MARKET WARRIORS Blog | Market Warriors

Vintage Easter Collectibles

Bene Raia | 03/28/13 at 10:24 a.m.

Easter signals spring, and I look forward to the season because it means that it’s time to decorate the house with the Easter items that we have collected over the years. In our home, the kids and I display everything from glitter chicks and bunnies to framed art. The girls love anything glitter, so we have a lot of that!

Vintage easter objects: a white rabbit, a pink sparkly chicken on a spool of thread, and a white duck

Tips for Building a Toy Collection

Bene Raia | 02/25/13 at 02:50 p.m.

In Oronoco, MN, our pickers were tasked with finding toys to take to auction. Picker Bene Raia shares her tips on buying and collecting toys:

1. Consider condition

Condition, maker, and provenance are all key when it comes to building a toy collection. Condition is the top consideration, especially if you plan to trade up or resell, so try to collect toys in the best condition that you can afford. For each type of toy, there is typically a primary condition issue to be mindful of — for example, with tin lithograph cars look for color, scratches, and dents, while with bisque dolls, look for cracks or chips in the head, especially around the eyes.

2. Save the box/packaging

Sometimes the box is worth more than the toy it once held! The reason why is simple: boxes are usually discarded. That makes them rare and therefore valuable.

Collecting Miniature Furniture

Bene Raia | 02/11/13 at 10:44 a.m.

My miniature furniture collection is primarily comprised of doll- and child-size chairs. These chairs can be functional as well as decorative. Miniature furniture is especially easy to display because it lends itself to tabletop vignettes. For example, a group of similar scale chairs placed on a table can hold small vases filled with flowers.

Recently I purchased an antique bentwood highchair. While the chair isn't in perfect condition and is missing the tray, it’s still a great antique example of a doll-size highchair. I wonder if it’s a salesman’s sample because of the amount of work that went into caning the seat, and the more labor-intensive work of bending the wood to construct the chair.

dark brown bentwood highchair with cane seat