How to Start a Cookie Jar Collection
I only started my cookie jar collection after I grew up and got my own home, but I feel like I’ve been part of the cookie jar collecting game for much longer. Both my Grandma and Mom were collectors and I’ve got memories of cookie jars going back to sneaking cookies with my cousin when we were both around five or so. In my opinion, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to collecting cookie jars. I collect what I like. I used to list some of them on eBay, but have gotten away from that lately. I enjoy the hunt for jars to be honest. I’ve only got so much room for keeping them all displayed, but if I find one on a weekend estate sale hunt, it may make it into the permanent rotation. Cookie jars are everywhere in my life!
What Types of Cookie Jars Should You Collect?
If you are a collector of cookie jars, I would recommend picking something to focus on in your collecting. It could be a certain theme or maker or whatever you like, but unless you have your own warehouse for storing jars, pick something and then make it the best that you can. There are tons of cookie jars out there now. When I go out to places like yard sales and estate sales, I find tons of them. Do I buy all of them? No way. Sure, I think some of them are very nice, but I don’t want to make this a challenge to see how many jars I can cram into my home. I’d rather show off the best of what I’ve found. I think having a background of selling things on eBay has helped to keep me in check. I have gone through the experience of being surrounded by “inventory” in my home and I don’t like it. Certainly I don’t want to end up resenting the presence of the jars I started collecting for pleasure!
If you don’t know where to start or stop buying, I’d recommend reading up a bit on collectible cookie jars. There are numerous books dedicated to this collectible as well as price guides to help you as you work on building your collection. Most of these can be picked up for pretty good prices either on Amazon, eBay, or other smaller online sites. Not having some kind of guide can hamper you later on. Once I started reselling jars, I bought up the books without ever giving it a second thought. Now that I’m not really into the reselling end, I still like having the guides
because there is so much to know about these collectibles. Another reason to get the books is so that you can avoid being tricked into buying something that turns out later to be a fake. Cookie jars are a very popular collectible and although it is sad to see, there are people out there who will try to sell you fake merchandise just to get your money. Knowing what is what can be a real money and time saver. UPDATE: Although the buying and selling of collectibles on eBay has slowed down in recent years, some of the more valuable cookie jars can still sell for amounts ranging into the thousands of dollars. Before you spend anything like that amount, make sure that you have done your research and protect yourself against potential scammers. When you get to this level of collecting, saving money by not buying a guide book and then risking a four figure purchase just seems silly.
Looking Out for Fake Collectible Cookie Jars
One of the biggest names in cookie jars, by far, is McCoy. If you have even a passing interest in collectible jars, you have no doubt heard of the brand. You have probably also seen fakes at some point whether you realize it or not. Because so many cookie jars were made by McCoy and because most people recognize the name and associate it with collectible cookie jars, some dishonest sellers simply call anything they’ve got a McCoy. They then set the prices nice and high and wait for some sucker to take the bait. If you are a collector of these jars, you should definitely do your homework before ever dropping large sums of cash on a jar. Some of the sellers have gotten very sophisticated in their schemes to sell fakes. You should know what kind of condition to expect when you are looking at jars. Yes, some sellers will even go as far as to fake the crazing you might expect from a vintage jar. This is where having a book to guide you can be huge. You should be able to compare measurements and markings from your guide to those of the item you are considering purchasing. You should also know what kind of crazing is normal to expect.
There are other brands that are well known in cookie jar collecting of course. Writing about each would take way more space than one hub. Even though buying some quality books for guidance might seem like a lot of money to spend, knowing what you are doing when you are purchasing a collectible can make up for that cost in just one purchase.
If you have found these tips helpful at all, please share them. If you have any stories about your own cookie jar collecting successes or mistakes, please share!
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