One of my dear friends, Stacey Heffernan Paulucci, who I was lucky enough to meet through our shared love of all things Halloween, passed away after a multi-month battle with cancer just a few days ago. She was only 45. What a true loss. Stacey was someone who always preferred the optimistic side of life, who knew that people were full of good and worthy surprises and was always much more concerned about how YOU were doing. In fact, when I visited her in the hospital a scant few weeks before she died, what she wanted to talk about was my recent trip to Kansas City and whether I had found great vintage Halloween pieces to add to the collection. It sounds trite, but she was one of the good ones, the kind of person whomever originated the phrase, "Only the good die young," had in mind when they uttered it. I will miss her as will all those lucky enough to have known her. I take comfort from the fact that she is at that great Halloween party in the sky, surrounded by all things vintage! Goodbye, Stacey!
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage HALLOWEEN NOVELTY BOX w/ DECORATIONS Witch Cats Pumpkin Boogie Houses
This lot consisted of a mish-mash of goods from a variety of manufacturers. The box was made by Hallmark as were two of the small diecuts. The cat face diecut was made by Dennison. The desirable items in the lot, aside from the box, were the two Boogie Houses. I believe that full retail on the Boogie Houses is $90 each, so the buyer of this lot did quite well overall.
Halloween Fibro Toy Cat Pulling Pumpkin Cart Near Mint 1920's ULTRA RARE
The seller's breathless prose notwithstanding, this is a desirable item, less due to its touted scarcity and much more due to condition. The truth is these Fibro Toy cat wagon candy containers aren't all that rare. (On my scarcity scale of 1-5 detailed in my book, I rate this item a 4.) It is unusual to see them in this very nice condition. However, I think the seller has nearly fully valued the item with his opening price of $149.99, a ploy I dislike on Ebay that is becoming all too common. As I write on page 55, these were made from 1934-1953. "Later iterations have no markings on the underside. These are more common and have a lesser value. REPRO ALERT: Reproductions from the 1990s are made from a thinner, high gloss paper stock and still have wood wheels."
OUTSTANDING VINTAGE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CANDY CONTAINER, MARKED GERMANY, MINTY
Finally, amidst the piles of dreck that have plagued Ebay's vintage Halloween category comes a worthwhile item. This diminutive 1920s German compo wash over cardboard candy container is the real deal and in nice original condition. Another plus is that it is being sold by a great seller - someone who has been on my approved list for a long while. Combine all this with the seller's embrace of the auction system and it yields a great listing to bid upon!
Halloween Vintage German Embossed Pumpkin Halloween Decor
Considering a portion of the tail has been chewed away and other condition issues, I am surprised to see that this diecut fetched $69.99.
vintage pumpkin jack-o-lantern Halloween collectible candy bucket made Germany
The mark on the bottom reads, "Container Made in Germany." As I point out on page 7, "German items made after 1949 would bear a number of different markings, such as ..."Container Made in Germany," or simply "Western Germany."" So, although this authentic JOL was made in Germany, since it was made during or after 1949, the value is considerably less than other similar JOLs made prior to World War II.
VTG FOLK ART WOODEN BLACK CAT GREEN EYES...HEAD MOVES ..UNIQUE!!!
Given that one of these appears in the omnibus photo in the listing I flagged directly below this one, I don't think this ersatz item is as unique as the seller believes. I am having trouble understanding what the seller means by writing, "Probably more than just vintage." What does that even mean? I think this item was made offshore and made to look as if it had some age to it - more than vintage or not.
Wonderful Vintage HALLOWEEN Spooky Pumpkins+Cat-Pulp-Hard Plastic-Tin-12
Looking at this lot, I wonder what kind of pipe the seller was smoking in arriving at the BIN price of $850? I wish this trend of sellers slapping ridiculous prices on mediocre goods would go away. If the seller wishes to dispose of an entire lot, start the bidding, yes bidding, out at $9.99 and let the market decide the worth. Another option would be for such sellers to actually photograph each item well and list things separately with reasonable starting prices in an auction format.
VINTAGE HALLOWEEN DEVIL NOISEMAKER CLAPPER GERMANY ULTRA RARE TIN TOY LITHO OOAK
This is a German tin noisemaker with a great design, so typical of the care those artisans took in crafting their Halloween goods, made strictly for export. As I point out on page 7, "Sometimes a D.R.G.M. mark is seen. The initials stand for Deutsches Reichs-Gebrauchs-Muster, which means German Federal Registered Design. This mark was used in Germany from June 1891 through early 1945, and then only on items that had more than a decorative purpose."
Vintage Devil Cat Halloween Decoration by Beistle Co.
This awesome diecut has long been one of my favorites. Manufactured by Beistle in the 1940s, in near-perfect condition or better it should fetch around $185. This particular item was quite rough and yet it still reeled in nearly $84. Astounding!
Halloween Candy Container Lantern Pear Head Papier Mache 8" tall
This is one of the finer German lantern/candy container combos I've seen listed on Ebay for many moons. The styling and detailed compo work epitomizes the height of German artistry. Given the slummy nature of Ebay of late, I feel this was the wrong venue on which to list this super item. As you can see, it fetched a mere fraction of what I feel it would have brought at an auction house like Morphy's. The lucky buyer got a steal.
Vintage 30s Halloween GIBSON Misprint 3-Sided Shade BLACK CAT, JOL, CANDLELIGHT
The seller is undoubtedly using my book as his reference. You can see the typically present third panel on page 44.
rarety GERMAN carboard colorful mini candy container CANDLE HOLDER HALLOWEEN
Now, this is one of the rarest items I've seen on Ebay for a long while. (As mentioned directly below, it has become quite the occasion to find worthwhile items on Ebay.) This is the candlestick candy container from the large set of similarly designed candy containers the Germans made between 1910 and 1920. (The one in my collection is shown on page 105 and is valued between $1,500-1,700. Several others from this set are shown on page 59.) Whomever the buyer was got a stellar deal as the seller hadn't a clue as to the value of the piece based on the BIN price of $75. Congratulations!!
* SALE * Vintage HALLOWEEN FORTUNES Game Witch OWL Moon USA - REG PRICE 148.99
What a crock! This seller is advertising that the game is "on sale" for $89.99 marked down from its original price of $148.99. Given that both prices are characteristic of the "let's shoot for the moon and see if we can snag any dumb buyers" mentality that seems to predominate on Ebay these days, it is not surprising that this game - in fair condition only - still lingers. In fact, far too many items are listed, relisted and then relisted again with sellers never dropping their prices in light of the sustained market indifference to their offerings. (One seller, mrgoodlite, comes to mind. ) I wish that Ebay would alter its policy to require that items being relisted more than once have a price drop of at least 20% to their prior opening price, with the price drops continuing with each relisting. Unfortunately, Ebay has become more of a junk shop or a low-end garage sale in the vintage Halloween category, although there are great items listed from time-to-time. I have been encouraging my friends who sell better items in this category to migrate to other forums like icollect247 or Ruby Lane.
VINTAGE 1920's HALLOWEEN FIBRO TOY BLACK CAT JOL Lantern Wagon CART VERY RARE
Considering that this item in perfect condition typically fetches ~$200, I would very much like to know what the buyer paid, considering that the seller had a BIN price over ten times the typical going rate. I have a feeling that the buyer vastly overpaid.
