A Collective About Collections.

[Lanolin]

huh where do I start.
My dad is a collector - vinyl records, coins, pictures of trains, etc. My mum I wouldnt say is a collector but she verges on hoarding. she doesnt throw stuff away. You can hardly enter the garage....

I grew up to be a librarian. So now I manage libraries for other people not my own, at home I only have a couple of bookshelves and mostly just gardening books as reference. I wouldnt say I collect plants, but I do enjoy having as many varieties of flowers in my garden that will grow. Some people are very narrow in their gardening like they will only grow one thing, like roses. I am for diversity and variety.

I think if you do have the collecting bug you may as well work in a museum, library or retail or warehouse where there are just so many THINGS. And not get too attached to possessing things but be able to share.

I think God has created such an interesting creation with so much variety in animals and plants that we may never come to the end of it. I think it pleases Him to appreciate all the variety that He has made.
I dont consider myself to be a hard core obsessive collector that I would spend tens of thousands of dollars on something just for myself.

when I was younger I was a huge Garfield fan but I let that go lol. I think that turned into a little bit of idolatry but Hello Kitty probably gave Garfield a run for his money in the merchandising stakes. It was probably a cheaper hobby than anything else though because back in the day a new comic strip would be printed in the newspaper and All I had to do was cut it out and paste it in my own scrapbook and then eventually I would have a collection!

 

[Lanolin]

thinking about the dating thing
I dont know about that but I think I would be put off if someone valued their collection MORE than me.
if it gives them pleasure, I think its ok but I am not going to be financing or enabling them if its become an addiction!

my mum has zero interest in my dads record collection for example and wouldnt know a 45 from a 78 and doesnt care to. But she doesnt stop him from collecting as long as he can afford to pay the bills and stuff.
however, there was a time when I accidently touched one of his record as a toddler, I dont know if I broke it I honestly cant remember but he got very angry and it possibly traumatised me for life. Plus I have to put up with a pre 1964 record time warp, but thankfully, theres headphones.

whenever an old record collector dies, you can be sure my dad might swoop in to pick whats left of the collection. Plus I think theres something morbid about waiting till all these recording artists die and then celebrating their deaths. People get like that with movie stars too.

 

[Lynx]

whenever an old record collector dies, you can be sure my dad might swoop in to pick whats left of the collection. Plus I think theres something morbid about waiting till all these recording artists die and then celebrating their deaths. People get like that with movie stars too.

For some reason this reminds me of my grandmother, sitting watching a Gaither show - an old rerun - and when the camera would focus on certain people who were no longer alive she said, "He's dead, and he's dead, and he's dead, and I'm pretty sure he's dead..."

 

[mar09]

huh where do I start.
My dad is a collector - vinyl records, coins, pictures of trains, etc. My mum I wouldnt say is a collector but she verges on hoarding. she doesnt throw stuff away. You can hardly enter the garage....

I grew up to be a librarian. So now I manage libraries for other people not my own, at home I only have a couple of bookshelves and mostly just gardening books as reference. I wouldnt say I collect plants, but I do enjoy having as many varieties of flowers in my garden that will grow. Some people are very narrow in their gardening like they will only grow one thing, like roses. I am for diversity and variety.

I think if you do have the collecting bug you may as well work in a museum, library or retail or warehouse where there are just so many THINGS. And not get too attached to possessing things but be able to share.

I think God has created such an interesting creation with so much variety in animals and plants that we may never come to the end of it. I think it pleases Him to appreciate all the variety that He has made.
I dont consider myself to be a hard core obsessive collector that I would spend tens of thousands of dollars on something just for myself.

Yess, even if the plants look kind of topsy turvy, i still love the variety!

I missed to say in reply to the OP, that thru the yrs i also strove to collect photos of small and random events of my family, in hard copy albums. Not too many, just to represent the yrs passing by. In contrast, my mom (and a bro) has had hundreds of prints for a few occasions, outings or trips, wc quickly filled up albums. True, their lives are more exciting and theyre more travelled-- so u can imagine how many shelves of photo albums are in my mom's house=).

 

[Krumbeard]

I really admire it when someone has a green thumb. I tried to get into houseplants a few years ago but it took me forever to be able to keep even the basics alive (I eventually figured out that my plants needed pots with an array of drainage at the bottom, not just one outlet in the middle,) but by the time I had about 20 things going, I had to change residences and alas, soon found out that moving companies will not move plants. The cost to ship them was several times more than what I had paid for the plants themselves, so now I only keep a handful around.

It's awesome that you not only grow the plants, but can make the pots as well! WOW!!! I really hope you can share some pictures sometime. And chickens seem to be a bit of a trend right now, huh? I'm picturing you gifting someone with a "Chicken in a Pot"... Just not a cooking pot. (Would a Chicken in a Pot be a counterpart to a Pig in a Blanket?)



There is something really cool about objects in miniature. I especially like it when they have working parts. I know it's not quite the same, but I love watching YouTube videos in which people make miniature houses, dioramas, and scenes (such as those that would include miniature vehicles.)



This brings up another good point -- we all know the old saying, "My Mom threw away my baseball collection and I could have made a fortune!" Has anyone ever sold their items or collections at a sizable profit?

I know it's said that the first rule of collecting is to do it because of your love for whatever you collect and not to make money, but sometimes you just can't help but wonder.

As a kid, I used to collect stamps. I saw them as a blend of art and miniatures, which totally floats my boat. Eventually, I wound up using almost all the stamps on letters, and now I wonder if I should have saved them. Not that I would have made much, but apparently there is a bit of a demand for older, unused stamps by online letter-writing communities, and even if I could have gotten 10 cents more than what I paid for them, at least that would have been something. A small something, but still something!

