Top 5 Tips When Purchasing Collectible Teddies.

It is Really Amazing as to How Long The Ubiquitous Teddy Bear has Been In Existence and Still Continues to Maintain Its Popularity.

Well, it has been around since the year 1902 and legend has it that it was due to the effort of a cartoonist Cliff Barryman as well as of a shopkeeper at Brooklyn who first drew the captured bear cub brought by the hunting party of President Roosevelt and also sought his permission to make it in order to name it as 'Teddy'.

While the initial teddy bears did not have any of the cute looking or friendly features, the changes that have happened since have catapulted it into an all-time favourite toy who everybody feels comfortable gifting. The modern Collectible teddies are available in a variety of shapes as well as the size and you can find one to suit any occasion. This gift knows no age barrier and whether it is the small child or the youngster or the elderly gentleman, all of them have a fondness and experience a special kind of warmth towards these toys.

Collectible teddies vary from the conventional ones in the sense that they are not only expensive but also detailed with some of them selling for more than a thousand dollars. They are made from diverse materials including jade and even porcelain. Their quality, as well as innovative and unique designs, makes them ideal gifts especially since they are not mass-produced like conventional teddy bears. Recipients of such gifts have every reason to feel good about them and look at them as real collector items. It must be said though that such gifts are best handed over to serious collectors and not too young kids.

So what should you consider when buying them? Let us look at five top tips:

Familiarise yourself with the different types of teddy bears and their looks over the years by examining the length of the snout, the hump or the lack of it, the manner in which the eyes are set and so on. This way you would get to know whether the specific piece is consistent with a particular period is it supposed to represent.

The fabric used as well as the manner in which it has been used on the body is another aspect you must check out.

The smell of the bear is yet another consideration. It must not smell very fresh and if that is the case, it certainly does not deserve the money you are willing to pay.

You need to examine the bear and check out the stuffing used. Collectible teddies that are pretty soft to touch and feel may not be very old since the real old ones had stuffing made out of wood wool that was quite hard. This is one way of finding out how old the piece in question is.

The label on the bear is also a very good indicator of the quality of the piece and you must not compromise on this to get some advantage on a price for a label that is not well known.

By Lawernce White J