It seems like the love of collecting may have become a memory of yesterday. It used to be that you couldn’t go into someone’s Green Valley Farms Colonia place and not find Salt and Pepper Shakers, Paper Weights or a Pooh collection.
Green Valley Farms Colonia baby-boomers were obsessed collecting things. The trend these days is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to downsize or sadly when a collector relative passes what do you do with their Hummels, Trading Cards or Pooh Bear items?
You could try to sell the Pooh Bear Items online. Some of the difficulties you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, thinking up 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 $100 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 Green Valley Farms Colonia Goodwill. They will take it. However, some people struggle with the thought of their Grandmother’s adored collection being separated and sold for .99 cents. The plush could become a dog toy.
You could donate any plush to a Green Valley Farms Colonia 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 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 emailed by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will accept 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 Green Valley Farms Colonia 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 donated collection along with mine. I consider their items as THEIR collection in my database.
When someone donates Pooh Bear 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 received 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 plush or poster but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Pooh Bear Collectibles to the Guinness World Record Pooh Collection the collection stays entact and the memories are still there too. In fact, if the collector wants, they can even visit their collection when traveling from Green Valley Farms Colonia to Wisconsin.
If you have collectibles of Pooh Bear items to donate, feel free to reach out to me and we can coordinate adding your Mother’s Pooh Collection to history and the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633