| How to Collect | Packaging Tips | Cautions of the Hobby | Download PDF |

Introduction

By joining the PEZ community, one is entering a very large world of information, so to be a successful collector, one must be very knowledgable. I hope that by browsing this web site you have already picked up a few things you didn't know before. In this section I simply want to offer some general suggestions and tips that might enhance your collecting experience.

How to Collect PEZ Dispensers (top of page)

Many novice collectors are confused when it comes to how to collect. Common questions of concern include whether or not to leave PEZ in their original package, collect the candy and paper items aswell as the dispensers, and how to display their collection. There is really only one simple answer to this question: It is all up to you!

How to collect is a matter of personal preference. Some collectors believe that exclusively collecting the dispensers is the bland and boring path to take. Others may think that one can easily go overboard collecting the inserts and advertisments. Most would agree, however, that is mostly depends on how you display your collection. If your display focuses more on the dispensers, you might want to stick with those. However, if your display allows for more space, you might want to broaden your PEZ horizons by framing a PEZ puzzle on the wall, for example.

Money is, perhaps, the most important factor in your collecting strategy. If you are pressed for cash, you are more limited in your collection options. If you are like me, you may have stumbled into this hobby because it seemed like a cheap collectible (seeing that new dispensers will run you about $1.29 at your local grocery store). However, as cheap and appealing PEZ appears, keeping it that way becomes more a matter of self-control. Vintage dispensers cost a great deal more than those fresh buys at your local store, and they can drain your entire bank account if you let them. So, it seems, its a matter of philosophy and investments. If you aren't looking to run down your bank account, collecting current releases may be the way to go. If you are looking at this hobby, however, in terms of investments (in addition to the shear joy involved in collecting, of course), then maybe a few vintage PEZ are worth the money. If you do like to buy the older items, realize that you will get off to a slow start, and might just end up with a smaller collection. One could buy 150 current PEZ for the price of one Uncle Sam PEZ (Value: $200.00).

With all that said, I will now offer you a bit of my own so-called "PEZ Philosophy." First of all, I believe that colorful PEZ advertisements, vintage paper inserts, and packaging makes your PEZ collection more aesthetically pleasing. While you may think many of these items aren't affordable, you can find a great deal of them listed everyday on eBay.com. As for packaging, next time you are at the grocery store, grab a display box and take it up to the counter with you. You won't have to pay a dime, and these always look nice stacked full of dispensers. As for the debate over vintage vs. current dispensers, I personally feel that the older dispensers are more unique than the new ones. To me they really encompass the last 40 years of PEZ evolution and progress. Of course, ten years from now, some collector may be saying the same exact thing about our current dispensers, but whether or not the overproduction of today's dispensers will match the antiquity of those vintage product lines remains in question.

One last, and important note on my collecting philosophy, is about duplicates. Frankly, I have completely turned the corner on this issue. When I began collecting, I loved to have duplicates. I would keep one of each in each style of packaging that was released. After three years, however, my closets and drawers were litteraly overrun with PEZ. I began selling off my duplicates and with the money I made, I was able to invest the earnings back into vintage dispensers that I didn't have. In hindsight, which we all know to be 20/20, I wouldn't waste the time or effort collecting more than one of each dispenser. I enjoy opening, and handling my PEZ, so unless it is a vintage piece, I open it, and display it. This keeps my collection tight (and limited to only ONE corner of the room). As I mentioned earlier PEZHeads, how to collect is a matter of philosophy.

Packaging: Will it really make my PEZ worth more? (top of page)

Whether or not to leave a PEZ in it's original packaging is without a doubt the most frequently asked question amongst new collectors. The answer to this question is more than merely a personal preference, one must also consider a few realities. First, the older vintage dispensers, those produced without feet before the late '80s, are extremely valuable today because of their rarity. Before the early '90s there weren't many PEZ collectors, and as a result many of the dispensers we consider vintage were discarded (I know, it's a horrible thought) and have become very hard to find. Secondly, today there are millions of collectors, and for that reason, many more dispensers are not only being produced and kept, but also targeted toward the collecting community. Take the PEZ company's Collector's Offers for instance. These offers target PEZ collectors specifically, and charge them sometimes ridiculous prices for dispensers only available through their company. Not only are we spending more money, but the production lines can yield an almost endless supply of these dispensers. By contrast, only a few hundred-thousand vintage dispensers were manufactured for each character, and now millions of current issue PEZ stretch from continent to continent.

