The antiques world can be volatile, heavily impacted by changing generational preferences and cultural shifts.
As James Constantinou, owner of Prestige Pawnbrokers, explains: “In Netflix’s Bridgerton, Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) is looking for ways to get extra cash after her husband passes, leaving her with his huge gambling debt.
“She berates her daughter Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), who points out that her collection of books would barely cover the cost of a single dinner, let alone support the entire household.
“Unfortunately, the same lesson applies to many of the world's so-called investment pieces, particularly those from the 1990s and noughties that have since become seemingly obsolete.”
While an ‘investment piece’ may have a high potential to earn more in the future, changes in supply and demand, not to mention generational trends, mean it’s difficult to truly predict the next big thing in collectables or antiques.
“A lot of collecting is driven by nostalgia,” Kayleigh Davies, antiques specialist at Auctionet and former expert for Cash in the Attic, explains. “While one generation may have a strong connection to an item, it could be meaningless to the next.”
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Oversupply is one of the main reasons for collectable items going down in value — if it’s no longer rare, it loses its prestige. Kayleigh explains: “This means that as one set of people grows older and begins downsizing or passing away, the market is flooded with their collectables and there are fewer people left who want them, leading to a price drop.”
The rise and fall of the Beanie Babies craze, which peaked in the late ‘90s, is an example of how quickly so-called ‘investment pieces’ can become financially worthless. At one point, ‘rare’ Beanie Babies (such as the Princess Diana bear) were considered high-value pieces. But their perceived rarity was soon shattered by mass production by Ty Inc, with mint condition Beanie Babies flooding online marketplaces like eBay.
“The defining trait of a doomed investment is artificial scarcity,” Kayleigh warns. “We need to take the lesson from Beanie Babies — just because something is huge now doesn't mean it will make sense to anyone next year.”
We asked antiques experts which collectable items and antiques are declining in value. It's also a gentle reminder to buy antiques and vintage for your home because you love them, rather than for profit down the line – which isn't a guarantee.
Traditional ornaments
“Many traditional collectables are also continuing to decline, and this is partly because of taste and partly because of space,” Kayliegh tells us.
“Items like Toby jugs and Royal Doulton Ladies once took pride of place in homes, but ornaments like this don't make sense in modern interiors — and we often don't even have the display cabinets to keep them in anymore.”
Fine China and vintage dinner sets
“Changing lifestyles have had a similar effect on fine china and formal dining ware,” James explains. “The shift towards more casual entertaining, family-style meals and smaller living spaces has contributed to a decline in elaborate dinner services and traditional wedding gifts.
"Heritage brands such as Wedgwood, Royal Albert and Royal Worcester, once made a statement at dinner parties, are no longer as sought after.”
Though, as we’ve seen with the vinyl boom, trends can come back around, increasing demand for, say, a traditional dinner set like one's grandmother may have used. But with brands tapping into ‘vintage’ styles with new, cheaper materials, many buyers may just opt for more affordable, modern iterations.
“While the 18th-century cut-glass aesthetic has enjoyed something of a revival, helped by brands such as Soho House putting their own spin on the look, the techniques used to achieve it are no longer prohibitively expensive,” James explains. “Affordable alternatives are now widely available on the high street. Meanwhile, younger generations are far less interested in receiving 60-piece dinner services and silverware sets as wedding presents.
“Cash, experiences and practical household items are generally preferred, leaving many once-coveted collections gathering dust. The era of crystal champagne flutes and formal place settings may well be fading as tastes move towards simpler, cleaner aesthetics.”
(Early) vintage vinyl
What it means to be 'vintage' is continually evolving, with bands we remember from the ‘00s now entering the category. Kayleigh has seen a shift away from some classic vinyls, as perceptions around the 'golden era' of music continue to evolve.
“When it comes to vinyl records, Elvis Presley used to be King, but his fans aren't collecting anymore, and instead collectors are chasing The Beatles and David Bowie,” Kayleigh explains.
The resurgence in popularity of vinyl records means there’s still demand for records in good condition — according to a recent survey by Vinyl Alliance, 76% of Gen Z vinyl fans buy records at least once a month, while 29% call themselves ‘die-hard collectors’ of vinyl. But when it comes to the artists that fetch the highest sums, tastes are continually evolving.
Vintage toys
“We see the same thing with vintage toys as with older vinyl records, with traditional tin toys in decline as the next generation is chasing the action figures of their youth,” Kayliegh explains.
More recent crazes, such as Funko Pops, vinyl figures inspired by the Japanese Chibi art style and intended to be collectables, may also not stand the test of time. “I feel like Funko Pops are this generation's Beanie Babies,” Kayliegh explains.
Limited edition DVD and CD sets
“Home entertainment has also been transformed over the years,” James explains. “There was a time when owning a collectable DVD box set carried a certain prestige. Something like the four-disc 70th Anniversary Edition of The Wizard of Oz, complete with coffee-table book and commemorative watch, felt like a genuine treasure. But what value does it hold today when the bonus features can be found for free on YouTube, and the watch has been replaced by an Apple Watch?
“Gone is the inconvenience of swapping discs or rummaging through cabinets to find the right box set. Many people once spent thousands building vast DVD and CD collections, with some dedicating entire cupboards or even rooms to storing them.
“Today, many households no longer own a DVD player, and those that do rarely use it. What was once a prized collection has become little more than shelf clutter. Second-hand shops and electronics resellers often offer only pennies for items that originally cost £50 or more, highlighting just how dramatically the market has shifted.”
Traditional wooden furniture
“Sadly, traditional brown furniture and early oak furniture are losing value,” Chelsea-based antiques dealer Joanna Booth tells us. “While furniture details such as religious imagery deserve to be appreciated for their historical significance, younger buyers are more influenced by fashion and celebrity culture.”
James Constantinou unpacks this further, explaining: “Grand wooden furniture was considered a classic for decades, but those days are largely gone. During the noughties in particular, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian dining tables, sideboards and cabinets regularly fetched thousands at auction.
“In the past two decades, we have experienced economic uncertainty, stagnant wages, rising living costs and increasingly expensive housing. At the same time, homes have become smaller, brighter and more open-plan.
“The want for large, dark furniture has all but diminished. Instead, buyers favour lighter materials, cleaner lines and designs that maximise available space. As a result, the dark wooden furniture that once commanded impressive sums no longer holds the same appeal. Pieces that sold for well over £1,000 in the 1990s would be lucky to fetch a few hundred pounds today. In some cases, the cost of transporting them can exceed their value.”
Commemorative plates
“We see this time and time again, whether it's limited-edition commemorative plates or a brief hyped up trend like the recent Labubu craze,” Kayleigh explains. “I see items like a plate from a 1980s limited-edition run of 50,000, and I definitely can't think of 50,000 people who are hoping to buy it!
“One of the problems we face with items sold as collectables is that if everyone is keeping things mint and boxed, we never get the kind of scarcity and rarity we see with items that become collectable more organically. Pokémon cards in rare excellent condition from the 1990s wouldn't be making huge sums if most of them hadn't been beaten up in children's pockets.”
