Featured Worthless Collectables

I need to stop reading Chamilia as chlamydia.

There is some really good modern jewellery out there: have a look at Sheila Fleet's lovely stuff. But all that trendy stuff is just.... oh. So not.

 

Not much difference as far as desirability goes. Another "don't bother" is Alex and Ani. Pretty worthless in the long run.

 

Vintage thread resurrection time!

Was at an estate auction recently with several tables full of large binders and Rubbermaid totes full of modern collector stamps. The auctioneer sold choice of any binder or box on the table and the first couple sold for $45 & $35 to a couple of dealers. After that they couldn't get a bid for $10 each so they grouped the rest by table and sold each entire table load for $15 x 2.

Kind of sad, the collector had obviously put a lot of time, effort, and money into those neatly constructed binders full of stamps but today they like so many other over hyped mass produced "collectables" have little value on the secondary market.

*** Note: Some 19th century stamps still are very popular with collectors and are worth considerable amounts. The high end of the stamp market is still fairly healthy.

 

My father collected stamps over his lifetime and was very sad to see they were only worth using for sending mail. My brother has them I think. I see them at sales and they usually sit with no interest.

 

I bought a binder with 41, 22KT Golden Replicas of USA stamps that a woman had collected in the early 80's.
They are lovely..and the real stamps are too, and each envelope is has a full history lesson included about the event.

It's like a time capsule ......but alas.....now I wish I could scrape the gold off them....... baahh....not really.....but kinda !

 

Might as well.(sigh) They're gold-plated and the gold value is about what they're worth.

She says, licking 80s stamps for postage.

 

In the 80s, my Mom went crazy over Home Interior porcelain animals. She had them all over the house. Same with the Denim Kids by that company. I'm not sure if she did it as an investment, or just because she liked them. She divided them up between my sister and i, and said that when she dies, we'll each get half of them. I really don't think they're worth much, and I don't really want them.....it's just not my thing. I'm not even sure if she still has them, because I don't see them all over her house now. Oh, and Gone With The Wind plates!! She was obsessed, and they're all over her house. I tried selling a few for her at this flea market we did. Nobody was interested.

These are examples of what I'm talking about (my Mom actually had all of these):
https://www.etsy.com/listing/711990...f=sr_gallery-1-4&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/624189...=sr_gallery-1-10&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/618937...=sr_gallery-1-32&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/514001...f=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

 

My husband is a retired postmaster and has some stamps. I like to buy the special sets and use them. I am still using the Halloween stamps from I don't know how long ago, the monster set, adding extra stamps to make up the postage. I used all my Happy Birthday stamps.

 

When I was in my 20s, I had a very small corner curio my mother gave me, and I collected those awful Colonial made in Japan figurines. However, I think my whole entire collection cost a whopping $20, so I didn't get hurt. Donated them to thrift shops.

 

I have one pair, or rather Mom does. I think they were a teacher gift a long time ago.

 

My dad's second wife collected this sort of thing & had 2 (incomplete) GWTW sets. Think she sensed my lack of enthusiasm & stopped sending me Wizard of Oz plates after the third one. Donated them to a shop supporting AIDS-related organizations. There were also stamp & coin 'collectibles'. My dad just shook his head at how much of her earnings she sank in these things. The 4 kids from her first marriage had not been in touch much over the years & none came to her memorial service, but, after my dad died & all this stuff legally became mine, was rather relieved when I was able to get in touch with some of them & more than relieved when one wanted anything she could get her hands on.

 

Saved you the trouble! I bet she was disappointed in how un-collectible the collectibles were!

 

It was complete luck that she had her own reason for being in the area at the same time I was there. She was residing in a different state at the time. Her 2 younger siblings had already been to the house to collect some albums I had found with photos of them as children & had each chosen to take only a couple of other things from a china cabinet for themselves, & rather reluctantly at that. And then big sis swooped in...

 

I have to admit, I let my son collect silly things when he was little. (marbles, trading cards, fossils, sharks teeth, Hot Wheels, etc) But it gave him something to "hunt" for when taking him to Flea Markets. He had to bring his own money, and it taught him how to barter, budget his money, etc. He loved it. But, I know none of that is worth anything anymore, but the lessons and memories are priceless.

Right now he's into collecting NHL Blackhawks stuff- signed pucks, singed trading cards, etc. He's gotten some things signed in person at camps and others from Ebay. It's all over his game room, and he loves it. I'm sure some of it may be appreciate over time, but some may not. Right now it's more of a fun thing, because he's hockey obsessed, and it's a fun collection, and looks good in his room. lol

 

Some of the Hot Wheels are worth buxxx - look for wheels with red lines around them. Some trading cards can be worth a bit too. In fact some go for crazy money. Maybe he did better than you thought.

 

He started collecting them in 2007- he has 4 tubs full, but they've all been played with. He's never been one to beat up his toys, so they're not all broken up or anything. But they're not mint either. lol But, I'm sure some will be worth something in the future.

He has several signed Blackhawks trading cards. Some have a piece of the jersey in them. He's had several signed in person. They might be worth more in the future, because we didn't pay much for them. One time at a yard sale, he bought a book. We got home, and an old picture of Bobby Hull fell out, and it was signed! Best 25 cents we spent! LOL

 

I don't consider those silly, except maybe trading cards or Hot Wheels when they're bought new on some assurance that they're 'collectible' & are sure to appreciate in value. It's the pre-made collections put out by outfits such as Bradford Plate Exchange or the Franklin Mint, things you pay for in installments or buy one every two or three months, with the urging to collect the set & get the custom display rack for just 10.99 + S&H, that sort of thing (e.g., my stepmother had a set of porcelain thimbles with transfer portraits of US First Ladies) that seem to appeal more to an obsessive-compulsive impulse rather than to any genuine interest or curiosity. Things that require no hunting, no research, no thought. I do not call that collecting.

 

Mine was given to me by Billy Reay & Tommy Ivan , along with photo's of Stan Mikita and Pierre Pilote.....& two Blackhawk golf balls !!
I can't find the other two photo's...but I framed Bobby & it's in my den !!

 

Nice!! My son has gotten several autographs in person, at his Camp in Kelowna. (Curtis Lazar, Brent Seabrook, The Shenn Brothers, Cary Price, Josh Gorges, Cody Franzen, Blake Comeau.....) Brent Seabrook was the nicest guy, and we saw him at a few camps. Josh Gorges just retired from the Sabers, so he was coaching a camp. We saw him daily and talked to him. He's really nice too. One of my son's coaches was a retired Blackhawk, and one of his assistant coaches just got signed with the Avalanches. It's such a fun camp!

Here is one wall in my son's game room. Some of these pucks are MVP pucks that my Son earned. Most of the signed ones are in the second pic.

 

very nice !!!! gotta luv a FAN !!!!