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HOUSEHOLDS could have valuables lying around their house that could be worth a whopping £7,000 without even realising.
Collectors across the globe are willing to pay a pretty penny for everything from old football cards to kids toys.
We share items you could flog for extra cash
While these items may seem like clutter, it may be worth checking their value on eBay before putting them in the bin or donating them to charity.
We reveal what sellers are willing to pay for your old junk here…
FOOTBALL STICKERS – £1,623.27
Collectors are willing to splash the cash on football cards, so it may be worth digging them out of your wardrobe if you have any lying around.
Vintage football stickers are where the money lies, especially those which feature famous players who were, at the time the cards were published, just starting their career.
In January, an eBay bidder paid £1,623.27 for a vintage sticker of Zinedine Zidane, former Real Madrid manager and football champion.
The sticker was made in 1992, when Zidane was playing for Cannes.
And that is not the only sticker worth some serious cash.
In the past, collectors have paid £14,151.24 for a pristine sticker of footie star Cristiano Ronaldo when he was at Sporting Lisbon.
BRATZ DOLLS – £133
You may already know that certain Barbie dolls can be worth a fortune.
But you may not have realised that Bratz dolls are also becoming valuable for collectors.
The edgy and fashionable dolls were a hit with kids when they first launched in the early 2000s.
If you threw any of these up in the loft decades ago, you should go and have a rummage about to see if any could be worth some money.
The Bratz Rock Angel collection appears to fetch a high sum on eBay.
This particular release sells the dolls in rocker outfits, and a movie was released.
One bidder paid £133 for a collection of the dolls last March.
VHS TAPES -£3,000
Collectors are willing to pay top dollar for VHS tapes from the 80s and 90s.
Tracy Martin, a Collectables Expert, formerly told The Sun: “There is a market for old horror movies, especially those dating to the 1970s.
“Disney has a collector’s following, as do rock and pop concerts and 1990s music videos as well as classic movies such as Top Gun, Back to the Future and ET.”
Pre-cert titles, like video nasties, also attract collectors due to their uncut content.
Here is an idea of what rare VHS tapes have sold for in the past:
101 Dalmatians (1992) – £3,000 The Evil Dead (1983) – £350-£400, Beast in the Heat (1977) – £400 The Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) – £50-£150 Now that’s What I Call Music 5 (1985) – £77 Back to the Future (1986) – £40-£50 ET (1987) – £60-£70, The Making of Star Wars (1977 – one of the first on Magnetic Home Video) – £122How to spot a rare Harry Potter book
AS JK Rowling’s popularity has rocketed, so has the value of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
If you think you might have one, then first look to see if Bloomsbury is listed as the publisher on the title page at the bottom.
The copy should be a first edition – which will be noted within the first few pages.
The latest date listed in the copyright information must by 1997.
It should be credited to “Joanne Rowling” and not “J.K Rowling” and carry a print line that reads ” 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1″ on the copyright page.
There is a mistake on page 53 where “1 wand” appears twice in the list of school supplies Harry receives from Hogwarts, which was corrected in later print runs.
For the other titles in the Harry Potter series, it is only the first hardback editions with the dust jacket that have any collectable value.
DINNERWARE – £2,303
You may have been given a dinner set as a wedding present or another special occasion years ago, and left tucked up in the attic since.
Experts at Potteries Auctions, previously told the sun classic patterns like Florentine from Wedgwood or Old Country Roses from Royal Albert have stood the test of time and retain their value or are even worth far more than their original value at auction.
Take a look at how much the dinner sets have sold for in the past.
Old Country Roses – £575 Royal Doulton- £2,303 Wedgwood – £1,912 Denby – £449But do bear in mind that your set is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
OTHER RARE ITEMS
It’s not just toys and dinner ware sets that could be worth a fortune, items like coins and vinyls have been known to fetch high prices too.
For example, one bidder recently paid £76 for a King Charles Atlantic Salmon coin on ebay last month.
It features an Atlantic salmon on one side and the King’s portrait on the other.
It’s the rarest coin in the UK, with only about 200,000 copies minted.
Elsewhere, vinyl records have also been known to sell for way more than their original value.
Martin Hughes is a vinyl records specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms previously told The Sun that households “should keep an eye out for old Northern Soul records, as well as folk and prog rock albums”.
In the past he has sold a Northern Soul record called Please Keep Away From Me by Elbie Parker for £820.
How to spot valuable items
COMMENTS by Consumer Editor, Alice Grahns:
It’s easy to check if items in your attic are valuable.
As a first step, go on eBay to check what other similar pieces, if not the same, have sold for recently.
Simply search for your item, filter by “sold listings” and toggle by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of how much others are willing to pay for it.
The method can be used for everything ranging from rare coins and notes to stamps, old toys, books and vinyl records – just to mention a few examples.
For coins, online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are also helpful to see how much it could be worth.
Plus, you can refer to Change Checker’s latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
For especially valuable items, you may want to enlist the help of experts or auction houses.
Do your research first though and be aware of any fees for evaluating your stuff.
As a rule of thumb, rarity and condition are key factors in determining the value of any item.
You’re never guaranteed to make a mint, however.
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