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Remember that surge of excitement when you bought that "must-have" collectible, only for it to gather dust and be worth next to nothing? Join us as we explore the fascinating world of anticipated treasures that ended up as forgotten fads. We're diving into the history of items that everyone thought would be huge, from playground crazes to digital dreams, but ultimately proved to be fleeting trends. Get ready for a nostalgic trip down memory lane, discovering the unexpected misses in the collectibles market.
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00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for collectibles that were expected to become huge, but
00:12failed completely.
00:2410. Go-Go's Crazy Bones
00:33Our first entry didn't fail entirely. During the late 90s and 2000s, they were a massive trend in school playgrounds.
00:40By the 2010s, they had been almost completely forgotten about by most people.
00:53Now especially rare Go-Go's can sell for a decent sum, maybe a few hundred dollars.
00:58They're definitely worth far less than they used to be though, with commons being worth pennies.
01:03All new characters with new colors and awesome laser finishes. Amazing additions to your collection.
01:09If you have any bulk boxes of Go-Go's lying around, it could be worth maybe a few dollars at
01:14best.
01:14Unsealed packs can also sell for a few bucks, but when you account for inflation, they've not appreciated a significant
01:21amount.
01:21Literally a point for our team. See my partner? That's shippy. That's what we do.
01:26Number 9. Stretch Screamers
01:29Yeah, this would be great to have like after a meeting with the network executives.
01:37Lovely, beautiful.
01:38You'd be forgiven if you had never heard of these electronic toys before, as they're now considered exceedingly obscure.
01:45They had a decent amount of buzz surrounding them in the early 2000s.
01:49At one point, they even had their own Happy Meal toy line.
01:55Stretch screamers are at McDonald's. There's one in every Happy Meal.
01:59Their name tells you all you need to know about them. They're monsters with stretchy rubber arms.
02:03If that wasn't exciting enough for you, they also scream.
02:07The majority are now worth roughly $20 or less.
02:12Electronic stretch screamers scream when you stretch them.
02:15Rare and unsealed ones fetch a higher price, but even the least common peak at a few hundred dollars.
02:20There's almost no collector scene surrounding them, making them simply niche discontinued toys.
02:32Number 8. iDog
02:34Adorable robot pets were a craze in the 2000s. At the forefront of this fad was the iDog.
02:40Rock, hip-hop, dance, or punk, iDog moves and grooves to your feet. iDog, little dog, big sound.
02:49It launched in 2005, but was discontinued four years later.
02:53All the original model did was dance and react to music being played.
02:57Later variations took it to the next level since they could also play music.
03:01It wasn't just dogs. They also made an iCat, iFish, iTurtle, and even an iPenguin.
03:07What's black and white and cool all over? It's Icy. Plug in your tunes and Icy plays your music through
03:13his built-in speaker as he chills to the beat.
03:16No one cares about collecting them all these days.
03:19A large reason for their discontinuation was that portable music technology advanced rapidly, making these robotic pets clunky in comparison.
03:28Now in every Burger King kid's meal an iDog toy. Each comes with its own costume. One toy per kid's
03:32meal.
03:33BK Kids Meals now with iDog toys. Scary fun.
03:36Number 7. Fingerlings
03:38A defining feature of the Christmas season 2017 was the hype surrounding Fingerlings.
03:43They're toy robotic animals that sit on your finger.
03:46Things are much cuter and bigger in person. If you turn it right here and blow it a kiss, it
03:52starts to move its eyes and kind of looks happy at you.
03:56Then they'll react to your movements. They were released in spring 2017 and by Christmas it felt as if almost
04:02every child wanted one.
04:04This motivated a ton of scalpers to use bots to bulk buy Fingerlings.
04:09This morning we want to warn you about a popular toy that is raising some concerns. Fingerlings. Have you heard
04:14of those? These are really one of the hottest holiday toys out there.
04:18Then they would resell them for an extortionate sum. By Christmas 2018, it felt like everyone had forgotten about Fingerlings.
04:26Now the majority sell for less than $10, with the most expensive ones not even breaking $100.
04:40Number 6. Hatchimals
04:42Up early, lining up outside of Target stores today and this is all why. The parents are hoping to take
04:48home the coveted toy of the season. It's called the Hatchimal.
04:52A year earlier, Hatchimals were all the rage. They launched in October 2016 with massive expectations. People assumed they'd be
05:00the number one toy of the Christmas season.
05:02Raffles and waiting lists were made. But when people got their hands on one, many were disappointed. This is because
05:09it turned out not all of the Hatchimals hatched like they were supposed to.
05:13It works perfectly in the commercial. The furry animal pecks its way out of the shell. But in real life,
05:19some kids are finding their Hatchimals aren't hatching the way they're supposed to.
05:23They were meant to pop out of an egg. But this didn't happen for every toy. In response, a parent
05:29filed a lawsuit against them.
05:30The company now addressing defective toys on its website, saying they've increased the number of consumer care representatives.
05:39They're not completely worthless now, still being sold for roughly $30 each. Still, few people are interested in collecting them,
05:47especially with the chance of early products being defective.
05:50And when the egg finally cracked, it looked like this.
