Selling Collectibles

Project journal

Instead of real estate, stocks, or crypto, my dad spent years picking up collectibles: mostly Batman, with a mix of other franchises. As his interest in storing a big collection faded, I took on selling it and treating it like a data project: scan barcodes on my phone, fetch UPC details, list items, and track every sale.

I wanted to know which franchises move best, how shipping and tax affect margins, and whether release era matters. To keep the data honest, I wrote a cleaner that fixes bundle listings: header rows with a blank title and a quantity allocate their total price, shipping, tax, and profit across the next N items.

What the data says so far

• Franchise differences. Batman sells steadily with lots of mid-price items; other lines spike more but with fewer sales. Brand strength shows up as consistency as much as peak price.
• Era matters. Older pieces command higher prices and stronger margins, the late 1990s dip from oversupply, and some newer niche releases rebound. Price by release year looks U-shaped.
• Price and profit aren't linear. Shipping, fees, and tax flatten margins on higher-priced sales. Filtering outliers makes the typical relationship much clearer.
• Operational takeaway. List reliable mid-tier Batman items first for cash flow; prioritize genuinely older pieces or niche modern runs for margin; bundle heavy, low-margin items.

With over 70 more listings ready to go, the project continues.