My kids have some Beanie Babies brand stuffed toys. They're actually pretty nice stuffed animals. As toys.

I'd heard that Kinkade went under and I was delighted, but it really felt special to go by his "museum" in Monterey last weekend and see the historic building was available. I hope it gets repainted with something tasteful. It's a nice old house.

My friend who had a booth at an auction mall said when the beanie babies were all the rage: When something is SOLD as a collectible, it ISN'T a collectible.

I once visited the Franklin Mint store or headquarters or whatever....
Oh MY!! Cases and cases of expensive crap!
Then a few years back a friend was going to downsize and have a sale to get rid of lots of stuff. She wanted me to come and give her an idea of what some of her stuff was worth. She didn't agree with the estimate the auctioneer gave. She had a "whole series" or some sort of collector plates, all in original boxes, with the papers etc etc....going on eBay for perhaps $3.00 per plate...
She still didn't believe me, she paid $20 and some per plate and KNEW they had to be worth more for the complete set....with original boxes....
NOPE!
Linda C

I have to admit to having sets of plates that cost $20+ per plate, but I liked them when I bought them and still like them. One set is hanging on the kitchen soffit, and when I tire of them I will change them out to another set.

I see one is listed below for $40, but wonder if any ever actually sell.

Here is a link that might be useful: Second issue in the Flowers from Grandma's Garden Series by Glenna Kurz.

Using is fine. If you display your Precious Moments and enjoy them, it's not "collecting cuz they're collectible", it's just having things you like. OK, I still might laugh at you a little, but not as much as if you have them in a box hoping they'll get some value.

Like fori, I tend to take a realistic approach to "stuff" - my own as well as anybody else's. I firmly believe no one will love your stuff as much as you (generic) do.

It came home to me a long time ago when a friend got caught up in the Dept.56 village craze. It was like bizarro world with the club atmosphere - having your name registered with an authorized dealer to purchase new pieces, no selling on the secondary market unless at an authorized swap & sell, snitching to Dept. 56 if you discovered someone trying to sell on the secondary... on and on. Buying two of everything so you could really cash in, making sure the extreme packaging (outer sleeve, fitted styrofoam to cradle the piece, plastic bag to put the piece in before nestling it in the styrofoam then carefully sliding on the sleeve) remained as pristine as humanly possible. I attended a few of these swaps with her and these otherwise lovely people talked about the pieces like they were real. I also went with her on a couple of the Christmas walkabouts - or whatever they're called. It was collecting gone wild. I think some people had as much invested in Dept.56 as they had in their house.

I admit to having 7 pieces of the Dickens Village - they were b'day and Christmas gifts from this same friend who forgot she already had more than two of them. I also admit that I enjoy the few I have; they do make a cute holiday display. I do not want any more - ever.

I'm not familiar with the Dept 56 collectibles. I will have to look them up on eBay.

blueheron - I'm surprised you've escaped Dept 56 in a gift shop near you, but can certainly understand when one is not interested in something, one hardly notices it. Google Dept 56 first before going on ebay.

In defense of Dept 56 - they do put out some clever Christmas ornaments every year. Since I have plenty of Christmas stuff, I allow myself one new ornament under $6.95 every year and the ones I'm drawn to are Dept. 56. Instead of in boxes on shelves, they're usually on the trees that shops decorate - you pick off the tree. And they're just perfect for hanging on the evergreen swag I usually wire up for the fireplace.

I think the only collectibles that may actually appreciate in value are stamps and coins but not ordinary stuff.

Basically, anything produced in tens of thousands will likely not even hold the value of what you paid for the item. The latest thing with Precious Moments is limited addition pieces, maybe 2,500 or so. Up front price on some of these is $200-$300 per piece.

Duluth pretty much hit the nail on the head. Not many folks have a lot of extra money to spend on high priced collectibles, especially with 10 million people out of work just trying to hang onto their homes.

Maybe if you're lucky enough to have the 1 cent "Black on Magenta" of British Guiana. Yes it's true some stamps and coins are rare, desireable, and expensive, but the little collections started then abandoned to albums or drawers generally are not going to net you much. A serious collector with deep pockets to begin with - well, that could be another story.

People will always argue that they have or they sold this that or the other for this amount - but that doesn't mean everyone will.

All collectible lines do limited editions- in some cases limited means the number of people willing to buy them. "Retiring" pieces is another trick to make those who didn't get it the first time go nuts trying to get one at any price.

I googled Dept 56 and I recall having seen them in gift shops, etc. Never bought oany, though.

LOL ideefixe - "the horror" Agree wholeheartedly.

Personally, I'd organize a trap shooting party and use these little things as the targets. I think they're hideous, but there's no accounting for taste, as my granny said when she kissed the cow.

