When "Buy What You Like" Backfires

 No matter what someone collects, collectors who are just starting out are often told to, "buy what you like". The reasoning behind this seems to be that since novice collectors are inexperienced, they're also more likely to pay more for something than it's worth. When this happens, it's a lot easier to accept the outcome as a learning experience and move on if what you overpaid for is something you don't mind being stuck with. This doesn't seem to be as much of an issue with keychains as it is with some other collectables. After all, I've never heard of anyone collecting keychains for investment purposes.

However, the problem with 'buying what you like' is that there are times when it can backfire. If my personal experience is anything to go by, then a collector who buys whatever catches his or her eye is also more likely to buy too much. This can not only result in storage issues, but can also cause the collection itself to lack any sort of unifying theme or focus. My own collection is very...eclectic, to put it politely. Below is a list of some of the stranger reasons why I've added a particular keychain to my collection.

1. I liked the color or the color combination

I've never listened to the Smooth Jazz radio station that is being promoted on the keychain at the top of this photo. Jazz isn't one of my preferred music genres, unless you count Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas, and I'm not even sure if the station still exists. However, I was drawn to the purple design on this particular keychain. Purple is my favorite color. I am also not familiar with the Health Alliance that's advertised on the keychain below it. But I really liked the dark maroon color of the text, especially against the stark white background. And while I know nothing about credit unions, I know that the number one shaped, credit union advertisement keychain pictured here is a beautiful shade of blue-green.

2. I liked the shape and/or the design

I bought these two keychains second-hand at different times. But I think they make a nice 'matched' set, thanks to their identical flower shape. However, I have no idea what the 'message' on the pink flower is supposed to signify.

The two keychains pictured above both feature guitar designs. One is for a radio station that I've never heard of, and the other one is from the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant at Niagara Falls. There are actually two Hard Rock Cafe locations at Niagara Falls, one in the United States and one in Canada. I've been to the U.S. location, once. However, this keychain if from the Canadian one, according to the information on the reverse side.

3. I liked the logo.

The first two keychains pictured above were part of a mixed lot that I purchased online. I decided to keep them because the design of the TP logo appealed to me, though I'm not quite sure why this was. The appeal of the Dolphin Cruise Line keychain is something that I can easily explain. Given my childhood love of dolphins, how could I pass up on this neat looking dolphin logo?

This starfish shaped keychain from Dolphin Cay at Atlantis resort in the Bahamas has a somewhat similar dolphin logo.

4. I liked the name of the advertised business

As far as the shape and the design go, there's nothing really remarkable about the yellow keychain pictured above. It's just a basic advertising keychain. But I really liked the name of the advertised location - Beachcomber Camping Resort. It brought to mind thoughts of strolling across the sand, collecting seashells and other beach treasures.

The red keychain has a little more going for it, design-wise, with its eye-catching color and a shape that's meant to suggest a tree. But it was the name Cherry Creek Village that really caught my eye. It makes the place sound so quaint and homey, doesn't it? The blue keychain is from Riverside Hospital. Hospitals have a reputation for being cold and sterile places, but naming the place Riverside makes it sound picturesque. I also liked the cool looking wave design on this keychain, as well as the blue and white color scheme.

5. mental associations

This keychain from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory ended up in my collection because it sounded like the type of location that would be featured on the tv-show The Big Bang Theory. My mom and my best friend both love that show, and I watched it off and on in the early seasons.

The reed boat, or 'cabillito', keychain pictured above was purchased from the Smithsonian in Washington DC at their annual Folklife Festival. I wanted it because it reminded me of the 'basket boat' that Donald Duck uses in the Lake Titicaca segment of the Disney 'package film' Saludos Amigos. Frequent readers of this blog might remember that I have a fondness for all things Disney.

As for this keychain from the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, the island was prominently featured in an episode of the tv-series Reading Rainbow, hosted by LeVar Burton. The fact that the island was later severely impacted by a volcanic eruption made the keychain seem 'rarer' and more valuable in my eyes, despite the fact that there were probably hundreds of these made. I was still young when I got this keychain, and at the time I didn't consider just how many were likely in circulation.

6. pop culture touchstones

Remember when foam clog shoes were all the rage? I do. I never owned a pair, but I do have a few in keychain form.

