Collectibles have been a huge thing for as long as I can remember. My grandmother had cabinets full of costume jewelry and shelves full of old books. It does not matter what it is, there is always someone around who collects it.

Profitable collectibles may sometimes be misinterpreted as such or regarded as valuable strictly "in the eye of the beholder". An example would be the gentleman whose obsession led him to collect over 100,000 macaroni and cheese boxes across several generations and from many countries.

There are several reasons why people will begin a collection. Perhaps they mentioned to friends and family that they liked owls, then before long, their friends and family members were bringing home owl-themed items they had picked up while on vacation to pass along as gifts.

People collect things for different reasons: some for remembrances of their youth (playthings and figurines) and others for their interest and devotion to certain brands like Pepsi or Barbie -- and any item with a Coca-Cola history can be considered a collectible with profit potential.

Your main objective in collecting should be the personal satisfaction and enjoyment you'll experience while owning it, but it never hurts to also have the collectibles that will gain value and be wanted by others.

Be careful if you start collecting the trendy or popular items of the day; you could end up knee deep in a bunch of "stuff" that you can't even give away, let alone sell. A promise of future reward (cash) should only be your secondary purpose in obtaining collectibles.

Here's my advice: collect only what you can live with and love, as you could be the only person who sees it as desirable in the end. If you're in it for cash, do not simply stock pile your collection, but keep up with collectibles that are popular or fashionable at the time, selling them just as quickly as you buy them. Don't hold onto them and wait for value to increase, because they may never do so.