Comments on: Unloved Antiques & Collectibles: ‘Limited Edition’ Collectors Plates

By: Mike Wilcox

Mike Wilcox — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:05:26 +0000

I’ve always had a bone to pick with printed price guides, as they are generally at least a year out of date when they go to press. The thing that many people don’t realize is that no Dealer is going to pay “Full Book” value on anything unless it’s very rare and he plans to hang onto to it as an investment. What they pay depends on their overhead and the “Mark up” they need to make a profit. In a lot of cases a dealer is going to pay 30% to 50% of what they can sell it for.

By: Villi

Villi — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 04:10:51 +0000

A good additional test would be to check how much these coins aualtlcy sell for (eg. on ebay).I remember collecting hockey cards and buying the guides to see how much they were worth, but I then learned that the guide values were aualtlcy about twice what I could get at the sports card shop. Perhaps one would do better if they sold them oneself, I never pursued it.

By: Etienne Dauphin

Etienne Dauphin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:28:36 +0000

When in doubt about whether something might be ‘collectible’, I always refer to this quote :

“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.”

Of course, not all collectibles are useful. But those plates certainly lack in the beauty department.

By: Cyndi Callahan

Cyndi Callahan — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:26:16 +0000

My grandfather collected all of the John Wayne plates and even had a giant
oil on canvas of him. All of these a very close cousin inherited well to my chagrin I shall call him now and tell him that there will not be any windfall for his grandchildren (We would not dream of selling the things our grandparents left us, you know the sentimental value is what counts.) It makes me angry to know they were taken advantage of like that though.
Thank you for the insite, because I actually bought a collectors plate, but I got mine at a garage sale for ten bucks. It is a budweiser plate with the three lab pups on it w/ a bud hat it’s cute. I would not have paid any more for that though. Thanks again,Cyndi

By: Mike Wilcox

Mike Wilcox — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:36:44 +0000

It’s all marketing, Advertisers have spent millions finding out what makes consumer’s “Bite” on a product. Marketing plays on our fears and desires, in the case of what I call “Ready Made Collectibles” like these plates, they play up that they are limited production, implying if you don’t get on board the future gravy train is going to leave without you if you don’t buy them now.

By: Bill Castle

Bill Castle — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:54:37 +0000

It’s like I always tell people, “If it says it’s collectible, it’ll never be worth anything”. Beyond the simple fact that most of this stuff was just presented as being more valuable than it really was in the first place, then there’s the side where almost everyone that got them kept them. Therefore, there’s not a diminishing supply.

By: Joyce Rau

Joyce Rau — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:56:38 +0000

We could not even sell any of these at a recent garage sale. These plates were definitely a “bill of goods” sold to the unsuspecting public. Unfortunately we will find this article series quite lengthy as there were many such “artifacts” being circulated in the 80′s from miniature resin dioramas, “Bronze” composite sculptures and dolls, many many dolls.

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:22:04 +0000

I am looking forward to more from Mike Wilcox, the author of this article. I found it cleverly written and a most fun and enlightening read.
I visited an old farm house in the 80′s that had a plate rail up all around the dining room, near the ceiling, it was filled with beautiful old collector plates. Since this was at the height of the collector plate fad, we were blown away by the sight of it all and I have never forgotten it.

By: Viki Short

Viki Short — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:01:50 +0000

Can you see the “eBay effect” on these limited addition or was it just a scam to begin with?

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:48:12 +0000

Then I did well! I believe I got about $8 for a Norman Rockwell plate in our shop recently:)
We currently have a large (17 pcs.) set of “old masters” nativity Christmas plates, lovingly collected by the original owner each Christmas for all those years. We have them at $10 ea. and hope we can get that. The original purchaser paid about $40 a plate. Sad.