Donating Your Great Aunt’s Pooh Items

It seems like the love of collecting may have become an activity of yesterday.  It used to be that you couldn’t walk into someone’s Carbondale place and not find Stamps and Coins, Vinyl Records or a Pooh Bear collection.

Carbondale baby-boomers loved collecting stuff.  The tendency today is to be a minimalist.

So when you’re ready to scale back or sadly when a collector family member passes where do you go with their Stamps and Coins, Trading Cards or Winnie the Pooh collection?

Selling Pooh Bear Collection

You could try to sell the Winnie the Pooh Items online.  Some of the hurdles you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, creating appealing 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.  Great Aunt 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.

Donate Pooh Collection

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

You could donate any plush to a Carbondale kids place.  However, many places only accept items that are new, in the original boxes and are 5 years old or newer.  Plus, your Grandmother 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 Grandma’s Pooh Bear Items to the Guinness World Record Largest Pooh Collection & Make It Part of History

Over the years I have been contacted by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will accept Pooh 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 Carbondale  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 collectibles 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 collectibles.  You can put a price tag on a stuffed animal or pair of socks 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 together and the memories are still there too.  In fact, if the owner wants, they can even visit their collectibles when traveling from Carbondale to WI. 

If you have collectibles of Pooh items to donate, feel free to message me and we can coordinate adding your Grandma’s Pooh Bear Collectibles to history and the Pooh Bear Museum.

Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633

Deb@MostPooh.com