Donating Your Great Aunt’s Pooh Items

It seems like the art of collecting may have become an activity of yesterday.  It used to be that you couldn’t visit someone’s Wooster residence and not find Salt and Pepper Shakers, Trading Cards or a Winnie the Pooh collection.

Wooster baby-boomers were obsessed collecting items.  The craze these days is to be a minimalist.

So when you’re ready to scale down or sadly when a collector relative passes what do you do with their Precious Moments, Trading Cards or Winnie the Pooh collectibles?

Selling Winnie the Pooh Collectibles

You could try to sell the Winnie the Pooh Collection online.  Some of the problems you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, writing enticing 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.  Mom may have paid $70 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 plenty of time.

Donate Pooh Bear Items

You can give it to a place like a Wooster Salvation Army.  They will take it.  However, some people struggle with the thought of their Great Aunt’s treasured collection being separated and sold for .99 cents.  The plush could become a dog toy.

You could donate any plush to a Wooster 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 Mother really took care of the plush and displayed them.  Some people have a hard time with a plush collectible becoming a plush child toy. 

Donate Your Mom’s Pooh Collection to the Guinness World Record Largest Pooh Collection & Make It Part of History

Over the years I have been approached 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 Wooster  collector and owner I let them know which numbers their items will be in the Guinness World Record Largest Pooh Collection.  Their items becomes part of history vs. being sold for a buck at a rummage sale.  I let them know I will showcase their donated items along with mine.  I consider their items as THEIR collection in my database.

When someone donates Pooh 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 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 collectibles.  You can put a price tag on a plush or poster but you can’t put a value on happiness.

By donating Pooh Items to the Guinness World Record Pooh Collection the collection stays together and the memories are still there too.  In fact, if the owner wants, they can even visit their collectibles when traveling from Wooster 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 Grandma’s Pooh Bear Collectibles to history and the Pooh Museum.

Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633

Deb@MostPooh.com