posted on June 30, 2005 09:21:05 AM new
I think that bcpostcards thread on what makes postcards valuable is full of great information on postcards! I thought that I'd start a thread for those of us on the other end of paper ephemera... vintage magazine advertisements. Lot's of similarities between the two fields (probably the biggest of which is that there's just SO much info to sort through!)... so maybe some of the ideas here will apply to postcards as well. I know that I still don't always have an easy time picking out which ads are the best in some magazines.... and we face a more difficult decision then post card sellers do. Usually, ads are run back-to-back in magazines. So, which side's ad should you promote in your auction? Or should you promote both? Here's my thoughts on what makes vintage ads valuable:
- Condition: This is a no brainer! Is the page bright white, or a brittle tan? Do the corners have any creases? Is there a crease down the center of the page (known as a subscription crease, when magazines were sometimes folded to be put in mailboxes)? Any staining, water damage, or foxing? Any tears?
- Rarity: This is a hard one to know right away. One way to determine rarity is if you have an idea of the subscription run of the magazine the ad appeared in. Lower subscription runs = Lower # of ads. However... this doesn't always work, since many manufacturers used the same ad for different publications. The other factor in rarity is usually age. The older the advertisement, the less likely that many are still left in existance.
- Product/Brand: This is the big one. What product/brand is being advertised? Is the brand still around today (usually good if it is!). Are there large numbers of collectors for this brand (like coca-cola, M&M's, etc...!) How expensive was the product when it was originally retailed? (Someone who had the money to pay 10k for a Rolex watch is probably more likely to be willing to spend some extra money for your ad than someone who bought a $10 Casio!)
- Beloved Characters: Does your ad have one of the special characters that so many manufactures use to advertise their products? Ads with Tony the Tiger, Mr. Peanut, Toucan Sam, etc.. will sell much better than ads for the same product without those characters.
- Famous people: Who's promoting the product? Is there a picture of a famous actor, musician, or politician?
- Color vs. B&W: Older ads (20's, 30's) that are in color can usually bring more than similar ads in B&W... especially in products where color was a big part of the product (such as clothing, cars, etc...)
- Ads as reference Material: Many ads have much more than a picture. I've seen lots that have more information about how a product works or how it was designed than some of their instruction books! Good reference material sells!
- Secondary Content: Oftentimes what makes an ad collectible isn't the product that's being advertised... it's something else that is predominantly featured in the ad. Great subjects include: Dogs (especially if you can ID the breed), Colleges, Casinos, Nudes, Anything Military, etc..
- Artist/Artwork: Never ignore the artists signature on an ad! Illustrators like Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell can ad great value to your ad. Also look out for bold graphics that are eye-catching. Even if made by a lesser-known (or unknown) artist, they may still be interesting enough to bring some bids.
- Size: Surprisingly, not necessarily as important as some of the other factors. However, typically the larger full-page ads will sell better than the smaller 1/2 and quarter-sized ones will.
Anyhow... that's a start! I'm sure that some of you all can ad a bunch of other things to think about with vintage ads. Don't expect to get rich quick with ads, though... even following these guidlines, you're lucky to get an average 10-15% sell-through rate. Good profit, just slow turn-around! I'd love to hear other posters thoughts on what makes ads valuable!
posted on June 30, 2005 09:26:25 AM new
The number one thing that makes something of value are buyers. You can meet every single one of your categories, but without demand, your item is worthless.
*
</////////////~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda must be referring to the White House... "They make up all this garbage they have no proof of either. Just throw a few insults/accusations out...doesn't have to be true....just hope it sticks."
Karl Rove, "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. Conservatives, saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."
posted on June 30, 2005 11:05:01 AM new
While I agree with Rusty, I will still add two more:
Family name. People buy ads with their names in it (sometimes it is their family sometimes it is not).
Location: Some people collect ads for manufacturers/businesses in certain cities. Others buy the ad because it mentions their city.
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on June 30, 2005 11:36:36 AM new
Single page magazine advertisements usually sell for far more than what the entire magazine that contains the advertisement.
I doubt old advertisements maintain much "investment" value. The prices are mainly driven by the interest of the collector.
I would include the following subjective criteria for:
- research material (advertisement bought to gain knowlegde about subject)
- display material (historical, topical, educational, etc)
- reproduction use (primary source for either physical or digital copying)