I think the majority of us remember when Harry Potter mania gripped the world. The golden snitch keychain pictured above was a gift, but I bought the London To Hogwarts train ticket keychain myself at a flea market. According to the information on the back, the ticket keychain originally came from The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando theme park. To be completely honest, I never actually got through the whole book series. I was a little TOO invested in the characters, and because the stakes seemed to keep getting higher as the story progressed, trying to read the later books was just too stressful for me, especially once characters started dying.

Does anybody else remember the big fuss over Y2K? There was a time when everyone was talking about the New Millennium. I bought this keychain cheap at a flea market in 2017. I'm guessing that it was so cheap because nobody cared anymore. But I think it's still interesting as a historical artifact. And who knows, there are people who collect all the mass-market stuff that was produced for the United States bicentennial, so maybe millennium memorabilia will become a hot collectable someday. But I won't hold my breath.

As you can see, it doesn't always take much for a keychain to pique my interest. Maybe that's why I have so many of them.

Signed, Treesa

Hobbies And Fandoms

Since I buy most of my keychains secondhand, it probably won't surprise anyone that I own a keychain that says, "I Brake For Garage Sales".

Even non-collectors will use keychains as a way to advertise what interests them. Whether the subject of their devotion is a hobby, a television series, a film, or a band, chances are there's a keychain in support of it. I myself have a number of keychains that 'cross over' into other areas that interest me. There are several things besides keychains that I collect or have collected over the years, and when these other collectables have shown up in keychain form, well, I just couldn't resist buying them. I collect Barbie fashion dolls, so naturally I also have a collection of Barbie doll keychains from Basic Fun Inc.

As a child my favorite animals were dolphins and turtles, and I collected both in plush form. So it makes sense that I have dolphin and turtle plush keychains.

Actually, I'm drawn to pretty much any keychain with a dolphin or turtle design.

There are other things that I no longer collect, but I still have a reminder of my past interest in keychain form. Things like...marbles.

At one time I had quite an extensive collection of marbles. What makes this really odd is the fact that I never actually learned to play marbles. I was just drawn to the pretty colors of the glass.

I also had a rock collection when I was a kid.

My dad got me into rock and mineral collecting, but I lost interest later in life. However, as you can see from the photo above, I still have quite a number of rock and mineral keychains. I have no idea which minerals most of them are made from. I think the one with the jagged edges might be Irish marble, and the two at the top of the picture are a geode of some kind and, I think, a piece of coal.

The whitish rock with the brown tip in this second photo is citrine, according to the tag. The clear rock is most likely quartz, and I think the egg shaped stone with the mirror-like finish is hematite.

However, it wasn't just my other collections that influenced my choice of keychains. It was also my hobbies.

I've been known to dabble in a number of crafts, including card making, scrapbooking,

and jewelry making.

For the record, I didn't actually make the beaded keychains in the photos above. They were made by two different women, who sold their creations to me at different flea markets.

As for fandoms that I support or have supported in the past, I'm enough of a Star Wars fan that I own several Star Wars keychains.

However, my support for the franchise stops with the original trilogy. I only watched the first of the three prequel films, and I won't watch the newer films, mostly because I've heard enough about the films' plots to know that I don't really want to see them. I'd rather pretend that things went well for the characters after Return Of The Jedi.

For those of you who have enjoyed the subsequent movies, I hope I haven't offended you. I have nothing against people who are fully committed to the Star Wars franchise. I'm just not one of those people. Now, you may be wondering why one of the Star Wars keychains pictured above is from Episode I, since I already stated that I don't really acknowledge the prequels. I just thought the keychain's design of a lightsaber battle in silhouette looked cool.

I also have a fondness for Star Trek.

My paternal grandfather loved Star Trek, and my dad is a fan of the original series. I myself watched Star Trek Voyager in the later seasons, and I even checked out the first few episodes of Enterprise, back when it was originally broadcast. I'm pretty sure that the spaceship keychain pictured above is meant to represent a Klingon Bird Of Prey. The shape seems right, although the color scheme may be a tad off.

I don't think this next keychain actually has anything to do with Star Trek. But it does say USS Enterprise on it, so I can pretend.

I guess that's about it as far as my fan loyalties go. I sort of gave up on television a few years ago, and I rarely go to the multiplex. The sound system there is just too loud for me. There are a few franchises that I'm trying to finish acquiring on dvd. But I don't have any keychains for them, yet. I'm not actually sure how much tie-in merchandise was produced, if any. So, if anyone happens to know where I can buy licensed keychains for either Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Discovery Channel's Mythbusters series, please leave me a comment.

Signed, Treesa