFTs evolve and spread.
Digital collecting
The collection of digital tokens (NFTs), usually associated with images or artworks, became popular during the NFT craze of 2020–2021. Collectors can buy, trade or exchange NFTs, and these transactions are recorded on a digital ledger called a blockchain. Just like in physical collecting, items can hold value due to different reasons, but they are not necessarily monetarily valuable, rare, or aesthetically pleasing. The Curio Cards, the Rare Pepe or the CryptoPunks are amongst the first cases of digital collectibles. Digital collecting also applies to digital artworks.