Opinions about starting my daughter on collecting

[Brian Mc]

I just posted a want ad for all the base ANS and FB sets. Short version:  My daughter wants to start collecting Wackys and wants a "Wacky Pack" birthday (which is on Christmas Day!). I decided I would "start" her with base sets of all the Wackys from the 2000's... you know, products that she recognizes. I'll probably hold back the FB sets for a while because I notice that she doesn't always "get it" when she looks at my old Wackys from the 70's (old products that she doesn't recognize mostly). Maybe I'll let her 'grow into them' LOL.

  Anyway, here's my dilemma: Part of me thinks it would be awesome to get all these Wackys dumped in my lap on my birthday, but the other part of me thinks "that's not collecting, that's GETTING!". It's the whole instant gratification culture that I'm battling (I want it, so I get it... ugh). So, I'm torn.

  I talked myself into giving her an "instant collection" thusly:  1. We live nowhere near (15 miles?) a store that actually sells Wackys....so, that whole "riding my bike to the store to get some Wackys" experience is a complete wash out. 2. ALL the sets she needs are not in stores anyway. 3. She's going to be 10...needless to say, she doesn't have an eBay account or a credit card. 4. This is a "start". Future collecting will be her responsibility. She needs to stay with it and say stuff like, "Hey Dad, are there any new Wackys coming out?" I will help with the procurement (internet purchases, etc), of course.

What do you think? Any ideas on how I could do it differently? General opinions?

Thanks!

Brian Mc

[Jean Nutty]

I like your 4 point rationalization for giving her an "instant collection". I say go for it, what the heck. You aren't catering to any "gotta have it now" inclination (yet)

If I were to make any suggestion it would be to maybe split it up a bit over the year. The only reason I say this is that, at some point, it gets a little difficult to appreciate so many new things (whether it's sticker titles, Hotwheels, beenie babies, whatever). But they are stickers and not comic books, so my analogy is not quite correct. You could wrap each series seperately so she could (try) to spread out her enjoyment of opening and discovering each series. You could encourage her to open one series a day between Christmas and New Year's, just for fun . . . yeah, I realize that's a dumb unrealistic idea, but thought I'd share it anyway   :-)

Good work spreadin' the Wacky love, and keep us posted how this goes! I can already imagine one of your Christmas photos, with hundreds of stickers shrewn about on the floor.

[BumChex]

Getting sets dropped on you isn't that much fun for a 10 year old. They like to discover. You should get her some unopened boxes. Series 2-6 should be easy to find fairly cheap. I may even have extras to sell. Tou will be able to find most of those on ebay for around $10-15 each for series 2 & 3 at least. From there is when the collecting starts. The only other issue is she won't have any friends to collect with or trade in those series unless she already does? You should also order her the wacky album so she can put them in 9 pocket sleeves.

[Brian Mc]

You should get her some unopened boxes. From there is when the collecting starts. The only other issue is she won't have any friends to collect with or trade in those series unless she already does? You should also order her the wacky album so she can put them in 9 pocket sleeves.

This is an interesting idea. Let her open the packs and assemble her collection. Not quite the same as riding your bike to the store and buying them, but a similar experience of thumbing through each pack and seeing "what you got".

No Wacky friends that I know of... who knows, maybe she'll start up a craze at her school. :-)

Also, she is NOT a binder girl. She likes them in the little clear, hard plastic cases... so she can take them out and thumb through them. Not my particular style, but hey, it's her collection, right? 

Question: How many sets can you assemble from an entire box? One, with leftovers? Two? I really don't know.  Thanks!

Brian Mc

[crackedjerk]

Perhaps you could do a combo of getting base sets for her and unopened boxes.  Buy a few base sets and a few unopened boxes.  I like the idea of spreading them out.  Perhaps one set/box per week between now and Christmas.  You'll definitely get at least one base set per box and you might even get a base set out of a bonus box from series 1-5.

[Sunstroke]

I say unopened boxes too, that will be far more fun. She can then "collect" the chase stuff she doesn't get and will still be able to make it a hobby while still having most of the new stuff.

[sco(o)t]

I just posted a want ad for all the base ANS and FB sets. Short version:  My daughter wants to start collecting Wackys and wants a "Wacky Pack" birthday (which is on Christmas Day!). I decided I would "start" her with base sets of all the Wackys from the 2000's... you know, products that she recognizes. I'll probably hold back the FB sets for a while because I notice that she doesn't always "get it" when she looks at my old Wackys from
the 70's (old products that she doesn't recognize mostly). Maybe I'll let her 'grow into them' LOL.

 ...
What do you think? Any ideas on how I could do it differently? General opinions?

Thanks!

Brian Mc

Brian, Why not let her create an account on the Forum here. I am sure there are many of us that could provide ANS base sets at next to nothing or trading for something... anything. I know I have tons of ANS7 base sets I would give away for a song. Let her get into some actual trading and experience the anticipation of waiting for each day's mail delivery. Pehaps you can supply her with some starter material and give us a nod (or the finger to the side of the nose from THE STING) to let us know when she is ready. There are enough helpful souls here to go a long way to an ANS base collection.

