The acceptance and use of on-line auction venues have certainly contributed to the relative steadiness in the vintage Halloween collecting hobby, even in an uneven economy. As in any hobby, rising prices flushed out long-held collections. One blockbuster collection was sold in 1997 through Dunbar Gallery, with another cleverly pieced out over several years through individual telephone auctions. Lesser collections have also come onto the market, with all material quickly absorbed. The most recent notable collection dispersal happened in May of 2003 when the Dan and Pauline Campanelli collection was sold through Noel Barrett's auction house. Pauline had passed away, so Dan felt it was time to allow other collectors to enjoy the items shown in their 1995 Halloween book. The prices realized were quite uneven owing to several factors: the general lack of "mintness" of the items, the illogical grouping of items and the high fees associated with doing on-line business with the auction house. Morphy Auctions conducted a sale of numerous mid-to-high grade Halloween items during the first few days of September 2005, bringing very strong prices overall. (Frankly, based on the numerous auction house catalogues profiling solid quantities of vintage Halloween material I have reviewed, Morphy is the most professional of these purveyors today hands down.) 

The dark side to this overall rise in prices is the reproduced and fantasy items being brazenly hawked as vintage―especially through the on-line venues. Newer collectors, the life blood of any continuing hobby, are unsuspectingly buying these poorly made and soulless items, happily stuffing them into display cases unprepared for the disappointment due when, with further experience and knowledge, the realization hits they have purchased items with decorative value only. I used to worry more about the cynicism creeping into the vintage Halloween collecting hobby due to this avalanche of reproductions and fantasy items, which may have driven off the newer collectors at one time. However, with the strong sales of my book and the high number of unique visitors to this website each and every day, my fears have been largely allayed. Keep in mind two rules of thumb: Be very skeptical of anything hawked as being "found" in the old East Germany. Many of these so-called vintage German lanterns, candy containers and figural horns have been recently made and are essentially decorative items only, with no vintage value. Also, have the same skepticism about dealers claiming to have brought back vintage items from any recent trips to Germany. At the time true vintage items were being made, they were ALL destined for export, as the Germans did not celebrate Halloween. I cannot emphasize these points enough!

Prices increased tremendously during the 1990s, but through June of 2003 the rate of increase  markedly slowed, and with some genres actually reversed. However, as I update this in January of 2008, prices for the bottom and mid-tier Halloween pieces have strengthened noticeably. Even with the dark economic clouds seemingly on the horizon, people are still very much inclined to open their wallets or purses wide. There is heightened and VERY stiff competition for the top-tier unique pieces in all genres, and increasingly so with early USA paper ephemera. (For example, a mint example of Dennison's Hobgoblinville - complete with packaging - sold for over $1,300 early in 2007.)

Some genres have seemed to gain more strength than others: unusual German diecuts, American candy boxes, Beistle party sets and Beistle table top decorations have all seen very sharp price increases in the last year, perhaps due to the book on Beistle decorations released in 2004. The Halloween hard plastic genre, long ridiculously overpriced, has cooled considerably, although prices remain laughably high for what has to be the most readily available of all vintage Halloween material. Unless you just love the stuff, I'd allocate your scarce collecting dollars to items which are truly hard to come by!

I believe the first grand phase of Halloween collecting drew to a close around 2000. Between then and late 2003, the overall market largely saw unchanging prices, due to several factors, not the least of which were the soft economy and the suspicion that some items being offered for sale were made recently. It is my opinion that the next cycle of greatly escalating prices began in late 2003 to early 2004. Collectors, now realizing this new start of the pricing cycle with the benefit of hindsight, certainly regret the items passed up in the interim between 2000 and late 2003. I say this primarily because of what has already been pointed out in the “A Brief History” section: vintage, display-quality Halloween items are truly scarce. Because Halloween is an annual occasion creating new memories, this “renewable” aspect of the holiday will serve to keep interest in the old imagery strong in the coming years, attracting new collectors all pursuing a dwindling supply of quality material.