14 Things in Your Parents' Basement Worth Serious Money

By: Wil Fulton

Credit: Supercompressor

Have you ever poked around an old attic and found something that triggers those all too familiar pangs of nostalgia? Maybe it’s a box of old LEGOs or your old Happy Meal toy collection. These sentimental finds can be great for your soul, but you know what’s even better than feeling good? Cold, hard cash.

So the next time your rummaging around a basement, garage, or attic, keep your eyes peeled for the 14 items on this list. They could be worth thousands—even millions of dollars.

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Credit: Flickr/GeneralMills

1. Old cereal
So most people don’t keep cereal up in their attics, but hey, you never know! Maybe your parents knew that one day vintage cereal (sometimes just the box) would be worth thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars, which is shockingly the case.

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Credit: Flickr/Amanda

2. Furby
Some say Furby was the first step in the inevitable rise of our robot overlords. Others think it’s a glorified Tamagotchi. At any rate, these things got stupid-popular during the holiday season of ‘98, and if you have one of the original guys (especially if it’s unopened), it could be worth upwards of 900 bones.

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Credit: Flickr/davidd

3. Happy Meal toys
These cheap plastic throwaways certainly accrue value for something that a fast food chain literally gives away—complete sets go for $500+ on eBay. If only I could find my Mom’s old Mini-Van, where there was an eternal supply of these things rolling around the back seat floor, soaked in BBQ sauce. Believe it or not, there are even entire sites dedicated to Happy Meal toy enthusiasts. It really makes you question what people are doing with their life.

Credit: Flickr/Bryan Ochalla

4. The original Game Boy
Everyone has an old Game Boy—but don’t get too excited. The real value comes with an original 1992 version of the portable gaming device, especially the iteration with Tetris. Lightly used models can land you a few hundred dollars, while mint-condition editions can fetch upwards of two grand. But honestly, what monster would buy a Game Boy and leave it unopened?

Credit: Flickr/vinylmeister

5. Rare vinyl
Certain pressings your ‘rents probably owned at one point, like the Beatles’ Please Please Me (second edition), a first pressing of The White Album, rare singles from bands like Queen, and even the decidedly anti-capitalist Sex Pistols can score five-digit payouts.

Credit: Flickr/Marc Majcher

6. VHS tapes
You almost definitely have stalagmite-esque piles of VHS tapes littering your basement floor, and most of them aren’t worth more than the rewind fee at your local Blockbuster. HOWEVER—there are some examples of rare tapes that are worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. These coveted titles range from cult classics to first editions of classic films like Star Wars and King Kong. In the future, maybe our kids will collect VHS tapes the way we collect vinyl.

Credit: Flickr/Albert!

7. Old, massive cell phones
The increasing value on the antique market for those early, gargantuan cell-phones may surprise you, but there’s a serious market out there. For models like the Modar Pulsar, your bounty may be 1k+, and for vintage Motorolas, you can land at least a few hundred shekels.

Credit: Flickr/Daniel Lee

8. Pokémon Cards
Finding a holographic Charizard as a kid was akin to stumbling upon a Playboy stash that shot out an endless supply of pixie sticks and Disney VHS tapes. It was pretty much the pinnacle of life. And for the kids who were prudent enough to NOT trade their Pokémon cards for weed when they hit middle school (don’t give me that look), their first editions could net them $5k.

Credit: Flickr/big-ashb

9. Comic books
The works of Marvel, DC, and…uh, whoever else makes comics have become our modern American mythology. And with the popularity of superheroes skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that vintage, elusive comics are worth boatloads of cheddar. However, it is surprising just how much you can make. We’re talking millions for some editions of Superman and Batman.

Credit: Flickr/vintagemodernquilts | lisa

10. Vintage quilts
Homemade quilts are one of the most sought-after items by antique appraisers. In the 19th century, quilt-making was a common hobby for many women and works from this period can be valued well into the $5,000+ category. You’d normally have to take your quilt to an expert to be sure, but many are kept and passed down within families who never really know how valuable they are.

Credit: Flickr/Craig Rodway

11. Random LEGOs
Imagine you bought a vintage LEGO set, one you’ve always wanted, and after spending weeks or even months putting it all together, you find out you are missing one stupid little brick. You’d probably be willing to drop a lot of dough, right? That’s where sites like Bricklink.com come in. They sell people’s individual bricks for hundreds of bucks.

Credit: Flickr/duluoz cats

12. First edition books
First editions of legendary books are some of the most common attic finds that net big profits. And, as you can see, if you find a heavy hitter like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Sound and the Fury, or The Wizard of Oz, you’ll be fighting off collectors that want to make you rich.

Credit: Flickr/Gene Wilburn

13. Your grandpa’s guitar
Every guitar player’s dream is to lift a few boxes in their grandparents’ attic, only to find a vintage Gibson or Fender chilling out in mint-condition inside its original case. Well, it happens. And for those crazy enough to sell these beautiful instruments, they can score well into the hundreds of thousands. Or you could just play it. Even if you suck, you’ll suck with impeccable class.

Credit: Flickr/lord enfield

14. Toy packaging…sans toys
You know those scams where online sellers peddle empty boxes to people at full price? Well, in some cases, buyers know they’re getting an empty box and are willing to pay bank for it. Star Wars enthusiasts have a history of unbridled fanboyism, and nowhere is this more evident than a recent eBay auction, where a vintage Italian Yoda action figure package sold for a whopping $1,136. Other empty boxes, whether they be of foreign intrigue or just vintage rarities, have been hawked for hundreds of dollars. Ripped off, I think you have been.

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