Skip to content

MuggleNet

  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Editorials / The Daily Prophet

The Joys and Perils of Collecting “Harry Potter” Merchandise

by Emily Hedrick · April 18, 2018

Do you remember your first piece of Harry Potter merchandise? Whether it was an action figure, game, decor item, article of clothing, or something else entirely, that item is likely still precious to you.

 

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" PC Game

 

My first piece of HP merch was the PC game Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which was released by Electronic Arts in 2001. When I bought the game with my allowance money in 2002, I was 14 years old, obsessed with Harry Potter and video games, and impatiently awaiting the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Despite the game’s somewhat rudimentary graphics, I relished the opportunity to see and interact with my favorite fictional world through the eyes of Harry Potter himself. I haven’t played the game for many years, but I still own it and will never forget the wonder I felt while playing it.

 

"Harry Potter" merchandise collection

 

In the years since that initial purchase, I have amassed a large Harry Potter collection. Although I am proud of my collection and enjoy displaying it nicely, I realized about two years ago that my desire to collect as many items as possible was undermining my love for the story itself. The act of collecting was becoming more frantic than fun, and each new item meant less to me than the last.

I believe that this kind of collector burnout stems primarily from a desire to prove to ourselves and others that we are superior Harry Potter fans. Each new item can begin to symbolize a notch in our belts rather than a treasured keepsake. We share photos of our latest finds, briefly savor the likes and comments, and then immediately feel the need to prove ourselves again by acquiring more items. This furtive cycle can become very isolating, which is a sad irony for members of one of the most inclusive and supportive fandoms in existence. When I started feeling isolated, I decided to change my approach to collecting, and I now feel reconnected with my favorite fandom.

 

Draco Malfoy looking panicked in HBP bathroom scene

 

If you’re experiencing collector burnout, I would recommend asking yourself the following questions before purchasing additional items:

1. Will I use this item or at least display it with care?

2. Will the experience of buying this item be meaningful and enjoyable?

3. Can I afford this item without it causing me undue financial strain?

If a potential collecting venture will produce a negative answer to one of these questions, proceed with caution. If it will produce two or three negative answers, I would strongly advise foregoing that particular venture.

In hindsight, many of the items I have collected over the years have entailed a negative answer to at least one of these questions, namely the second. After happening upon a veritable cache of early-2000s Harry Potter merchandise (my absolute favorite era of merchandise) a few years ago at a local thrift store, I started going to many different thrift stores almost daily, hoping to find more of these rare treasures. I also began scouring the Internet for items. I sporadically found great items, but the amount of time and energy I spent hunting started to take its toll. The joy I had always associated with Harry Potter was nowhere to be found in these feverish searches.

 

Enesco Hermione Granger bookend

 

Although I curtailed these too-frequent expeditions, I haven’t stopped collecting HP merch entirely. Over the past year or so, I have attended a few comic conventions and two local Harry Potter events, each of which yielded at least one incredible find. At one of the HP events, I found my favorite item to date: an Enesco Hermione Granger bookend! For the most part, the items I purchased at these events meant more to me than the items I found at thrift stores because the experience of buying them was so much more pleasant and memorable. I now feel like Harry shopping in Diagon Alley rather than Draco Malfoy skulking ’round Knockturn Alley! I hope your collecting ventures more closely resemble the former experience as well.

 

Diagon Alley crowded street from "Harry Potter" movie

 

Please tell us about your first piece of Harry Potter merchandise, your favorite piece of merchandise, or your experiences as a collector in the comments!

Social:

  • Next story “Cursed Child” Producer Sonia Friedman Working on LGBTQ-Themed Project
  • Previous story Dan Fogler Talks His “Fantastic Beasts” Experience: “It’s a little magical. Pun absolutely intended.”

MuggleNet Archive

Important Dates

July 2025

Fri, Jul 11

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie (US)
Recurs yearly

2007

Sat, Jul 12

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie (UK)
Recurs yearly

2007

Harry and Dumbledore travel to get Slughorn
Recurs yearly

1996

Harry officially learns he inherited Grimmauld Place and Kreacher
Recurs yearly

1996

Sun, Jul 13

OWL results arrive at the Burrow
Recurs yearly

1996

Tue, Jul 15

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 movie
Recurs yearly

2011

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie
Recurs yearly

2009

WWoHP at Universal Japan's anniversary
Recurs yearly

2014

Wed, Jul 16

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book
Recurs yearly

2005

MuggleNet podcasts are sponsored in part by Secretlab.

Thanks to its research-backed ergonomic design, including a proprietary 4-way adaptive lumbar support system, the Secretlab TITAN Evo Harry Potter Edition will comfortably support you even when you’re up to no good.

Did You Know

Shirley Henderson was aged 35 at the time that she first played Moaning Myrtle. She is the oldest actor to play a Hogwarts student in the Harry Potter films.

Potter History

November 19, 2005 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film grosses $36 million on opening day and $101 million during opening weekend.

Potter Quote

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fansite.
Please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
© 1999–2025 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Terms of Use | Feedback


MuggleNet is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Bookshop.org's affiliate program, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and bookshop.org.