A collectible (or collectable) is most usually a manufactured item which is made specifically for that very reason, rather than for any actual commercial use. In this respect, it needs to be understood that collectibles are separate from other collections of items which may also include natural things (for example, leaves) and subjects designed for reasons other than collecting (such as items of apparel).

Quite a few objects made for other uses, (for example, toys), turn out to be so popular among collectors that they are subsequently marketed directly to that audience. The exhorbitant costs charged for certain older types of Transformer figures is a particularly good example of this phenomenon because the figures were originally meant to be bought as toys for children instead of as collectibles.

The very first kinds of collectibles were items that were included with other products as incentives to buy, such as cigarette cards in cartons of cigarettes. Goods that became popular would often develop an extra niche market of their own and sometimes became the subject of collectible madness. After a time many collectible pieces started to become available separately, instead of being used as marketing tools to increase the appeal of other items.

In order to encourage collecting, manufacturers usually create a complete series of a given collectible, with each product differentiated in some way. Various examples include sports cards depicting individual players, or differing designs of Superman, Spiderman and other action figures. Fans will most often try to assemble an entire set of the available kinds.

The initial types of a product, produced in lesser batches before its collectible popularity has developed, often bring exorbitant prices on the secondary market. When it comes to a market that has grown to maturity, collectibles rarely prove to be a sensible investment from a purely financila perspective.

Now and again, a sequence of events will take place that result in a subject from a collectible series becoming strikingly valuable. These objects are known as collector's items due to their rarity, and items such as these have occasionally been worth enough to be sold on into the market for significant amounts of money. Some unscrupulous people even go to great lengths to make buy up remainders of such pieces in order to cause forced scarcity.

So, whether you're interested about collecting religious items, clocks, rocks, fossils, minerals, vintage sewing machines or even rocking horses, now you know all there is to know about collectibles.