Brand Feature: Littlest Pet Shop

Hey 80's/90's kids... do you remember these?

'

I had the seahorse! While I don't remember it changing colors very well... it was still awesome. And the theme song for the commercials is now stuck in my head.

Originally, Kenner was a division of General Mills. Yes, that General Mills of cereal fame. GM created Kenner (and Parker, another one of their toy divisions) as a separate business entity, which became Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. In 1987, Tonka (yes, that Tonka of Tonka trucks fame) acquired Kenner Parker, and Kenner was reconstituted as a division of Tonka. Tonka was purchased by Hasbro in 1991, and Kenner came along for the ride. In 2000, Hasbro closed the Cincinnati, Ohio office of Kenner and the Kenner product lines were merged with Hasbro.

Okay, got that? Now, in 2003, Hasbro filed a trademark registration for Littlest Pet Shop by Hasbro, Inc, and then the first line of Littlest Pet Shop toys is released in 2005, with no similarity to the old style, except that they were both sort of plastic.

The Kenner version of Littlest Pet Shop pets were actually sort of... "soft" looking. The Hasbro version gave them big eyes and accented features, the big heads made them easy for kids to grip.

Kenner Orange and White Cat, 1992 (Picture from RonsRescuedTreasures)	Hasbro #72 Orange and White Cat, 2004 (Picture from RonsRescuedTreasures)

The differences are obvious. The new Littlest Pet Shops are "cutesy" and almost exotic, with lots of fun, crazy styles that every child wanted to collect.

Another thing that Hasbro did that helped make all the difference was giving the pets each a number as they were created. So, it wouldn't be just "did you get that orange cat with the white stripe?" Instead, it would be "I love my #77 kitty but I REALLY WANT #577, the Great Dane!" This made them highly collectable as people would want certain numbers in a series, and it also gave them a way to be sought after.

The popularity of them exploded after 2005, and even a decade later, the popularity has not waned. In fact, some of the pets go for a lot of money:

Some of the prices are just outrageous!

 (Note: These are all in the "Sold" section, but whether or not they actually got paid for these is unknown.)

Collecting them is great fun, and it's always thrilling to find some "in the wild" to put in my shop. There are over 3,000 different pets now, all with different rarities, shapes, sizes and colors. Do you have these stashed away in your basement? Or put away for your kids? You never know if you're sitting on a super rare one!

Thanks for reading, and make sure to check out which ones I have available in my store today!

eBay items updated by Auction Nudge

Collectible Feature: Welch's Jelly Jars

Today, I will explore a favorite antique of mine: jelly jars. :)

Available in my eBay store :)

Have you ever drank out of a jelly jar?

The perfect little size for little hands, Welch's jelly jars featuring designs, cartoon characters and more have been on the market since the 1953, over 60 years. Welch's first decided to market their jelly jars with designs after realizing that people were saving the jars after the jelly was gone to drink out of. It was smart - people would buy extra jelly just to round out their collection.

Coming in various shapes, sizes and colors, the first series featured Howdy Doody.

From VintageGypsies on Etsy

Welch's would then release new designs every few years, making them become a collector's item. Jelly jars are made of thicker glass, so most have stood the test of time (and the test of children). In an age where disposable is en vogue, nothing beats the nostalgia of drinking from a jelly jar. As things like BPA, found in plastics are studied and found to have adverse affects, a glass provides a bit of safety in knowing that they have most not likely broke down with use.

A good condition jelly jar will have a bright picture, free of fading or clouding. Clouding that you may see on these is typically a result of being run through a dishwasher or being left in the sun. Never put jelly jars in dishwashers if you're able to avoid it.

Via Google Images - a faded design on a jelly jar

Some of the jelly jars in existence hold value. To hold any value, though, it must be in pristine condition.

1. Check the design. Is it faded, scratched, or even missing pieces?
2. Run your finger (carefully...!) around the lip, inside and out. Does it have any chips?
3. Give it another look - is there any cracks, is the bottom faded or cloudy?

Typically, the older, the more rare. But, various designs like the Pokemon characters may find returning popularity, as Pokemon has had a resurgence in popularity recently. A single "Charmander" Pokemon sold at auction recently for $20. A series of Looney Tunes jars sold for nearly $50.

Every once in a while, I run across some in my travels. Check out the ones I have in stock today in my eBay store!

eBay Listings Widget from Auction Nudge

Brand Feature: The History of Victoria's Secret

It's no secret that I love to sell Victoria's... Secret. Ba dum tss They make gorgeous lingerie, it's fun and different every time for me to run across and I enjoy selling every piece.

