Much Like Retro Matchbooks, People Collect These Little Tabletop Packets For The Memories

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Having a collection is a fun, tangible way to remember certain moments throughout your life, but there's no need to spend a fortune on fine art, designer handbags, or even vintage fast food chain matchbooks, which can go for quite a lot these days. One of the most unique collector's items is available at most coffee shops, hotels, and on airplanes around the world, and it doesn't cost a cent. Even if you don't take sugar in your coffee, you may have noticed the unique shapes and designs that abound on sugar packets. Next time you do, and if you're so inclined to begin a new collection, snag one from the table and prepare to join the sucrology club.

This hobby is a pretty niche one, but that doesn't mean it's not worth indulging in, especially if you travel frequently. One sugar packet-collector — or, sucrologist, as they're known within the community — shared their collection of about 1,400 sugar packets on Reddit. Each of them is organized into a labeled bag of the country in which it was collected, highlighting both linguistic and design differences. They even mentioned that they emptied the sugar from each of the packets, making it literally as thin as a piece of paper. Compared to matchbooks, which can be bulky and come in a range of shapes, sugar packets can be compressed, making it possible for you to collect over 1,000 of them, too.

Much like the unique hobby of cheese-label collecting or vintage cookbook collecting (which is ferociously competitive), sugar packet collections are worth a little something, especially those that have aged a few decades. These little paper items are sought out by sucrologists, but according to one Redditor, they may also appeal to those who collect ephemera or who enjoy scrapbooking.

On eBay, the most expensive sugar packet at the time of this writing goes for $844.92. It's a 1962 sugar packet of the Space Needle from the Seattle World's Fair. The most expensive collection you can find on eBay contains a wide range of sugar packets branded with the respective logos of different airlines. This collection goes for $232.48. You'll find single packets and collections of all shapes, sizes, and sorts on eBay, from hospital logos to vintage Disneyland postcard designs. Clearly, there is a market for these items, albeit a small one, so if you've been thinking about beginning a new collection, this is certainly one to consider.

Even if you aren't interested in selling your sugar packet collection at some point down the line, these little packets of sweetness are fun and colorful to look at. With so much variety, sugar packet-collecting is a great way to remember your travels in a different way. While some collectors keep them in a baseball card sheet-lined binder, others prefer laying them out and displaying them in a frame. Either way, this hobby is inexpensive, fun, and a great way to remember trips abroad, or simply trips to the new coffee shop down the street.