Too funny. I had a cousin who also mentioned "target practice" when his wife came home with boxes of "inherited" crap from one of her dearly departed relatives.

There is no reason for why we love what we do. I'm accepting of that. What I do have trouble with is the tenacious hold onto the belief that it's all valuable. Antique malls are filled with somebody's attic junk - and most of it remains unsold.

At least I don't have friends and relatives who send out Thomas Kinkade Christmas cards. Gotta love those little cottages with every window ablaze with light, every chimney billowing smoke... if you look real close, all the trees and shrubs are still blooming too.

I'm sorry; that's going to offend somebody.

must see 200 and also 21 orignials

And don't forget the paintings of the dogs playing poker! Talk about "the horror." Gag me with a spoon.

Hi. Twenty-five years ago or so, I started collecting mint stamps which Post Canada would send me every month. When I enquired as to their value, I was told that they were worth their face value. I use Internet to pay bills and send five letters a year. So I used them as postage when selling stuff on Ebay and was able to get my money back. And now I have cookie stamps, never used, and they hardly sell on Ebay. And my collection thimble which sold for a quarter of the price. And I was forgetting my Barbie dolls. Seems all this to be a bit of waste of money.

I see everybody on here is trying to sell. Well, some of my family members through several generations have some precious moments that are very old and in great condition. I was wondering if anybody can help me figure out what they are worth once I have more detailed information?

CoreyJay....Precious Moments only started selling ornaments and figurines in late 1978. See link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: History of Precious Moments

My kids, now in their late 30s and early 40s loved Pound Puppies and Beanie Babies as toys. I bought them when they first came out at reasonable toy prices and they loved them and played with them. Never bought the overpriced ones.

Cabbage Patch Dolls? Of the millions sold, did any survive in the box? You NEVER know what will end up being worth anything.

Want to sell

I see that there are Princess Di beanie babies on sale on Ebay for thousand of dollars! No takers, ya think?

Clement Greenberg: "Kitsch pretends to demand nothing of its customers except their money -- not even their time."

"I tell people that keeping collectibles is like storing money under your mattress," says Lou Kahn, head of the Bakerstowne Collectibles appraisal and consignment service in West Hempstead, N.Y. "You're going to have the same amount of money next year, but it's going to be worth a lot less."

This article can be viewed as discouraging for people sitting on collections of things in hopes of really cashing in some day. The bottom has really dropped out of the collectibles market. There are things worthy of investment, but the average person doesn't have the discretionary cash for an 18 carat Patek Philippe watch or an Old Master painting.

Buy what says something to your heart but don't be dismayed if heirs dumpster it when you're in long term care.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10863800/1/5-completely-worthless-collectibles.html

I disagree a little bit with Thestreet. Early WW II Hummel figurines do have some worth in that they are in short supply.....and they are "cute". If you are going to collect something, collect something you can use, not something to stack under your bed for another day.
I have about 5 or 6 Lladros...angels and a Madonna and an angel with a baby....I bring them out at Christmas and they work for that.
If you are going to collect something, make it something that you can use or that you like for decoration. My bedroom hall is decorated with Currier and Ives prints of women and another wall with Godey's fashion prints. All are likely worth about what I paid for them....but had I gone to the gift shop and paid the same amount for a picture of a lady in costume, that was not an original lithograph, it would be worth about $.50 in a garage sale, while the Currier and Ives are still worth about $35 to $45 that I paid.

And to think that Pyrex sets of refrigerator dishes are selling for $75 on Ebay. I have one of those sets and I use it all the time. It seems that antiques are not selling but mid-century stuff is...Who knew?

I was recently at a consignment shop where I saw the Pyrex dishes for sale. Was I surprised! To think I would have sold them at a yard sale if I wasn't using them.

Forgot to add - DH and I were at an auction today where people bring their items to be sold and the auction house takes a percentage. There were tables full of Dickens Village items and Longaberger baskets. We didn't stay to see what they went for, but I was curious to see
what the baskets went for. I remember going to home parties where they were sold, like Tupperware...LOL I recall they were rather pricey, but well made.

Longabegers are beautiful, well made baskets....but so are lots of others!!
The reason those little pyrex refrigerator dishes are so many $$ is that they are/were useful and got broken and are in short supply. I used to have a stack of them....they were made to stack in the refrigerator....and I have broken all but 2....which I treat with great care!!

I've been to a few auctions in Mpls/St. Paul. Lots of Hummels. They end up being combined and sold in boxed lots to create some bidding interest... when all is said and done, the boxed lot average is maybe $10 a piece for the Hummels inside. There is a reason the Antiques Road Show won't bother appraising Hummels, Dept. 56, and Bibles.

