Supply and Demand

The only way that something actually has value is if someone else will pay you for it. You could own the crown jewels but if no one wants to buy them from you, all you have are shiny stones. Supply and demand also factors in. I found this out last week. My mother in law was a collector of figurines. She loved Royal Doultans and Lladros. Women of her age group bought them like they were status symbols. Some were worth more than others. Everyone wanted the Balloon Lady as she was very colorful. For years they were worth hundreds of dollars each. As her generation passed away, the next generation did not look at the statues with much admiration. They were colorful dust collectors. They began to be sold to antique dealers who scooped them up at fairly good prices. As they years went on and more were sold from estates, the field got flooded. Antique stores stopped buying them because there was not a big market for them. The value plunged. Statues that were once hundreds of dollars are being sold for $30 meaning that the dealer must buy them for $10. Tastes change and with that so does something's worth.