yeager
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posted on February 5, 2002 11:47:00 AM
I was at a flea market on Sunday talking to a dealer that I sometimes buy from. He had a pink, Hoover 1950's era, electric floor scrubber in his booth. I asked him how much he wanted for it. His reply, "I really can't sell it. I have a guy that collects them, and I promised it to him. He's got about 50 of them"
I've heard of people collecting some strange things, but this has got to be the winner. Any others that you care to share?
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alwaysbroke
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posted on February 5, 2002 11:54:31 AM
My friend collected mirrors. She had them all over the house.
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lattefor2
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posted on February 5, 2002 11:54:45 AM
I have a customer whose husband is a vacuum cleaner and sewing machine repair man. He also has a shop where he sells re-furbished and new vacuums and sewing machines, and accessories to do with both. Lately, he has been bringing in older models of vacuum cleaners especially colors and the most in demand are the old carpet sweepers. His wife told me that they get at least 4-5 calls a week on older vacuums. Here's the kicker, she also told me women stop by to buy their vacuum cleaner bags and accessories, bring their todlers, kids for some reason love vacuums, especially boys.....go figure.
<br />
Reenie<br />
[ edited by lattefor2 on Feb 5, 2002 11:57 AM ]
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dixiebee
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posted on February 5, 2002 01:29:13 PM
One of my first eBay sales was for the instruction manual for a late 1950s model electric mixer. So early in the game, I was curious as to why the buyer wanted it so I asked a few questions. It seems my buyer collects appliances from mixers, to blenders, to irons, to vacuum cleaners. He told me he had over 350 mixers in his collection at that time and the instruction manual I had for sale went with one of the mixers. He paid $40+ for the manual. At that time he told me the exact number of items in the different classifications of his collection.
Lesson learned: Never ask unless you really want to know. 
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rarriffle
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posted on February 5, 2002 06:03:25 PM
there was a person on a talk show once who collects those paper toilet covers you find in public restrooms. now that is wierd!
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lattefor2
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posted on February 5, 2002 06:09:06 PM
to go along with what rarriffle just said, I saw on one of the shows a guy that had hundreds of all different kinds of vomit bags from all the airlines. Every time they would get a new design, he would add it to his collection. Can you imagine Puke bags!
Reenie
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mrspock
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posted on February 5, 2002 06:34:14 PM
I was set up a a antique fair and a guy came along and asked for Glass Eyes it seems he collected them.
spock here......
Live long and Prosper
[
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Libra63
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posted on February 5, 2002 09:53:39 PM
My husband talked to a friend the other day and the friend said he had bought an old waffle iron at an estate sale. When he got home he decided to clean and fix it and when he opened it there was $1300.00 dollars in it. Maybe those old collectibles aren't so strange....
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tomwiii
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posted on February 6, 2002 11:33:06 AM
I collect belly-button lint and Canadians!
[ edited by tomwiii on Feb 6, 2002 11:33 AM ]
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RebelGuns
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posted on February 6, 2002 11:50:24 AM
The big thing in this neck of the woods is collecting old outhouses. Of course, I don't think you want to get into shipping and handling on these.
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toolhound
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posted on February 6, 2002 01:43:23 PM
I know a guy that collects anvils he has around 300 and some weigh as much as 500 pounds.
Also a guy comes to the flea market I sell at and looks for old Condom tins.
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katmommy
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posted on February 6, 2002 02:50:56 PM
$1300 in a waffle iron? Did he do the decent thing and go back and ask the people (in a round about way of course) if it belonged to someone they knew? I mean if crazy old grand ma stuck in there and forgot about it...shouldnt it belong to who ever survived her?
Just my 2 cents : )
MEOW
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ihula
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posted on February 6, 2002 03:09:26 PM
I was doing a search on something that I was going to sell for a friend. I came across vintage boxes of Pampers and other diapers - they were going for quite a bit of money!
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buyhigh
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posted on February 6, 2002 04:52:06 PM
Read an article in a magazine quite some time ago about a woman who collected knot holes. She had a rather extensive collection. Do not rcall whether she chopped down trees to get them however.
buyhigh
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bidsbids
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posted on February 6, 2002 04:53:51 PM
I remember a few years ago on ebay that there was a bidding war on a sanitary napkin holder from the 1950's ( new in package too ). How's that for an odd collectible?
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pelorus
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posted on February 8, 2002 06:20:47 PM
Hey tomwii, I have a belly button cleaner (seriously) that you can use to manage your lint collection.
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nycyn
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posted on February 8, 2002 06:29:24 PM
Oh, about a million years ago, there was a guy on the TV show "What's My Line?" It is the only episode I remember and still think of when I pass a penny or a dime on the street. His line? Decades of collecting change he found on the street. Jars filled with them.
Ba da boom.
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nycyn
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posted on February 8, 2002 06:32:36 PM
Then there's the guy I saw on TV who is an actual vomit collector... That's his kink. (You should see my face.) No I don't make this stuff up!
Beat that!
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bdunique
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posted on February 9, 2002 09:30:32 AM
I know a gentleman in Texas who collects barbed wire fragments. They are all mounted, labelled, and catalogued. I have no idea why he does this, but I'm keeping my eye out when I walk in the woods, on the off chance...
Onward and Upward,
--bdunique
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meridenmor
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posted on February 9, 2002 12:59:18 PM
There is a film director who collects dangerous toys. Whenever something is recalled because children might hurt themselves with it, he runs and buys one for his collection. I was once in a house where the collection was of space heaters, the old semicircle of copper types. Sort of interesting and they had hundreds, each one different.
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doormat
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posted on February 10, 2002 02:40:52 AM
I collect old clay ash trays and pottery that kids made in school, then end up in thrift shops after their mom's can't stand them cluttering up the house anymore.
By the way, that barbed wire one reminded me of this show I saw on TV once about amazing things people do and it showed this Japanese guy eat an entire bicycle, piece by piece.
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denisv
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posted on February 10, 2002 02:49:57 AM
I collect coffee mugs with advertising on them. I guess that's not very strange compared to the other collections. I have about 1800 of them. Anyone want to buy my collection? (It doesn't hurt to ask!) I'll deliver in Northern California.
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bidsbids
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posted on February 10, 2002 06:45:39 AM
How do you display the 1,800 coffee cups or mugs? That's a lot and they are good-sized objects when compared to stamps or coins.
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denisv
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posted on February 10, 2002 08:33:29 AM
bidsbids: Displaying that many mugs is a problem. Currently I have about 350 residing in some shelves I made for them. The 350 is about 349 too many for my girl friend, who doesn't have the collector gene. The other 1400+ are stored under the house. At least I think they are - I haven't visited them for a few months...
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yeager
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posted on February 10, 2002 09:41:01 AM
denisy,
How do you even begin to dust those mugs, and how long does it take?
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denisv
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posted on February 10, 2002 11:47:05 AM
Dust them? Huh? Hmmm... that may be at the root of her disapproval. But seriously, once a month or so I put the little brush attachment on the vacuum and run it over the shelves off mugs. It doesn't take long. They rattle around a little but they don't fall off. I have to be more careful with the ones hanging on the wall, but what the hey, if one breaks I have another 1400 in reserve. I am slowly (VERY slowly) selling some of the better ones on eBay; those that don't sell will go either to the Smithsonian (if they will pay the shipping, or maybe even if they won't, as long as they will take them, which is doubtful) or to the Goodwill whence they came.
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