So what does all of this mean? It means that the new PEZ dispensers, whether left in their original packaging of not, are likely to never reach a substantial value. Will a Kermit the Frog ever be worth more than 50 dollars? Probably not. The market has been flooded with current dispensers, and every antique store you visit might have one or two. Essentially, to keep current PEZ in their original package because of value, might not be the way to go. To keep vintage PEZ in their packaging, however, is a good idea. These dispensers are valuable as it is, and having them sealed within their original packaging makes them much more valuable. Now, I am not saying that there isn't any purpose to keep current PEZ in their packaging, it just isn't likely to have much affect on their value. But, I've been known to be wrong, and fifty years from now I may be kicking myself for not saving all those Kermit the Frog's.

Cautions of PEZ collecting (top of page)

Eventhough collecting PEZ dispensers seem harmless, there are a few cautions of the hobby. There is a lot of information to be learned about PEZ dispensers, and being an informed collector is the sure way to avoid being taken advantage of. To become well informed you need to ask a lot of questions, and hopefully, most of the answers to your questions can be answered somewhere on this web site. I want to quickly comment on a couple of the most popular cautions and concerns in PEZ collecting.

Stem Shaving. Somewhere along the line of collecting PEZ, almost every collector encounters this scam. Hopefully by now you are aware that the older vintage PEZ dispensers were produced without feet, and are much more valuable than their footed counterparts. Unfortuneatly, the transition from non-footed PEZ to footed manufacture was a slow process, and as result, many PEZ were produced with and without feet. This becomes a concern because many people (I cringe to call them collectors) trying to make a quick buck have been removing the feet from dispensers by a technique I call stem shaving. After the feet have been removed, these PEZ are marketed and sold for the originals, without feet. It is important not to fall victim to those PEZ hate crime by inspecting your PEZ closely. How will you ever know, you say? I'll tell you. No matter how cleanly shaved a stem shaved PEZ looks, there is a trusty way to tell if it has been altered. On all PEZ that were produced with feet there is a thick spine on the stem (the spine is located directly on the back side of the stem). In the photo to the right, a normal non-footed stem is compared to a shaved stem. Now, hopefully, you won't fall victim to one of the most common PEZ scams out there.

Know about your dispenser. eBay auctions are a widely-known location for PEZ scams and misinformation. Although it is natural to believe everything in an item's description, don't! One of the current scams involves PEZ exclusives, that is, a dispenser that was only given out at a specific event or location. Since exclusive dispensers (such as the Charlie Brown Cubs PEZ, given out only at the Chicago Cubs baseball game) are a relatively recent phenomenon, there isn't widespread knowledge available regarding these dispensers. These dispensers all have some sort of distinguishing feature that identifies them as an exclusive. For instance, the Cubs Charlie Brown has a small "C" logo (Cubs' Logo) on its hat. Without this logo, however, there isn't any feature that distinguishes it from a regular Charlie Brown PEZ that anyone can purchase for retail price. The problem with exclusives like these are false claims. A common example, with the Cubs Charlie in particular, is when someone is selling a regular Charlie claiming that it is a Cubs Charlie misprint without the "C" logo on its hat. Although any experienced collector would immediately see through the scam, many don't because of their lack of knowledge. In PEZ collecting there is a strong affinity for misprints, that is, PEZ with manufacturing flaws. Some collectors pay a lot of money for certain misprints, especially on auction sites like eBay. It is plausible then, that some might fall victim to these false claims that a regular retail value PEZ is in fact a misprinted exclusive item. Once again, it is important to know your facts!

Remember... how you collect PEZ is simply a matter of personal preference. Enjoy the hobby, and collect in a fashion that makes you content and proud of you collection. PEZ collecting is a unique hobby, and there are no rules on how to collect, so simply invent your own!