The Talmud recommends dividing your money into three investments: real estate, gold, and merchandise.
The first two are self-explanatory.
Real estate is one of the oldest wealth builders in the world, and gold has remained valuable throughout human history. Merchandise may sound odd, but there is a logical reason for its inclusion. When you own an inventory of goods that can be resold at a profit, you hold a market-beating asset that is largely under your control.
Many bodegas and corner stores are built on this model: bulk-buy soda for $0.30 per can and resell it for $1.50.
E-commerce and dropshipping are asset-light, 21st-century updates of this concept.
You buy 100 NATO-style watch straps for $1 per unit on AliExpress and resell them for $8 per unit on Amazon.
As the owner of a YouTube channel, I often sell seasonal print-on-demand merchandise. There is a one-time cost to design each product and order samples, but these products can be replicated indefinitely by the printing company that handles shipping and logistics.
Instead of focusing on the technical details of different merchandising niches, well outside my circle of competence, here are three reasons to consider merchandise as an alternative investment:
Higher returns than most traditional investments — Getting a 100% return in stocks or even cryptocurrencies is difficult. Earning 400% returns by reselling a product isn’t easy, but it is common enough that millions of businesses operate on this model.
Instant cash flow — Many “get rich quick” schemes promise instant access to profits. In reality, platforms and payment processors often hold funds in escrow for a predetermined period. Still, when you control inventory, you can run limited-time releases or promotions to generate sales on demand, helping to manage near-term cash flow or cover looming expenses.
Uncorrelated to stocks — Gold and silver are often cited as hedges, but they are still driven by macroeconomic forces. Merchandise derives its value from consumer demand and marketing. Legendary marketer David Ogilvy once took an ordinary, department store dress shirt and made it trendy by creating “The Man In The Hathaway Shirt” campaign. Nothing about the product changed. Its value increased by reframing the shirt as "cool" and "exciting." With merchandise, you control the narrative.
When it comes to beating the market or hedging against uncertainty, owning inventory that can be resold at a profit rarely garners attention. Yet it is one of the few investments whose returns are not dictated by market cycles or macro events.
Historically, it has also been one of the most reliable ways to build wealth.
If you're looking for an investment outside the traditional realm of stocks and real estate, merchandise is one of the few assets where you control the returns.
Investors see ANOTHER return on Masterworks (!!!)
That’s 3 sales this quarter. 26 sales total.
And the performance?
14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8% → The three most representative annualized net returns.
(See all 26 at Masterworks.com)
Masterworks is the biggest platform for investing in an asset class that hasn’t moved in lockstep with the S&P 500 since ‘95.
In fact, the market segment they target outpaced the S&P overall in that time frame.*
Not private equity or real estate… It’s contemporary and post war art. Crazy, right?
Masterworks investors are typically high net worth, but the point is that you don’t need to be a capital-B BILLIONAIRE to invest in high-caliber art anymore.
Banksy. Basquiat. Picasso and more.
80+ of the world’s most attractive artists have been featured.
511+ artworks offered
$67.5mm paid out as of December 2025
$2.3mm+ average offering size
Looking to update your investment portfolio before 2026?
*Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd
Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, always do your own research.
