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By: Harold Nicoll
Introduction
The ornament collecting hobby for fun and profit really gained popularity in the 1990’s and continues now. There are more ornaments available from more sources than ever before. If you are someone who just buys what you like and have no interest in building a collection that will eventually be worth more than you paid for it, that is O.K. However if you want the knowledge to build a valuable collection as you also acquire things you like and enjoy, then this guide is definitely for you.
This guide should be helpful to the serious and caual collector alike. The topics covered in it include the following:
Section I Introduction
Section II What Is A Collectible
Section III How To Start Collecting For Profit
Section IV How Does An Ornament Become A Collectible
Section V How To Build A Valuable Collection
Section VI Themes
Section VII How To Be A Successful Collector
Section VIII Early Ornaments
Section IX Collecting To Make Money
Section X Insuring Your Collection
Section XI Collecting In The American Consciousness
Section XII Comparison Shopping
Section XIII Instant Collectibles
Section XIIII Cyclical Values
Section XV Knowing What Is Valueable
Section XVI Rules To Collect By
Section XVII Who To Buy From
Section XVIII Who Are Collectors
Section XVIV Identify The Ornament Collectors
Section XX How Much Gets Spent
Section XXI How Big Is Collecting
Section XXII Present And Future Trends
Section XXIII Future Trends In Ornament Collecting
Section XXIV Sources of Ornaments
Section XXV The Toughest Part Of Collecting If You Want To Make Money
Section XXVI Cross Over Collectibles
Section XXVII Merchandising Christmas Collectibles
Section XXVIII The Christmas Collectibles Customer
Section XXVIV More Appeal Of Collectibles
Section XXX If You Can’t Make Money What’s The Point
Section XXXI Books For Collectors
Section XXXII Clubs And Newsletters
Section XXXIII Hallmarks Ornaments
Section XXXIV Why People Are Compelled To Collect
Section XXXV Christmas Background
Section XXXVI The Future Of Ornament Collecting
Foreword
In October of 1981 the National Football League went on strike. To placate football fans in the U.S. the television networks began showing American viewers Canadian Football. I didn’t have any interest in Canadian football then and still don’t. One rainy, October Sunday, without anything better to do, I visited the local mall to kill time. I went into a Hallmark greeting cards store and spotted their ornament section. I was immediately enthralled. Someone finally got it right when it came to combining popular culture and the celebration of Christmas. I bought a Panoramic ball ornament with a depiction of Snoopy flying across rooftops in a sligh pulled by yellow birds. My collection of Christmas ornaments started that day.
Since that rainy Sunday in the early 1980’s my wife Marla and I have steadily added to our ornament collection. We own hundreds of ornaments from all over the world. Our travels have taken us to places like Tokyo, Paris, London, Zurich, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Moscow and even Almata, Kazahkastan and we have Christmas ornaments from each location.
I put this book together so that other people interested in the hobby could learn from what we have learned over the past twenty years. We own some ornaments that are worth many times more than what we paid for them, but mostly we own ornaments that we love and are only valuable to us. You can build a collection of ornaments that will bring great returns and you can learn how to recognize certain trends and signs to watch for that should help you aacquire a valuable collections by reading this guide. The fact that many people have turned a profit collecting ornaments is evidence enough that it can be done. But there is no promise or guarantee. Collecting ornaments for money is very speculative and there is no way anyone can promise an ornament will increase in value as a collectible and you should be suspicious of anyone who makes such a claim. So do like we do, collect ornaments for fun and enjoy looking at them on your Christmas tree every year. Please enjoy the “guide”. Thanks.
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