Taylor Swift is a one-woman cultural wrecking crew.
Her impact on music — she sold over 4.35 million tickets for her recent Eras Tour, becoming the first tour to gross $1 billion — is only comparable to Michael Jackson.
Her legions of Swifties follow her every move with bated breath, mobilizing in astounding numbers in 2020, with 160,000 voter registrations coming in the 48 hours after Swift’s endorsement during the 2020 presidential election.
The mere presence of Swift at an NFL game — a common occurrence this past season as she began publicly dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kielce — overshadowed the sport itself.
An October 2023 match-up between the Chiefs and New York Jets witnessed a 53% spike in viewership for the teen girl demographic (12-17) compared to an average Sunday game, according to CBC.
This week, Taylor Swift a.k.a. the most successful musician in the world, is releasing her next album: THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
While this will be headline news across the world — her album releases are more akin to national holidays than anything resembling an event concerning a musician — there is plenty to discuss when it comes to cllct's bread and butter: Memorabilia
Cards
2011 Topps Kanye West/Taylor Swift
This card captures the moment West famously interrupted Swift's 2009 MTV VMA acceptance speech.
The combination of the card's unique subject-matter, as well as the extremely limited selection of Swift cards, has made this into one of the most valuable — and certainly the most famous — Swift cards on the market.
CardLadder places a value of $847.71 on the PSA 10 example of the card (population: 20), with the top sale occurring in March 2022 for $1,500.
Attainable item
That same card can be found in PSA 9 condition on eBay with 'Buy it now' listings under $500.
Guitars
Record item: Signed signature guitar
In July 2023, a Swift-signed signature guitar sold for $120,000 at a charity auction for childhood cancer. To put it in perspective, a George Harrison guitar acquired by the Beatles' guitarist in 1968 and later used by the band Badfinger in the recording of Harrison's 1970 album All Things Must Pass sold for $121,870 in 2005.
Attainable item
You can find a signed Swift guitar on eBay for under $1,000.
Photo
Signed Photograph inscribed "Love, Love, Love"
An early signed photo, possibly from a decade ago (when Swift was merely one of the world's biggest stars rather than the universe's most important human), sold in April 2024 at Goldin Auctions for $4,880. The photo exhibits an early photo of Swift and is adorned with her autograph, deemed a perfect 10 by PSA/DNA. In the lot description, Goldin described the piece as the "finest" example they had ever offered.
Attainable item
You can find a signed Swift photo on eBay for around $300.
Snow globe
Taylor Swift 'Lover' snow globe
Beginning in 2019, Swift began selling snow globes on her merchandise site. They quickly became a hit, with each release — often themed around an album, song, or tour — selling out near-instantaneously. One Swiftie has made it her mission to collect them all, going as far as donating plasma twice per week to finance her obsession, according to Business Insider.
One of the most hotly sought-after snow globes resold for $3,800 at its peak.
The clash between swifties & resellers is going to end badly.
— Will Stern (@Will__Stern) December 2, 2023
Taylor sold some snow globes for $50 in 2019, bots snapped up a bunch of ‘em & now they’re selling for thousands on eBay.
One sold for $3,800 this month.
The r/TaylorSwift subreddit is not pleased + there’s a change… pic.twitter.com/QwrXvCsUpm
Attainable item
The Swift snow globe market has cooled significantly, leaving opportunities for collectors to pick up some of the limited-edition pieces for a few hundred dollars on eBay.
Holiday card
Circa 1993 Taylor Swift family holiday card
The resale value of the family holiday card isn't usually top-of-mind when crafting the annual mailer for friends and family. Surely, the Swift family was not thinking of their season's greetings as a future collectible when they sent our their 1993 card.
But 14 Grammy wins tends to change things.
In April 2024, an early 90's holiday card featuring a four-and-a-half-years-old Swift along with her family sold for $2,562.
Attainable item
Collectors might be out of luck on this one for cheaper alternatives. It would appear there is not exactly a flood of these on the market.
Sealed CD
Signed Folklore factory-sealed CD
Interest in physical media has risen significantly in recent years, with sales up 11% to $537 million in 2023 — the highest total since RIAA began tracking the data in 1984.
Along with this resurgent interest in physical music products has come increased interest from the collector community, many of whom place a premium on sealed copies (with an added bonus for a "hype" sticker, a promotional tag applied to many releases during the original roll-out).
A sealed and signed copy of Swift's Folklore CD, exhibiting a hype sticker, authenticated by Rewind Grading, sold for $2,013 in November 2023.
Attainable item
Signed copies of Swift's CD covers can be found in the sub-$400 range on eBay. Though, it's important to be thorough in your research, as the market is flooded with fakes. Items accompanied by third-party authentication is often the safest bet. Sealed copies are tough to find on eBay due to their easily-faked nature and lack of widespread adoption of encapsulation and authentication services.
Vinyl
Limited edition promo Red pressed on red vinyl
As mentioned above, physical media is on the comeback. Vinyl — particularly Swift's vinyl — is leading the way.
In 2023, vinyl sales volume increased 14% over the previous year, with Swift responsible for 7 percent of the total, according to Billboard.
One of her rarest vinyl releases, a promotional pressing of 2012's Red, sold for a high of nearly $4,500 in December 2023.
Attainable item
Vinyl copies of 1989 (Taylor's Version) are easily found on sites like Discoggs for about the price of a White Claw at the Eras Tour concessions stand.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct. You can follow him on X at @Will__Stern.