Warning: Don’t take investment advice from me. By Geniusofdespair

I am tired of writing political/investigative blogs so I decided to tell you a story. It was 1990 and I was looking for a gift. I happened upon a collectable sale and knowing my friend was a Star Trek fan I looked over the collection of Star Trek material. The salesman must have seen me coming. He showed me what he described as a rare “Speckled Data." You might remember that Data was the android on the TV show "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Here is the story behind the infamous action figure and how it got its tag:

This was one of the many versions Galoob Toys released in 1988 trying to simulate the "golden" skin tone of Lieutenant Commander Data. This version features DATA with a mocha skin tone with darker brown "speckles".

I was intrigued. A malfunction of the coloring process, like a rare stamp. The salesman said there were only a few produced like this one. I thought to myself, at the time, "far out!" So I bought this $3 toy action figure for $35.00, imagining that in years to come it would sky-rocket to hundreds of dollars. Well, 18 years have passed. Today I checked the price of the "Speckled Data" (in the original unopened card) on E BAY. The mint "Speckled Data" is going for $35.00.

I guess I should be happy, at least it didn’t lose its value. It taught me an important lesson about investing in collectables. I am taking comfort that I am not alone; all those Beenie Baby collectors have fared even worse.

Do you have a bad investment you want to share with us? What about collectables that made you money?