It seems like the hobby of collecting may have become an activity of yesterday. It used to be that you couldn’t visit someone’s Hidden Valley place and not find Precious Moments, Vinyl Records or a Pooh Bear collection.
Hidden Valley baby-boomers really enjoyed collecting things. The craze today is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to scale down or sadly when a collector relative passes away where do you go with their Comic Books, Trading Cards or Winnie the Pooh collection?
You could try to sell the Pooh Collectibles online. Some of the hurdles you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, figuring out appealing listing descriptions, locating postage, packaging materials and weighing each item, answering question messages from potential buyers, dealing with returns on damaged items, etc.
Also, figuring out pricing can be challenging. Great Aunt may have paid $30 for an item but the online going rate is only $2.79. You need to ask yourself the question “is my time worth just a few dollars”? Online selling can take a significant amount of time.
You can give it to a place like a Hidden Valley Salvation Army. They will take it. However, some people struggle with the thought of their Grandma’s beloved collection being separated and sold for .99 cents. The plush could become a dog toy.
You could donate any plush to a Hidden Valley kids place. However, many places only accept items that are new, in the original boxes and are 5 years old or newer. Plus, your Mom really took care of the plush and displayed them. Some people have a hard time with a plush collectible becoming a plush child toy.
Many times I have been approached by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will accept Pooh Bear Collection.
My answer is with great excitement! I am always honored and humbled to – in my words – “to take care of their collection”.
If I am talking to the Hidden Valley collector and owner I let them know which numbers their items will be in the Guinness World Record Largest Pooh Collection. Their collectibles becomes part of history vs. being sold for a buck at a rummage sale. I let them know I will showcase their donation of collectibles along with mine. I consider their collection as THEIR collection in my database.
When someone donates Pooh Items I think it makes people feel better which I am happy for. Letting go of “things” can be hard for a collector and owners and even sometimes for family members. As much as we don’t want to be labeled as “materialistic” – things we buy and collect can have sentimental attachments and it’s those feelings that we are attached to probably more than the items. People remember where they were when they purchased an item, who they were with or even where in their life cycle they were. They don’t want those memories to vanish with the collection. You can put a price tag on a T-Shirt or toy but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Winnie the Pooh Items to the Guinness World Record Pooh Collection the collection stays grouped and the memories are still there too. In fact, if the owner wants, they can even visit their collection when traveling from Hidden Valley to Wisconsin.
If you have collectibles of Winnie the Pooh items to donate, feel free to contact me and we can coordinate adding your Great Aunt’s Pooh Bear Collection to history and the Winnie the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633