It seems like the art of collecting may have become a memory of days gone by. It used to be that you couldn’t walk into someone’s Unionville Center home and not find Precious Moments, Cookie Jars or a Pooh Bear collection.
Unionville Center baby-boomers took seriously collecting items. The craze today is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to downsize or sadly when a collector family member dies what do you do with their Precious Moments, Books or Pooh collectibles?
You could try to sell the Winnie the Pooh Collectibles online. Some of the hurdles you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, writing appealing listing descriptions, locating postage, packaging materials and weighing each item, answering question messages from potential buyers, handling returns on damaged items, etc.
Also, figuring out pricing can be challenging. Grandmother may have paid $60 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 lot of time.
You can give it to a place like a Unionville Center Salvation Army. They will take it. However, some people struggle with the thought of their Mother’s adored items being separated and sold for .99 cents. The plush could become a dog toy.
You could donate any plush to a Unionville Center children’s place. However, many places only want items that are new, in the original boxes and are 5 years old or newer. Plus, your Grandma really took care of the plush and displayed them. Some people have a hard time with a plush collectible becoming a plush child toy.
Over the years I have been contacted by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will take Winnie the Pooh Collectibles.
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 Unionville Center 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 Bear Collectibles 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 items. You can put a price tag on a mug or statue but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Winnie the Pooh Collectibles 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 collectibles when traveling from Unionville Center to Wisconsin.
If you have collectibles of Winnie the Pooh items to donate, feel free to email me and we can coordinate adding your Grandmother’s Pooh Collection to history and the Winnie the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633