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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Huge ~~ BLACK CAT Lantern - SNARLING ~ HISSING Black Cat

This is a variant of the somewhat common Tommy Whiskers lantern issued by Beistle that I have not seen before. Typically, these were made with folded tissue sides, beginning when they were first issued in 1938. By 1941 these tissue sides were dropped, leaving the sides open. The lantern in this listing has cardboard sides attached to one side with staples and to the other through slot and tab construction. I don't know what to think about this third variant in terms of authenticity. What I can see looks right: the color of the sides, the thickness of the cardboard and the rust on the staple. What doesn't look right is the rather ugly slots being pushed through the one face. One way to sum it up would be to say that for $100, the buyer got an interesting item at a reasonable price. 

GERMAN COMPOSITION 1900's ANTIQUE HAND PAINTED HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CANDY CONTAINER

Although this is a nice, large candy container with fine detailing, the seller is dreaming big in starting the bidding at such a nose-bleed level. That said, the BIN price is astounding. Where does that number come from? The container is an early one given its wood base and the attention paid to the details. However, with a missing pipe and other mishaps to condition, I peg a value much closer to $600 than to $1,200. 

German Cardboard Die-cut Moon and Pumpkin Man Guaranteed Old 5" Diameter

This is a great example of this diecut in an unglazed state. As you know, many German diecuts were released after an additional "manufacturing" step of an application of a glaze coating. (Now, whether or not a diecut is glazed doesn't necessarily impact value - all else being equal.) An effect that glazing has is to better preserve the diecuts' original brighter colors. Glazed diecuts also have a sheen that tends to give them a sense of a greater depth. 

OLD HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CANDY CONTAINER

This is just one example of why Ebay has become such a lesser marketplace. These ATCO pulp JOLs are very common and not strongly desired. When they do sell, they typically do so in the range of $30-45. This seller lists one and asks $95. Reading the seller's listing verbiage it is apparent that he/she know nothing about the item. Replicate this again and again, couple it with those irritating sellers who list and re-list, never dropping their prices, and you can get a sense as to why I hardly sell on the site and am typically uninterested in browsing the listings. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2014, faithful readers! I hope that your holidays were memorable - and for all the right reasons.

I've just finished trolling through listings on Ebay, icollect247 and RubyLane. The pickings are slim indeed. This time of the year tends to be pretty hardscrabble in terms of Halloween collectibles, something I'm not projecting to change for months and months. My intention is to post more often, but I am generally gated by things for sale on which I wish to comment. 

If you have specific questions or topics you'd like me to address, drop me a line and I'll do my best. 

Antique German Halloween GOOGLY EYE Candy Container Figure RARE H.C. CAPWELL

Boy, I am tired of this seller listing and re-listing this unwanted item. I could generalize and say that too many sellers simply list and re-list ad nauseum, rather than hearing the message from the market that no one wants their items at the prices offered. I feel sellers should only re-list if they drop the price substantially each time. I haven't checked, but I'll bet this piece has been offered at the same too-high price for over 18 months. Don't you think that Ebay should have a policy limiting the number of times a seller can re-list without lowering the price by a minimum percentage? Unfortunately, Ebay has become a crapyard except for a few months out of the year, and then only because of a few sellers.