05:57Number 5. Hit Clips
06:07If you asked a child today whether they'd like a toy that only plays 60 seconds of pop songs, they'd
06:13probably think you were being sarcastic.
06:15Well, in the early 2000s, these toys were all the rage. They were called Hit Clips, and they came with
06:21cartridges that each played one minute of a pop song.
06:24Hit Clips became so huge that they even had Hilary Duff and Raven Simone as their spokespeople.
06:29New Hit Clips music players, like my fat fashion flower that clips right on my backpack, so I can listen
06:34to Vanessa, Michelle, and Hilary Duff.
06:36It's pretty clear why they faded into obscurity. In the 2000s, things like iPods became common. By the early 2010s,
06:44smartphones were becoming ubiquitous.
06:45So this meant Hit Clips were entirely redundant, as much less cumbersome devices could play full songs.
06:52Best thing about Hit Clips? Always something new. New players, and the newest music.
06:58Number 4. 90s Star Wars Toys
07:00If you're into vintage action figures, you'll know the original run of Kenner's Star Wars action figures can fetch a
07:07pretty penny.
07:08They were released in the 70s and 80s, and are still sought after today.
07:11Darth Vader's firing a laser cannon! It's been hit! He's half alone! Take the elevator! Hurry! Now cross the light
07:19bridge!
07:20You won't escape me!
07:22In 1991, Kenner was bought by Hasbro after people became disinterested in Star Wars. Interest in the series and the
07:29old figures increased in the 90s, leading to a new line of toys being produced.
07:33You haven't experienced Star Wars until you've experienced Comtech.
07:37Figures come with chips, readers sold separately, batteries not included. It's your universe.
07:40People expected them to appreciate as well, but about 30 years later, and they've hardly increased in value.
07:47This is because so many more of them were produced than the original toys.
07:51Even if you have a few lying around, it'd be a headache to sell them. People are so disinterested.
07:57Stormtroopers, attack!
07:59Or leave them in the box and never touch them!
08:01Number 3. Beanie Babies 2.0
08:04If you grew up in the 90s, you'll remember a period when Beanie Babies were unavoidable.
08:09That's why I'm here now, bye!
08:10The news caused a frenzy in the Beanie world, especially among the adult collectors.
08:16They definitely didn't fail, as they were huge for a few years. Now they're worth hardly anything, but they're still
08:22worth more than their sequel, Beanie Babies 2.0.
08:25Drove the prices up at the time. Since 1998, prices have dropped dramatically on Beanie Babies, as well as desirability.
08:35This line was announced in 2008, but barely lasted five years. They were different from the predecessors, as they came
08:42with online codes to enter a children's chat game.
08:45The last product from the line was announced in 2009, but with little popularity, the virtual world was shut down
08:51in 2013.
08:53Using its very own secret scratch-off code, unlock a unique playroom with great fun games, chit-chat, and lots
09:01of Beanie friends.
09:02Number 2. Pet Rocks
09:04Long before Labubu's trading cards and even Beanie Babies, there was the Pet Rock.
09:09It was an idea conceived by one man, Gary Dahl. It ended up making him a fortune, as they were
09:15all the rage for approximately six months in 1975.
09:19Dahl is the man who created the Pet Rock. An idea, he says, whose time has come.
09:25Each rock initially made Dahl a 95-cent profit, turning him into a millionaire. By February 1976, they were discontinued
09:34due to poor sales.
09:35People likely realized you can get rocks for free outside.
09:38The curve will probably sell another million or two.
09:40And then you'll be out of the Pet Rock business.
09:42Then I'll be out of the rock business and into some other insane scheme.
09:46Or lying on a beach someplace, not caring about it.
09:48If you ever struggle to understand the appeal of modern toy fads, try comparing them to the hilarious Pet Rock.
09:55That's right. The Pet Rock, introduced in 1975, was billed as the 70s alternative to man's best friend.
10:02Suddenly, libubus look a lot more creative and interesting.
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10:221. NFTs
10:24I know it's a non-fungible token.
10:26Yes.
10:26I'm not exactly sure what that means.
10:28Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:28Well, it's just not very fungible.
10:30Non-fungible tokens were essentially unique digital images that could be traded online.
10:35They were first pitched in 2017, then peaked in 2021.
10:39The most expensive was called the Merge by PAC, which sold for an incredible $91.8 million.
10:46By September 2023, it was estimated that 95% of NFTs were worthless.
10:53No one quite understood NFTs, non-fungible tokens, and now they're tanking and people are losing a ton of money.
11:02It was easily the most prolific example of digital collector's items.
11:06A lot of people compare the trend to a Ponzi scheme.
11:09And to own its digital record, you buy an NFT off of one of a number of NFT marketplaces.
11:15One of their main flaws was how easy it was to copy an NFT.
11:19You could simply screenshot one or even right-click and save it, thus bypassing the need to spend millions of
11:25dollars on one.
11:26So it's not necessarily the long-term, not the value of that rock in 20 years,
11:31but it's what it gets you right now in terms of who else saves in this future.
11:37Do you have a favorite type of collectible?
11:40And is it still popular today?
11:41Or did it also fall out of favor?
11:43Let us know in the comments below!
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