I also have two old postcards from a past relative at a time when stamps only cost 1 cent. This was also when machine cancellations weren't as precise, so if the mailman noticed the stamp had been missed, he would hand-cancel it himself. I have 2 cards in particular -- one was hand-cancelled (with a pencil,) and on the other, the machine's mark missed the stamp so it's attached to the card, but still essentially uncancelled. I've always wondered if they're worth something (sure, maybe a whopping 50 cents each!)

May I should check out the next edition for "The Antique Road Show."

Have any of you ever made a killing on your collections (or thought you could do so?)

Artificial plants are easy to keep around. But you should probably duat them once every few years or so.

 

[Krumbeard]

I have a collection. My garage is a mess. All sorts of ideas that got started and collected in there. Once in a while I get one finished.

Kinda like books too. Got a pile of them that are started. Once in a while I'll finish one of those also.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I've been wanting to post a pic or two of my little collections but everything needs dusting.

 

[Lanolin]

I wonder if any of us collect children.
They need lots of looking after.
Most people just have 1 or 2 and then stop. Im not really good with names. I would call them by number or start alphabetically starting with A. With my 26th child I might stop and have to start all over again.

 

[Lynx]

What would you name the 24th child? Xavier?

 

[kinda]

I collect gum wrappers and receipts in my car.

 

[BrotherMike]

Sports cards... I have every Topps baseball set and football (missing 3) since birth and a few other projects.

 

[GardenofWeeden]

Sports cards... I have every Topps baseball set and football (missing 3) since birth and a few other projects.

I am having a few thousand football cards appraised now. They were my husband's, and I had a lot of fun helping him sort them all, but I don't know enough about them to continue or price them now.

 

[Lanolin]

what are those sports cards?
I wondered about them can you make them into playing cards or you just collect them.
we sell a lot of cards in the bookshop, mostly birthday cards.
I have kept all my birthday cards, for some reason I cant really throw them away. I havent counted them though, maybe a hundred or so, not a thousand!

 

[BrotherMike]

I am having a few thousand football cards appraised now. They were my husband's, and I had a lot of fun helping him sort them all, but I don't know enough about them to continue or price them now.

It’s all about condition now. If they are perfectly centered and no bent corners or edges and have good color they can be graded and be worth a lot of money depending on the player. Best way to find out what they are worth is eBay sales history. I use to run a sports card business back in the 80s and had hundreds of thousands of cards. I donated a lot of the commons (about 300k) to habitat for humanity and got a tax write off in return. I kept the more valuable ones. Be careful who you get them appraised for so you don’t get taken advantage of.

 

[BrotherMike]

what are those sports cards?
I wondered about them can you make them into playing cards or you just collect them.
we sell a lot of cards in the bookshop, mostly birthday cards.
I have kept all my birthday cards, for some reason I cant really throw them away. I havent counted them though, maybe a hundred or so, not a thousand!

Just collect or sell them if it’s not towards your personal collection. They have pictures of players with stats on the back of their performance and sometimes info about the player. The card market has boomed this year. I guess people have extra money to spend since they are not going to games (covid)

 

[GardenofWeeden]

It’s all about condition now. If they are perfectly centered and no bent corners or edges and have good color they can be graded and be worth a lot of money depending on the player. Best way to find out what they are worth is eBay sales history. I use to run a sports card business back in the 80s and had hundreds of thousands of cards. I donated a lot of the commons (about 300k) to habitat for humanity and got a tax write off in return. I kept the more valuable ones. Be careful who you get them appraised for so you don’t get taken advantage of.

Thanks I will be careful.

 

[Lanolin]

Just collect or sell them if it’s not towards your personal collection. They have pictures of players with stats on the back of their performance and sometimes info about the player. The card market has boomed this year. I guess people have extra money to spend since they are not going to games (covid)

I do have a collection of plants tags though they kinda like cards. They come with the plant when you buy the plant. Although not all of the plants survived. Cant throw those away either its just useful to know their latin names and conditions I suppose.

I dont know about ppl who collect or sell just for the sake of it. They ought to work in a museum if they are really serious about collecting.
in nz the game is rugby or cricket, but I never see any cards relating to that. I was asked about car cards the other day, a lady wanted cards with cars on them for her son. But not playing cards. Collectorr Cards with pictures of cars and their stats. I dont know if there is such a thing.

 

[BrotherMike]

I do have a collection of plants tags though they kinda like cards. They come with the plant when you buy the plant. Although not all of the plants survived. Cant throw those away either its just useful to know their latin names and conditions I suppose.

I dont know about ppl who collect or sell just for the sake of it. They ought to work in a museum if they are really serious about collecting.
in nz the game is rugby or cricket, but I never see any cards relating to that. I was asked about car cards the other day, a lady wanted cards with cars on them for her son. But not playing cards. Collectorr Cards with pictures of cars and their stats. I dont know if there is such a thing.

There have been unique cards made... cards with political people, animals, Hollywood, Star Wars, food, plants... i bet they have nascar. I know there is rugby and cricket cards but probably in limited quantities.

 

[Lanolin]

There have been unique cards made... cards with political people, animals, Hollywood, Star Wars, food, plants... i bet they have nascar. I know there is rugby and cricket cards but probably in limited quantities.

star wars seems to have cornered the market on anything collectible.

I have seen Action Bible cards though. They have bible heroes on them, they come in boxes. I dont know if anyone here collects them? More for children I think...

 

[zeroturbulence]

Part of my collection





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