It seems like the pastime of collecting may have become a memory of yesterday. It used to be that you couldn’t visit someone’s Pence house and not find Art, Trading Cards or a Pooh Bear collection.
Pence baby-boomers took seriously collecting stuff. The inclination today is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to scale back or sadly when a collector family member passes what do you do with their Precious Moments, Paper Weights or Pooh Bear collectibles?
You could try to sell the Pooh Collection online. Some of the problems 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, dealing with returns on damaged items, etc.
Also, figuring out pricing can be challenging. Grandma 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 Pence 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 Pence kids place. However, many places only accept 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 Pence 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 donated collection along with mine. I consider their collection as THEIR collection in my database.
When someone donates Winnie the 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 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 stuffie or pair of socks but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Pooh Bear Collectibles 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 Pence to Wisconsin.
If you have collectibles of Pooh items to donate, feel free to reach out to me and we can coordinate adding your Mother’s Winnie the Pooh Items to history and the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633