TOYS & KID'S STUFF - Totally Spaced Out

 
So, in the flavor of the season, I figured I should do a few blogs on kid's stuff.

No, not goats, children's items.....toys, cartoons, whatever...

In my hunting for forgotten treasures, I come across some weird things.  Usually toys generally do not fall into the category of "weird", even being vintage or truly antique.

But, some items I have found do fall into the "WTF were they thinking?!!?!?" category.

 Take this 1950s piece as an example:

YES, it is a PLASTIC BAG with a space mask printed on it!


What sane parent would hand this to their child????


But, hey, there are places to cut out eye holes and mouth holes...so, you know, it is surely safe....

The even more potentially alarming thing is that I suspect it was a "premium"...that is, something that was a giveaway, maybe a mail order thing...send 3 box tops to Station Z, PO Box 123....but more than likely it was something that was included in food...and food that was marketed for children's consumption....

Say, like dry cereal.

So, imagine a kid on a early Saturday morning, getting up to watch cartoons..or that cool Indian chief in a headdress image, or the target style test pattern (perfect for those suction darts!), whichever was on, and pouring themselves a bowl of Sugar-Smacker-Os...

And out pops this little gem of a prize into the bowl !

"COOL! A SPACE HELMET!!!!! NEAT-O!!!"

Nice, a 1950s, child's self-suffocation kit in a box!

But, perhaps kids in of the 1950s were a little more savvy...they did have tin toys with sharp edges all over the place, and I rarely see blood stains all over 1950s toys, and in 50s houses.  Or, maybe the baby boomers have many "missing" siblings....yep, plastic bag space masks...they were all some nasty Commie plan to wipe out America's future...

TRANSFORM!

The whole business is undergoing a change, and frankly, we really should not be surprised.

The antiques & (true) collectibles market is self adjusting, and always has been. 

Supply and demand dictates much of what we do. Certainly we have had events that cause some manipulation of the markets, and the TV hype & focus on the buying and selling aspect of the antiques/collectibles business is a media reaction to hard financial times. The media is responding to the current market.....and that market is the general public who want to know of other ways to make money, rather than relying on the traditional financial system, which in their view has failed them.

We are also seeing another major change related directly to the same principle of supply and demand.

We have a bulge in the population (the Baby Boomer generation) which have been starting to slowly sell/dispose of more vintage things than they buy. At one time, not that long ago, that situation was reversed. The collecting segment of Baby Boomers has dominated the antiques & collectibles market for some time, and they now are in the process of selling their collections. Add to that the fact that their parents are now at an age where they are entering  retirement condo complexes,  independent/assisted living  personal care homes, passing on. So the now those same  Baby Boomers are liquidating their parents belongings as well. Adding even more inventory to the market. 

Plus, the upper level of the Baby Boomers are doing those same nearing the "end of life" adjustments themselves.

So, who is consuming this burgeoning supply?  Financial conditions are not exactly ripe for consumption of non-necessities en-masse.  Also, the what well may be the majority of the items being dumped on the market are not being received by the majority of the current collecting population with open wallets. Do most 30-somethings care about a 1950s tin toy? Yes, some of them think they are neat, see their appeal, but for most of that generation, their own childhood memories are rooted in the late 1970s and 1980s. Plastic Transformers tower over tin toys when it comes to what that generation recalls from their childhood's past.


Collections sought after by previous generations will change in desirability as the consumer base changes in age. wealth, priorities and interests.

Can we manipulate the interests of the collecting consumer?

Yes, we can, but only somewhat.  Employing media based ideas such as celebrity endorsements or other such manipulations will end with mixed results, some positive, some negative, some with no effects at all.

Dealers need to adapt, change, and bend with the trends.  Survival of the most adaptable and most flexible, and those willing to twist, turn, manipulate and add to their knowledge.

We should all strive to be Transformers.

(***This post started out as a reply to posting on another blog - Viewable at:  http://www.urbanartantiques.com/2011/can-lady-gaga-make-you-buy-antiques/ )