HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COLLECTING?
I guess you could say I have been collecting since the day I was born, but not always Care Bears! Oh sure, I received my first set of poseable Care Bears on my third birthday, but I wasn't officially collecting them until 1999. I went through phases.
I started a collection of many sorts of toys until I was about 6, when I began collecting tiny animal figures. Then around 8 and 9 I collected Precious Places Play sets (nearly completed my collection too!), then from there I collected Quints Dolls, then Furry Families, then hegan reneker figures, then unicorn stuff, then frog stuff, then kitty stuff, then Littlest Pet Shops. Littlest Pet Shops was a major collection for me. I had all but about 5 sets when I graduated high school. Then I got into the retro scene and collected ALL 80's toys! And believe me, I filled up a 11x15 foot room full of Ponies and Shortcake dolls and Care Bears, Trolls, Rainbow Brite, you name it, I collected it!
Right about the time I was set to get married though, I decided that logistically I was going to have to choose one collection, and stick to it! I had four choices: Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Ponies, Strawberry Shortcake, or Care Bears. I had to choose one that would display well, take up the least amount of space, and that was inexpensive enough to afford. Well, LPS was tempting, but I had almost every set! I mean, how boring is that? I really loved My Little Ponies, but upon investigating I found there were over 4,000 MLP toys out there, and it was growing with the 1997 releases! I knew I couldn't fit that many ponies into one space. Then there was Strawberry Shortcake. I knew that I already had some pretty rare dolls from when I was a kid, but seeing some other dolls going for more than $500 made my checkbook hurt, so I had to rule them out.
Then there was the Care Bears, who were my favorite all along. I had loved them for many years, and even remembered loving the movies even more. So, with a heavy heart I sold EVERYTHING on ebay in the year 2001. Everything except my Care Bears. I made close to $5,000 that month.
DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING BESIDES CARE BEAR FIGURES?
My official collecting rule is: I only collect Care Bear figures that are made of PVC, Plastic, Rubber, vinyl or a compound. This includes things that can be taken off something to make a figure (a charm, for instance). For awhile I collected the beanies, but I just didn't love them like I loved my figures, so they were all sold. I also collect figure knock offs.
As for other toys, I don't collect them. I gather them. I gather them and let my daughter play with them to her heart's content. With the other toys on my want list I am not striving to reach a goal, and I would sell them off and not feel terrible about it. They are simply for play and that's all.
WHERE DID YOU GET ALL THAT STUFF?
What can I say? Ebay! No, I find them on web sites, from private sellers, thrift stores, garage sales, and other online auction places. It's getting tougher to find things I don't have, so hopefully Play Along will keep making stuff! The majority of items are from ebay though.
WHY DO YOU CLIP-RIP?
Yes, I confess. I am the Clip-Ripper. I have been known to tare off clips, chains and other things that bond my figures to a non-collectable piece of hardware! Yes, you will notice the attachables are clip free, that certain mini bears are missing the charm chain! I do this simply because I used to do it as a kid, and I like it that way. The same goes with keeping things in packages. Free the Figures!
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR RARE COUSIN POSEABLES, AND DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS THEM FOR SALE? ARE YOU WILLING TO SELL THEM? IF SO HOW MUCH?
This is the question that I get the most. I got the rare figures off ebay in December of 2002. The lady who sold them to me did so privately after listing them. She was a film maker whom lived in Australia. She found the poseables at a Car Boot sale (Garage Sale) and placed them on ebay to fund a movie she was making. I told her I planned to win them and she agreed to end the auctions early and sell them to me for $100 a piece, which is a sweet price actually. She had zero feedback and I couldn't sleep for a week, afraid the whole thing was a con. But alas, they arrived and I was so thrilled with excitement I couldn't sleep for a week more.
I do not know where anyone can find more of these except ebay. They have been popping up a lot more frequently these days though. As far as anyone can tell they were only made in prototype form because none of them have trade markings or dates. Expect to pay anywhere from $600-$1,500 or more for each one on ebay.
I am not willing to sell mine. They will have to be pried out of my cold dead fingers first. I will never ever sell these as long as I am living. No amount of money could persuade me to sell them. The only time I can see them being sold is if I die an early death, my husband would put these and the rest of my collection on ebay before I am cold in my grave. So unless I am dead, don't count on them being sold to anyone, sorry! I know three other collectors who also own them and they feel the same way.
One last thing - I will not make molds of them out of sculpy either. A few people have asked me this and I am not willing to damage their value by helping introduce a score of bootlegs onto the market.
Truthfully I wish Kenner had mass produced them, so that everyone could have a chance at owning them. They are special and I wish more people could share in that.
HOW MANY FIGURES DO YOU OWN?
In order to obtain an accurate amount, consult the GREAT POPULARITY RACE.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SELL YOUR CUSTOMS, OR MAKE ONE FOR ME?
The answer to this one is an unfortunate no. Customs take hours and hours to make and are quite a hassle. If I could sell a custom for a decent amount then I might consider it, but 20 hours of work per custom would have to be sold for a pretty high price in order to justify the time spent. Plus I have about 30 other customs waiting to be done, and I've promised them so faithfully that I would get to them one of these days.
ARE ALL OF YOUR PIECES PART OF YOU ORIGIONAL CHILDHOOD COLLECTION?
The only original item I have in my collection from when I was a child is my Tender Heart Bear Poseable. Everything else has been upgraded to mint or near mint.
IS YOUR COLLECTION COMPLETE?
Not yet, but it 's nearing the finish line. I am missing several items, and there are also new ones coming out every month. I am sure it'll keep me busy for quite some time yet. See my want list for the items I am still missing.
