It seems like the interest of collecting may have become a memory of days gone by. It used to be that you couldn’t visit someone’s Hooversville house and not find Comic Books, Paper Weights or a Pooh collection.
Hooversville baby-boomers really enjoyed collecting things. The tendency today is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to scale back or sadly when a collector relative passes where do you go with their Stamps and Coins, Trading Cards or Pooh Bear collection?
You could try to sell the Winnie the Pooh Items online. Some of the difficulties you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, creating attractive listing descriptions, figuring out 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. Mother may have paid $40 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 Hooversville thrift store. They will take it. However, some people struggle with the thought of their Grandma’s cherished items being separated and sold for .99 cents. The plush could become a dog toy.
You could donate any plush to a Hooversville children’s place. However, many places only accept items that are new, in the original boxes and are 5 years old or newer. Plus, your Great Aunt 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 contacted by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will take Pooh Bear Items.
My answer is absolutely! I am always honored and humbled to – in my words – “to take care of their collection”.
If I am talking to the Hooversville collector and owner I let them know which numbers their items will be in the Guinness World Record Largest Pooh Collection. Their collection 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 collectibles 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 relatives. 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 mug or toy but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Pooh Bear Collectibles to the Guinness World Record Pooh Collection the collection stays grouped and the memories are still there too. In fact, if the collector wants, they can even visit their items when traveling from Hooversville to WI.
If you have collectibles of Pooh items to donate, feel free to contact me and we can coordinate adding your Grandma’s Winnie the Pooh Collectibles to history and the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633