The history of Victoria's Secret is fragmented all over the Internet, and I have attempted to write a brief history from various sources, because I think it's just fascinating.

-----
There are rumors and controversies, sexuality and mystery aligned with the brand.

Founded by Roy Raymond and his Gaye on June 12, 1977, Victoria's Secret was born out of a taboo of the times. Underwear was something bought nearly exclusively in packs of 3 and bras, only a basic necessity. Anything out of the ordinary was not easy to find, and was only reserved for special moments, like honeymoons. Undergarments were dowdy and pragmatic, nothing more.

Raymond had went to purchase something nice for his wife, but was met with rows of nylon housecoats, gowns and terrycloth abound. He also said that the saleswomen made his feel uncomfortable, as a outsider in a place he did not belong.

Borrowing a total of $80,000 dollars from his parents and from the bank, Raymond studied the market for 8 years, then opened the first store that men could feel comfortable buying lingerie - Victoria's Secret in Palo Alto, California in a shopping mall that would eventually hold the first mini Apple Retail Store.

The idea took off, grossing $500,000 in the first year. $500,000.00 in 1977 had the same buying power as $2,017,285.22 in 2015. Annual inflation over this period was 3.74%. (1) Growth happened quickly, opening four new stores, warehouse operations and a mail-order catalog, all by 1982. Remember the times here still - not every husband or every wife was still comfortable with going into a store like this. Mail-order sales account for 55% of the annual sales numbers, $7 million annually. (2) $7,000,000.00 in 1980 had the same buying power as $21,430,039.11 in 2015. Annual inflation over this period was 3.25%. (3)

Original Victoria's Secret logo

As much money as this was for the era, it was having a hard time being profitable. Raymond's philosophy and focus of selling to men was sending the company towards bankruptcy. In 1982, Raymond sells the company to Leslie Wexner of The Limited. The figure was not disclosed until much later, but the number is almost shocking and sad - Raymond sells for a paltry $1 million dollars. (4) This number is disputed in various other sources as being close to $4 million dollars.

Not much is known about Raymond's personal life after this, but in 1984, he invests in a children's clothing boutique called My Child's Destiny, a far cry from the lingerie business, to the tune of approximately $1 million dollars. The brand went bankrupt in 1986. Between '86 and '93, Raymond's life takes a turn somehow and on August 26th, 1993 the original founder of what would become the world's largest lingerie empire takes his own life by leaping from the Golden Gate Bridge. He was 47.

Wexner does what probably should have been done before: he eliminates the model of marketing to men to instead, market to women. The model changed to sell lingerie and underwear in "new colors, patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the snob appeal of European luxury." (5) Mail order catalogs even utilized a fake address in London for their headquarters, which were actually based out of Columbus, Ohio. Each store was redesigned to invoke 19th century England.

Not 5 years after the purchase, the boutiques exploded into a 346 stores retailer, moving into malls across America. By 1986, it is reported that Victoria's Secret is the only national chain of lingerie stores. While there are still Fredrick's of Hollywood, Vanity Fair and the like, Victoria's Secret had surged ahead to become a chain.

The news of Victoria's Secret market takeover prompts brands like Playtex, Wacoal, and more to add new features to their once basic underthings, such as lace and "WOW" - Playtex's "new" "without wire" bra. Even Fredrick's of Hollywood, the only real player at the time in the more sexual, sensual outfits feels the pressure and launches a more demure line "Soft as Silk," featuring camisoles and chemises in soft, muted pastel colors. (6)

In 1991, Victoria's Secret releases their first line of fragrances under a line called Victoria's Secret Beauty, a slow reach into yet another profitable product. From here on out, Victoria's Secret begins digging their heels into every woman's wants and needs. And it works!

But the early 90's were not all roses. From the fast growth, among many other things, comes quality problems. The problems could be attributed to a growing/aging population as well that were looking for a better product to spend their money on as they aged.

"Its stores and catalogs - long on glitz and image--have sold apparel short on quality. That was fine during The Limited's boom days, when it ran circles around department stores with flashy, up-to-date mall shops. But Gross admits that as his core "twenty-something" customer moved into her 30s, she balked at pants with no linings and plastic buttons that popped off." (7)

As the company worked to resolve the quality problems, the profit margins tightened as a result, as higher quality production, fabrics and more had to be used to satisfy the customer. In 1995, Victoria's Secret begins to build it's very first foray into the Internet - an e-commerce site. Remember, this is the early days of (public) Internet, where the Internet is not rife with free coding or plug-ins for simple e-commerce. After 3 years of development, it launches at 6:00 pm on December 4, 1998, using the domain VictoriasSecret.com. It didn't take long for the website to catch on - in fact, it only took 20 minutes. At 6:20 pm, the first order was placed from Littleton, Colorado, for $39. (8)

In an effort to drive a higher margin, Victoria's Secret entered the billion dollar + cosmetics industry in 1998, another line under Victoria's Secret Beauty.

