If you look at just about any object, there’s a high chance that a person collects that object. Collectors find value just about everywhere, and even more so if you swirl in a little bit of nostalgia — and that’s especially true for 1970s collectibles.
What felt like the height of technology in the 1970s may look a bit silly and outdated now, but you better believe collectors would do anything to get their hands on all of it. From Sunbeam Mixmasters and electric knives to lava lamps and 8-track players, here are everyday household items from the 1970s that are now considered collectibles.
Typewriters
A great way to know if people still collect something is to check eBay. The place is a collector’s paradise, and its cup runneth over with 1970s typewriters, which can go for anywhere between $60 and $600 these days. Your preferred color, type, and specific year should all be in reach with such an abundant selection.
Rotary Phones
You know that rotary phone-based feeling of anguish when you hit the wrong number and then realize you’re going to have to start dialing all over again? Why leave that in the past? Grab yourself a 1970s rotary phone (some of which are listed for over $100) and chase that feeling all over again.
8-Track Players
When the cassette tape became popular in the late 1970s and 1980s — especially after the 1979 release of Sony’s Walkman — the future looked bleak for the 8-track player. Fans and purists still purchase them online, with some 8-track players fetching nearly $1,000 on Etsy.
Sunbeam Mixmasters
Sunbeam Mixmasters were all the rage at the time, and these days you can find both the handheld and tabletop versions for sale in a lot of places, including Etsy, where you’ll usually find them for under $50.
Countertop Can Openers
I’ll tell you one person who collected at least one of these nightmares: my mom. While I grew up in the ’90s, she had a 20-year-old countertop can opener that I had the misfortune of hearing in action far too often. It was like we lived in a chop shop garage or a steel factory. Just metal grinding and screeching against itself at an unbearably slow pace. For some reason, people still want these things.
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Snow Cone Machines
Retro snow cone machines are hugely popular, but especially so if the kind you’re looking to collect is the famous 1970s Hasbro Frosty Sno-Man machine.
Lava Lamps
Lava lamp culture is still very much alive. People own and make brand new ones to this day, but purists can still shop nearly every inch of the internet to find a vintage 1970s lava lamp, which usually go for around $100 to $200 on eBay.
Betamax Tape Players
Are you one of those rightful truth-tellers out there? Are you one of those people who knew the rest of those fools had made a mistake by moving on from Betamax? VHS won this war in a big way, but people still collect them.
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Vacuums
Vacuums from the 1970s are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the vacuum collector’s world. Roll up the Vacuum Cleaner Collector’s Club Annual Convention and you’ll be around hundreds of people ready to talk shop.
Electric Knives
Is it enough to simply bust out the ’70s family recipe for your Thanksgiving bird, or should you level up the nostalgia by also busting out a vintage electric knife? Some are as cheap as $20 on eBay.
Blenders
People sell Osterizer blenders from the ’70s for collectors to swoop up, usually in the $30-$50 range on eBay. Blenders are more popular than you think, with vintage relics available online from as far back as the ’30s.
Record Players
If you think people love to defend the sound quality of records themselves, you’d better believe there are people out there who love to defend the stereo equipment of years past. Audiophiles everywhere not only collect records, but record players themselves. The ’70s is an easy era of music to add to any collector’s trove.
Avocado Green Refrigerators
Remember these bad boys? They were immensely popular in the 1970s, and while you’ll still have to do some thorough private-collector-style searching to find a vintage one, there are plenty of new fridges made today that emulate that ’70s vibe.
More 1970s Nostalgia From Cheapism
- Things Only People Who Grew Up in the ’70s Will Remember — From shag carpeting and waterbeds to mood rings and tube socks, prepare for a walk down memory lane.
- Where Middle-Class Families Went Out to Eat in the ’70s — Remember Red Barn and Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips? Many of these classic eateries are long gone, but still have a place in our hearts.
- Discontinued 1970s Candy That People Still Miss — Marathon Bars, Space Dust, and plenty more classic sweets that are sure to bring you back.