Have a friend back East who was caught up in the Dickens Village craze - when was that? Sometime in the late 70's and onward? She would go to her "authorized dealer" and buy two of everything with the understanding selling on the secondary market was verboten. It was clubby with lots of rules; kind of made my head spin.

Over the years, she'd given me 7 of them for birthdays, etc. - and I was not unhappy to have those few as they did make a nice mantel display for the holidays. But by the time I left the East Coast in 2001, she'd amassed a storage locker full of them - literally.

Before Christmas 2014, my brother mentioned his daughter in law was starting to look for Dickens Village pieces in thrift shops, etc. Out the door went my little collection of pieces all carefully wrapped in their plastic bags, in fitted styrofoam boxes with a fitted outer sleeve. That was a win-win.

Yep....they are cute Christmas decorations....just a few....set on a shelf. But when you have literally a room full it's a bit sick....and if you think they are anything more than Christmas decorations, you are crazy!

I got a Dept. 56 set in an original box for $5 at a garage sale last summer - "A Christmas Carol" village. Looked like new with all the electrical lights and cords working. By the Xmas season I added a few trees, all bought secondhand for $1 or less. It looks pretty on the console table in my living room. I won't be buying more since this set is just enough for the space.

Last weekend a neighbor had a big 3-day garage sale. She had a long table full of Dept. 56 stuff. The houses were priced at $20-$30. When I browsed the sale on Friday, I noticed some people picking up the pieces, looking at the price tags and putting them back on the table. When I drove by on Sunday, that table was still full. There were lots of other collectibles too, and most of them were still there on Sunday.

BUT....if you had told her before the sale that they were worth peanuts.....she wouldn't have believed you!

It's a shame that many of these 'collectibles' have become almost impossible to give away, let alone sell. I haven't collected anything for years, unless you would consider my much used vintage white covered bowls/tureens a collection. IMO, anything purchased in the hopes of it increasing in value is nothing more than a ploy by the retail industry to 'hook you in' so you keep buying. Anything of real value won't be found in a Halmark store or any other retail store, unless it's a reputable antique shop. Just my 2 cents on the subject of collectibles.

My rule is never buy anything NEW hoping it will increase in value> A couple of happy surprises wee my wedding silver and china.

The REAL "collectibles" are things that are scarce in good condition because they were played with and used or used up.

Any marketing claim that items sold as new will become valuable "collectibles" is a scam. One should buy them just for what they are - a pretty decor piece with little inherent value. Unless you're using them for bartering with indigenous tribes in the Amazon forests. Granted, there are some exceptions but they're far and few between.

I agree....but every time I say that I remember my friend who sold a first edition Hummel Christmas plate he paid $40 for for a cool thou!! He was in the right place at the right time and found a fool panting to spend money! When he bought the plate, he bought 2...one to sell and one to keep. the one he kept is now worth about $20!! LOL!

Looking for the hosp. that wanted to make a precious moments Christmas tree to auction off for the children's miracle network???

Have many to sell and in boxes.

Jean....did you read these posts? No one is willing to pay anything for Precious Moments.

No sorry

Good Lord, she's asking for help and doesn't need negative comments. If you can't help, move on.

HU-28whatever...obviously you didn't read the other posts either.
Precious Moments figurines are worth next to nothing.
And that's helping her not to flog a dead horse......and why did you ressurect a 15 year old post to make a snide comment?

I have my Precious Moment's Figurines collection I would like to sell.Tbe oldest one is from 1970..down to 1988.Some members only,retired ones,and special addition ones.All original boxes.Perfect condition.Hkw do I go about finding byers.

Read this whole thread.....They are worth very little. Ebay is probably your best bet.

Buyers? Probably few and far between. Everyone who collected them has them and no one else is interested. Aging population of collectors who all want to sell. Hopefully, you enjoyed them and didn't buy them as an "investment".

I have three collections and about 150 precious moments that I want to sell. Any ideas who would want to buy. I have them back from 1978.

The point of this thread is no one wants them....they are worth nothing. Scroll up and read the whole thread...

Just take them to the charity shop. Assign your own value to them for your tax return. That's what we do. For some reason, my whole family thinks I am the "keeper of all things" and they keep passing down collections, furniture and other things I do not want. They go straight to the local charity shop or Habitat. If there's something I truly love or it has a high monetary value I keep or sell.

Sadly, No one reads the comments. They just bring the old threads back up over & over.

That being said, I just took a bunch of PM figurines to the Salvation Army donation center today. I'm sure they'll be thrilled. (not)

they will price them high and then they will sit there,,,,get reduced to half and someone will buy them thinking they are ad eal.....and the cycle repeats!