Donating Your Grandmother’s Pooh Bear Items

It seems like the art of collecting may have become an activity of yesterday.  It used to be that you couldn’t walk into someone’s Thornapple house and not find Hummels, Paper Weights or a Pooh Bear collection.

Thornapple baby-boomers loved collecting things.  The craze today is to be a minimalist.

So when you’re ready to scale back or sadly when a collector relative dies where do you go with their Salt and Pepper Shakers, Cookie Jars or Pooh items?

Selling Pooh Bear Collection

You could try to sell the Pooh Bear Items online.  Some of the hurdles you might face when selling online include: setting up a payment account, figuring out inviting 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.  Great Aunt may have paid $80 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 Items

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

You could donate any plush to a Thornapple kids place.  However, many places only want 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. 

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

Many times I have been contacted by family members and asked if they can donate and if I will accept Pooh Bear Collection. 

My answer is yes!  I am always honored and humbled to – in my words – “to take care of their collection”. 

If I am talking to the Thornapple  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 items along with mine.  I consider their collection 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 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 items.  You can put a price tag on a T-Shirt or figurine 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 relative wants, they can even visit their collection when traveling from Thornapple to Wisconsin. 

If you have a collection of Winnie the Pooh items to donate, feel free to reach out to me and we can coordinate adding your Great Aunt’s Pooh Collection to history and the Pooh Bear Museum.

Deb Hoffmann - 414-708-0633

Deb@MostPooh.com