Teddy Bear Friends
Some people collect things. Other people wonder why some people collect things. I don’t think there is any one reason why people build collections. Many collections start completely by accident. I’m sure that many teddy bear collections were begun after someone received a couple of bears that they really liked and then put them out on display. Maybe they talked about them a lot or played with them constantly. That caught the eye of someone who cared about them who thought a new bear might make a nice gift. THAT bear got added to the collection, and so on and so on…
photo credit: riptheskull
I’m sure there is probably some deep psychological reason why we collect things. I’m not really into looking at any deep seated motivations. I just like teddy bears!
Some people starting a collection want to know exactly which bears they should “focus” on as they build their collections. I guess maybe I’m the wrong person to ask if you want an answer based purely on financial investment opportunities. My reply would simply be a question. What do you like?
If you enjoy searching out the oldest and rarest of bears, then by all means, feel free to save your money and buy some old antique bears. Some Steiff bears from the early 1900s will sell for over a thousand dollars. I’m sure if you keep them in good shape, there is probably a good chance they will appreciate in value as they get older. There is absolutely nothing wrong however, with wanting to collect Build A Bears or some other type of bear. Want to collect all white or dark brown bears? Go for it! Who is to say you are wrong for liking what you do?
photo credit: Rennett Stowe
Personally, I like to actually pick up and handle my bears. To me, each one is tied to some special memories that I can soak up and savor each time I give it a squeeze. I’m sure that some people cringe at that, but I don’t like to just watch my bears collecting dust on a shelf. I’m not recommending that anyone do anything with their bears that may damage them. I’m just stating my own collecting technique. Another reason I like to actually pick up my bears is that they don’t collect dust nearly as much when I do that. A dust collection looks pretty bad and once they get dusty, it can be a real pain trying to get them clean. Hey, but that’s just me!
