Author Topic: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series  (Read 4705 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline bandaches

  • Posts: 4714
  • http://www.wackypackage.com/
    • Visit my Wacky Pack Website
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #35 on: March 12, 2023, 03:34:04 PM »
That was likely the job of the candy/cigarette jobber of the route.

So, the specific mom and pop was never on any of Topps' lists, at least not in 1971.  But some kind of local distributor was, who likely worked with multiple jobbers who had their own routes through the smallest of towns. 

About a decade ago I sat down and interviewed a guy who was a jobber in the 30s/40s and years later took over as owner of the local distributor (in my hometown in Nebraska).  But those jobbers were still going strong into the 60s, even as the emerging national chains helped drive the jobbers and the mom and pop stores toward eventual obsolescence.
thanks for shedding light on this!
Contact me at bandaches@yahoo.com as I have tons of wackys for sale!  Visit my website http://www.wackypackage.com/

Offline Slaytex99

  • Posts: 302
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #36 on: March 12, 2023, 05:50:15 PM »
Good info.  Got my first wacky pack (well actually was bought for me) from an ice cream truck(!) in Miami, FL.  Still remember it to this day.  Yes, my avatar was one of the stickers in that first pack.  I guess my young child brain was more intrigued by the wacky box art than an ice cream treat even in the FL heat :].  Always wondered how the ice cream truck would get a box of wackys to sell.

Offline MoldRush

  • Posts: 1146
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #37 on: March 12, 2023, 06:50:17 PM »
Good info.  Got my first wacky pack (well actually was bought for me) from an ice cream truck(!) in Miami, FL.  Still remember it to this day.  Yes, my avatar was one of the stickers in that first pack.  I guess my young child brain was more intrigued by the wacky box art than an ice cream treat even in the FL heat :].  Always wondered how the ice cream truck would get a box of wackys to sell.
Any Wackys I was lucky enough to snag in the warm weather months came almost entirely from ice cream trucks as well.  And it wasn’t Good Humor or Mr. Softee, but the Hood ice cream truck (and other ‘generic’ trucks for lack of a better description) which had ledges along the interior sides of the truck that held counter boxes of various types of candy and card packs.  They would be out of stock on Wackys probably half the time, but it’s the only place I can remember scoring 4 or 5 packs at a time on occasion.  In hindsight, at a nickel each I’m surprised I wasn’t able to buy more than that, but I think the problem was my sweet tooth.  Rather than salt away those nickels and dimes when Wackys were unavailable, I would just buy candy.  So I never ‘saved up’ enough to buy bigger wads of packs.  That’s probably what kept me from finishing sets more than anything, at least for those series that hung around for a while.

Offline freetoes

  • Posts: 239
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #38 on: March 12, 2023, 07:31:32 PM »
Same experience here.  Only saw them in small, independently owned newsstands/candy stores and delis, i.e. mom and pops.  Although as a kid that age I wasn’t close enough to 7-11s or other similar chains to check them out.

I got all my Wackys from the local Majik Market. They carried them; the 7-11 across the street did not. The 7-11 sold Slurpees, and Majik Market had Icees.

Online JailOJohn

  • Posts: 736
  • Sticking Wackys on Furniture since 1973...
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #39 on: March 12, 2023, 08:13:52 PM »
Yes, it was always a tough choice between Wackys, a comic for 25 cents, or a Slurpee in a Marvel Superhero cup…

Offline RunTony

  • Posts: 18
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #40 on: March 13, 2023, 09:10:32 PM »
""This picture was taken around 1970/71 and was an old-timey station even back then.  Look at those old gas pumps!"


I'm just glad that you can't see the gas prices in that photo!  Bet it was around 35 cents a gallon back then.....

Offline BAM

  • Posts: 68
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #41 on: March 14, 2023, 05:05:25 AM »
I was born in 1966 and my first recollection of Wackys was around series 4 or 5. I lived in a rural east TN town (still do), and my source for Wackys, other than trading with schoolmates, was three different mom & pop stores that were within a few miles of my house. I collected them through around series 10, then fell off for reasons unremembered. I consider collecting Wackys to be my very first hobby.

The 70s were awesome!

Offline Alexeirex

  • Posts: 1208
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #42 on: March 14, 2023, 04:50:40 PM »
That was likely the job of the candy/cigarette jobber of the route.

So, the specific mom and pop was never on any of Topps' lists, at least not in 1971.  But some kind of local distributor was, who likely worked with multiple jobbers who had their own routes through the smallest of towns. 

About a decade ago I sat down and interviewed a guy who was a jobber in the 30s/40s and years later took over as owner of the local distributor (in my hometown in Nebraska).  But those jobbers were still going strong into the 60s, even as the emerging national chains helped drive the jobbers and the mom and pop stores toward eventual obsolescence.

In my area, besides the little candy stores near the grammar school and movie theaters, I got my complete boxes from wholesalers, like I wrote previously. Perhaps these are also called jobbers? These wholesalers also sold to the little candy stores where they could be sold for the marked prices -
A

Offline JasonLiebig

  • Posts: 1791
    • CollectingCandy.com
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #43 on: March 14, 2023, 05:00:04 PM »
In my area, besides the little candy stores near the grammar school and movie theaters, I got my complete boxes from wholesalers, like I wrote previously. Perhaps these are also called jobbers? These wholesalers also sold to the little candy stores where they could be sold for the marked prices -
A

Jobbers would have worked for or with the wholesalers, yeah!
Jason Liebig - A swell TV host (currently on History Channel) who used to oversee Marvel Comics' X-Men - now creator and curator of WishbookWeb.com and CollectingCandy.com, a celebration of candy packaging, marketing and the people behind it all

Offline Plastered Peanut

  • Posts: 731
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #44 on: March 17, 2023, 10:09:07 PM »
I think it depends what you define as “crazy”.

I fit that definition as I love collecting misprints, miscuts, and any other errors.
Send me your borderless wackys!

Offline Plastered Peanut

  • Posts: 731
Re: 50th Anniversary of 1st Series
« Reply #45 on: March 17, 2023, 10:16:11 PM »
Same experience here.  Only saw them in small, independently owned newsstands/candy stores and delis, i.e. mom and pops.  Although as a kid that age I wasn’t close enough to 7-11s or other similar chains to check them out.

Thinking back to 73-75, my collecting years, I mainly bought them at the counter of the local "Medical Pharmacy" which was kind of a combo of Rite Aid and a Soda Shop (complete with lunch counter), and on the way from walking home from school.   Other venues included a mom-and-pop produce store on the edge of town and 5-and-dime downtown; oh, and the only place I ever saw 3rd series:   a neat little comic and newsstand shop downtown.   Ah, the days.....oh, the only place I ever saw 10th series...a "bait and tackle" shop across from the YMCA, which is also where I bought all of my "Odd Rods" and "Baseball Freaks".
Send me your borderless wackys!

 

anything