I first got into keychain collecting by accident. My collection started with just a few stray keychains that I'd acquired here and there during my early childhood. Some were carnival prizes, like this skill game keychain.
Some were vacation souvenirs. But then the moment came when I realized that I actually had enough keychains to start a collection. I decided to run with it, and began more deliberately looking for keychains to build up my collection. When I was in grade school, I even based a class presentation around my keychain collection.
I'll admit that in my younger days, I dreamed of earning the World Record for the World's Largest Keychain Collection. But I gave up on that goal a while ago. Believe it or not, there's a lot of competition for the award. And the last time I checked, the past winners had reached totals that were way out of my league. My personal collection peaked at around 1,800 keychains. Unfortunately, I can't give you a more accurate number at this time, since the computer-based list that I was using to keep track of my collection got messed up and I had to start cataloging all over again.
There are several reasons why I love collecting keychains. One is that keychains are small. As a result, they take up far less space than many other collectables. It's therefore possible for a collector who has storage issues to still amass a sizeable collection. The second reason I love collecting keychains is that there are a seemingly endless variety of keychains to collect. Some collectors may prefer to specialize, collecting only advertising keychains tied to a particular industry, or keychains from a particular tourist destination. Some will specialize even further, building their collections around a specific animal or cartoon character. As for me, I collect a little bit of everything.
Another great thing about collecting keychains is that keychains are relatively inexpensive, especially if you buy them secondhand. A run of the mill used keychain will typically cost somewhere between 25 cents to a dollar at the average yard sale. Of course, the thing about yard sales (versus other secondhand venues like thrift stores and online auction sites) is that the prices are usually lower. In most cases, a yard sale seller is just hoping to get rid of stuff as quickly as possible, and so will charge accordingly. (I'll be sharing some other secondhand shopping tips for buying pre-owned keychains in a later post.) No matter where you choose to buy them however, keychains are still less of a drain on the wallet than many other collectables.
I think that covers all the what, when, and why aspects of my collecting. If there's anything else about my keychain collection that readers would like to know, feel free to leave a comment. I will do my best to answer them in a timely manner. Thank you for stopping by.
Signed, Treesa
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