It seems like the art of collecting may have become a memory of the past. It used to be that you couldn’t go into someone’s Centre County house and not find Comic Books, Books or a Pooh Bear collection.
Centre County baby-boomers were obsessed collecting things. The tendency today is to be a minimalist.
So when you’re ready to scale down or sadly when a collector family member passes what do you do with their Stamps and Coins, Trading Cards or Pooh collectibles?
You could try to sell the Pooh Bear Collectibles online. Some of the difficulties you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, writing attractive listing descriptions, locating postage, packaging materials and weighing each item, answering question messages from potential buyers, handling returns on damaged items, etc.
Also, figuring out pricing can be challenging. Grandmother 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 lot of time.
You can give it to a place like a Centre County Goodwill. They will take it. However, some people struggle with the thought of their Mom’s treasured collectibles being separated and sold for .99 cents. The plush could become a dog toy.
You could donate any plush to a Centre County 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 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.
Over the years I have been emailed by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will take Pooh Bear 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 Centre County 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 items 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 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 T-Shirt or figurine but you can’t put a value on happiness.
By donating Winnie the Pooh Items 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 collectibles when traveling from Centre County to Wisconsin.
If you have collectibles of Pooh items to donate, feel free to contact me and we can coordinate adding your Mom’s Pooh Items to history and the Winnie the Pooh Museum.
Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633