In 1999, the Victoria's Secret Fashion show, which was notoriously hard to get tickets for, and certainly was not the television behemoth it is today, was to be streamed on the website. This lead to major hype and major advertising dollars spent to promote the stream. Print ads, TV spots and early banner ads boasted this feat and interest was incredible. A teaser ad for the fashion show was even shown during the first quarter of the 1999 Superbowl, which lead to 1 million+ web hits in 30 minutes after it was shown. This would be the first dot com commercial ever during the Superbowl. Unfortunately, when it came down to the final event, the website couldn't handle the mounds of traffic and it crashed networks all over the United States. Long story short, millions of dollars were invested into the infrastructure behind the servers and successfully handled 2 million viewers of the next year's Victoria's Secret fashion show. (8)

Victoria's Secret did something different than what many companies were doing (and some still do) at the time, when it came to their online division. Many companies were separating their companies from brick & mortar to a nearly completely different company online. Because of the continued success of the mail-order catalog, Victoria's Secret kept matching lines, styles and promotions from channel to channel to promote a consistent UX (user-experience.)

Victoria's Secret continues to grow through the 2000's - leading to store design overhauls, from less Victorian to more streamlined - think Vogue. Sexy, but elegant in a modern way. By 2006, there is over 1,000 Victoria's Secret stores across the United States that account for over 1/3 of all of the United States' intimates purchases, a $10 billion dollar industry. (9)

Victoria's Secret celebrates their 38th anniversary in a little less than a month from today. Yet, the brand doesn't "feel" old. Constantly reinventing themselves, the brand still feels fresh, youthful and sexy to every generation it touches, quite literally.

----

And there you have it - a brief overview of the brand behemoth that is Victoria's Secret. There are many mini brands in there too that I would love to cover too - but until then, I have some bras to sell. ;)

You can see what Victoria's Secret bras I have to sell in my store right now here!

eBay Listings Widget from Auction Nudge

1), 3) http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm
2) http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/15/style/luxury-lingerie-a-mail-order-success.html
4) http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/02/obituaries/roy-raymond-47-began-victoria-s-secret.html
5) Anna Tomasino (2007). Discovering popular culture. Pearson Longman. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-321-35596-6. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
6) http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/24/business/lingerie-s-great-leap-forward.html 
7) http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-05-23/did-leslie-wexner-take-his-eye-off-the-ball
8) Durbin, Theodore (2002). "Victoria's Secret" (PDF). Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth—Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies (6–0014). Retrieved December 16, 2012.
9) http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E4DC1F30F936A25754C0A9609C8B63

Cool Finds: A Little Wooden Duck With a Story to Tell

Sometimes my finds lead to some pretty cool stories.

My father-in-law purchased a box of old dolls at an auction for me to research and resell recently, and in that box was a variety of different things, including this wooden duck.

Immediately, I think... this duck's head looks like the seagulls from Finding Nemo.

Thank you to Buildabettermousetrip.com.

But there is obviously more to this duck than it looking like a seagull. 

It's solid wood (I'm not sure what kind), and there is an inscription on the bottom.

 Sure enough, I start there with my research... searching for Earli Fossen. Nope, not it. Is that a V? Yep... and that i is an e... okay, getting somewhere...

"Earle Vossen, Eugene, OR 5-'87 #236". So we now know that there is at least 235 of these wood ducks out there, and this was carved in May of 1987. The search continues to turn up nothing.

Finally, I search only for Earle Vossen Eugene Oregon. The only thing I can find for this gentleman in Oregon is a Find-A-Grave listing.

Turns out, the only Earle Vossen in Oregon happens to have been a Major in the US Army in World War II.

Note: I won't take the picture of his stone and put it here out of respect... but the Find-A-Grave listing has a picture of it.

So, it turns out that this wooden duck was (highly likely) carved by a talented Major in the US Army in World War II. Somehow, it's found it's way to Michigan, and soon it will take flight to somewhere else. The Internet is a an awesome tool when it comes to learning the stories behind pieces like this!

I've decided to list it on eBay, but made sure to share this little duck's backstory in the listing as well so that someone else can appreciate it's history as much as I do.

Thanks for reading!