Kim's Corner
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Let’s begin at the top -

What is it that makes an item "Collectable"? Is it rarity? Yes. Is it availability? Yes. Is it the "perceived" value of the item? Yes. The short answer is that each of the criteria that make any other item produced by any other company "collectable" makes a Disney item collectable - and that the Disney brand name makes it collectable from the point of sale. But there are other factors that add to the collectability of a Disney item than for others. That is primarily the result of the sheer numbers of products produced than the actual value of the items themselves. A lithograph that is produced for a limited audience theme park special event has more perceived value than does a similar lithograph produced for another corporate event.

In the collectable marketplace perception is reality - if the consumer or collector "perceives" an item to be of a certain value it’s market price meets will rise or fall to meet that perception. Can the market become "overpriced"? Yes. The proof can be found in the market histories of the beanie market and the pin market and the paper market … Cast Member merchandise is "perceived" to be of more value than is general release merchandise - of the same type and edition - as it is "perceived" to be more difficult to acquire. For the American marketplace items produced for foreign markets are more collectable than are the items produced domestically - and the reverse is true.

With the global nature of the Disney brand there are more variables to the motivations that drive the market. For the Japanese the items produced in France have approximate values when compared to those produced for the American marketplace. Americans - being Americans - will buy just about anything from just about anywhere with equal abandon.

Are there some "things" that are more worthy of collecting than others? Not really, no. But - it depends on why you collect what you collect. Are theme park tickets more "worthy" than are Lladro figurines? Depends - are you a paper collector or a figurine collector or a Disneyland collector or a historic document collector or a Peter Pan collector? Do you collect for the perceived value of the item - the market value of the item at the time of sale - or the market value of an item, the price upon re-sale of that item - or do you collect for the psychological  value of the item? If you’re a Tinkerbell collector then the Lladro Tinkerbell has a place in your collection and a 1955 Disneyland Guidebook may not have it’s place. Luckily, for the theme park collector who may not "need" to have the Lladro piece but would look into a second mortgage for the ’55 Guidebook, there are defining points in very collection. That’s the wonder and worry of the Disney brand. There is something for everyone and someone for everything.