Collectors, welcome to a new way to start your week. Every Monday, we’ll be highlighting a unique corner of the collectibles market. Do you have a specific item, passion, or niche, with a story to tell? Comment below – we want to hear more.

Back in the 90s, you knew you were in for a great night when it started at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. But when you really liked a certain flick, there was a another step that made you feel part of something bigger – buying the tape or DVD itself. In today’s streaming era, there’s a growing desire to recapture that old feeling of ownership, and the quirks of physical media are becoming coveted collectibles. Buckle up… this could be the next hot market.

If you’ve been following recent collectibles trends, you’re probably wishing that you didn’t lose that playoff ticket stub you had in 2009. Cassettes are starting to make similar headlines with six-figure sales. Both ticket stubs and VHS tapes are clear-cut relics, and an opportunity to revisit nostalgia from the past. But the DVD space is newer, and more uncertain.

Similar to the ticket stub world, the DVDs gaining traction in online sales often possess a certain gravitas. This Friday the 13th collection has been a main discussion point in the horror community. The bonus mask, sleek presentation, and rarity (only 50,000 produced) make it an enticing purchase. In a world where DVD-player ownership is half of what it was twenty years ago, there can be perks to owning a valuable DVD beyond the disc itself. So if (or, when) the movie world goes entirely digital, there will still be room for collectible DVDs.

You might be thinking, does this mean I can sell my copy of Wedding Crashers for $1,000? Not quite. Unless you’ve got an original Star Wars cassette sitting around, high-priced sales are hard to come by (for now). For the most part, the value in DVDs or VHS tapes are in keeping them sealed. But what separates them from other collectibles is the intersection of necessity.

Take it from Guillermo Del Toro: owning a physical copy of media is a responsibility, making you a custodian of storytelling for years to come. There are a few examples of films/shows that simply don’t exist online. In these cases, the value is in the content itself, rather than as an item. We have an unexpected source to predict the future here – video stores.

Scarecrow Video in Seattle claims to have the world’s largest DVD collection. Of their 150,000 titles, 5,500 require a deposit to rent due to high value, which can amount to $1,500 per video. Deposits are most frequently made for Laserdiscs of David Lynch’s “On The Air”, a short-lived but heavily acclaimed TV series from 1992. 

As the series has zero online presence, the few physical copies available are becoming the Honus Wagner T206 of the DVD world. Currently, lower-condition copies of the series sell online for about $200. But given Scarecrow’s high deposit (and demand), we can predict that buying quality copies of On The Air would be a worthy investment if you’re looking to get ahead of the curve.

There are also instances of films being re-edited after its release. When this occurs, the original edit of the film is usually wiped from all “official” existence. Do you want to watch Han Solo shoot Greedo first in the original Star Wars? Somehow, the only way to properly view this full version of the film is by purchasing the cassette release (and as we mentioned earlier, they’re not cheap). Even the smallest altered detail – like Spielberg swapping a gun for a walkie-talkie in E.T., can bring curiosity, and therefore increased value, to a copy down the line.

Physical media is where pop culture passion and preservation meet. After all, we aren’t in the business of paying for replica autographs. Owning a copy of your favorite film or show is owning a piece of our cultural story. It’s something to show, share, and celebrate. 

The market is a bit of a lawless place right now. There’s loads of risk, mixed with high inventory. But one thing is clear: the need for these items is growing. Combine that with the passion of cinephiles, and it becomes an intriguing world to get a jump on.