How to Sell
40 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com EQUINE Lifestyle
EE
Political Playthings online
By Dr. Lori Verderame
ART& ANTIQUES
If you are trying to sell your bygone political toys,
post them online no later than October 1 to ride the
intense press wave. On my youtube channel, I teach
people how to sell stuff, market, and attract buyers.
I advise to use social media pages to highlight your
stuff, make sure you tell the backstory of your political
playthings, and post tightly cropped photographs
with no hands or visual distractions in the background
when you are showing potential buyers your online
offerings. Attract buyer interest with an interesting
anecdote from the candidate or campaign. Answer
comments and questions in a timely manner. Ignore
online auction trolls posing as helpful shoppers or
naysayers. Use this time to market your online political
collectibles well before election day arrives. Don’t
forget to vote!
By Dr. Lori
The vintage toy market is nearly as
emotionally-charged as the political
landscape. During campaign season,
which keeps getting longer and longer
nowadays, the most popular political
—specifically Presidential—collectibles
come in the form of playthings, games or
toys. From bobbleheads to beanie babies, now is
the time to cash in on the campaign memorabilia
of yesterday. Take advantage of the broad media
coverage surrounding the candidates to sell your
stuff and use it to help advertise your online
listings of political items.
Righty and Lefty
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What’s hot? Political campaigns have moved away from the
functional item giveaways promoting their candidates
of the past like William McKinley baby soap
and John F Kennedy cigarette lighters in favor of
campaign toys. More recently, collectors, political
operatives, and even kids have coveted items like
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney bobbleheads,
George W. Bush jack-in-the-boxes, Donald J. Trump
coloring books, Bill Clinton soft plush pillow dolls, and
blue pantsuit clad Hillary Clinton “Ready for Action”
action figures.
A pair of beanie babies called Lefty, a donkey and
Righty, an elephant, were manufactured a few years
after the collectible stuffed toys were first introduced
in 1993. These red and blue Ty Inc. collectibles were
all the rage in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. Today, they
are among the pricey offerings on auction websites
and Facebook marketplace that have emerged
from basement storage tubs.
When it comes to market value, the big winners will
be political family fun games as families look for new
activities during a pandemic that has kept some
parents and children home from workplaces and
schools. Games like “A house divided” congressional
Monopoly board game or Trump cards where players
try to guess which printed card statements are fake
news attract young and old alike to compete this
election season.
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