[Dr Popper]

Brian, Why not let her create an account on the Forum here. I am sure there are many of us that could provide ANS base sets at next to nothing or trading for something... anything. I know I have tons of ANS7 base sets I would give away for a song. Let her get into some actual trading and experience the anticipation of waiting for each day's mail delivery. Pehaps you can supply her with some starter material and give us a nod (or the finger to the side of the nose from THE STING) to let us know when she is ready. There are enough helpful souls here to go a long way to an ANS base collection.

I like the idea of opening packs for them to build sets.  I know my 2 daughters love to open them with me, and if I just had a base set for them it would take most of the fun out of it. 

[BumChex]

Brian, take a look at this thread and look at the video from the 2nd post along with the pix from the 3rd post to get the excitement of kids opening packs.
http://www.wackypackagesforum.com/index.php?topic=377.0

[Plan 9]

Brian, Why not let her create an account on the Forum here. I am sure there are many of us that could provide ANS base sets at next to nothing or trading for something... anything. I know I have tons of ANS7 base sets I would give away for a song. Let her get into some actual trading and experience the anticipation of waiting for each day's mail delivery. Pehaps you can supply her with some starter material and give us a nod (or the finger to the side of the nose from THE STING) to let us know when she is ready. There are enough helpful souls here to go a long way to an ANS base collection.

I don't have anything against kids but I would think it's a bad idea to invite any children to the forum. This forum wasn't intended to be an adult hang out but that's what it is by default.

As far as collecting, I like the idea of giving her boxes and packs to open. Pile them on! When I was first introduced to Wacky Packs a friend had a huge Wonderbread box full of them and handed me all I could carry. Having enough to save, stick and give to friends was a positive influence on my collecting.

[sco(o)t]

I don't have anything against kids but I would think it's a bad idea to invite any children to the forum. This forum

Well, I certainly didn't intend to imply she should have the run of the place. Would hate to have her run into the Hulk holding up boobs on the Shenanigan's thread  . I figured Brian would be working with her, perhaps create her own topic for her trades, etc. I wouldn't anticipate a problem with limited, supervised access. 

[Jean Nutty]

Would hate to have her run into the Hulk holding up boobs on the Shenanigan's thread  .

I would definitely recommend putting me on "ignore"!

[sco(o)t]

I would definitely recommend putting me on "ignore"!

Well, not necessarily you, but definitely the Shenanigan's topic    Your basically harmless 

[Brian Mc]

  Ok, thanks to all the replies, I took a different route than I had originally planned. I have to agree that opening boxes/packs is FAR more interesting and exciting than just having all the base sets dumped in your lap. So, I just bid on SIX bonus boxes (2 each of ANS 4, 5, and 6) on eBay (cardgary) for $35. Not too bad of a price I thought....that's only $6 per box. I can live with that, and, with 2 boxes of each series, she SHOULD be able to get an entire base set of each. So, on to the other series.... although, I probably won't drop ALL these boxes on her. I can save them for other occasions. 

  So, after her birthday, she should have base sets of ANS 4,5,6 and 7 (already has 7). I think that's a pretty good start. I appreciate all the great ideas and opinions everyone!

  We'll see where she goes after this. Hopefully, she'll get excited about "building" her own collection. I'll keep everyone posted

Brian Mc

[bandaches]

I say unopened boxes too, that will be far more fun. She can then "collect" the chase stuff she doesn't get and will still be able to make it a hobby while still having most of the new stuff.

Agreed and help her connect with other collectors to make trades to complete.  Maybe Brian is her liason to the forum.

[BumChex]

  Ok, thanks to all the replies, I took a different route than I had originally planned. I have to agree that opening boxes/packs is FAR more interesting and exciting than just having all the base sets dumped in your lap. So, I just bid on SIX bonus boxes (2 each of ANS 4, 5, and 6) on eBay (cardgary) for $35. Not too bad of a price I thought....that's only $6 per box. I can live with that, and, with 2 boxes of each series, she SHOULD be able to get an entire base set of each. So, on to the other series.... although, I probably won't drop ALL these boxes on her. I can save them for other occasions. 

  So, after her birthday, she should have base sets of ANS 4,5,6 and 7 (already has 7). I think that's a pretty good start. I appreciate all the great ideas and opinions everyone!

  We'll see where she goes after this. Hopefully, she'll get excited about "building" her own collection. I'll keep everyone posted

Brian Mc

Brian, those bonus boxes only have about 6 packs!

[Brian Mc]

Brian, those bonus boxes only have about 6 packs!

Actually, ANS 4 and 5 have 11 in each (5 cards each) and ANS 6 has 6 "mega" packs (10 cards each). With 2 boxes of each, she has an outside shot at getting all 3 base sets. If not, then she'll have to start hunting!

Brian Mc

[crackedjerk]

  Ok, thanks to all the replies, I took a different route than I had originally planned. I have to agree that opening boxes/packs is FAR more interesting and exciting than just having all the base sets dumped in your lap. So, I just bid on SIX bonus boxes (2 each of ANS 4, 5, and 6) on eBay (cardgary) for $35. Not too bad of a price I thought....that's only $6 per box. I can live with that, and, with 2 boxes of each series, she SHOULD be able to get an entire base set of each. So, on to the other series.... although, I probably won't drop ALL these boxes on her. I can save them for other occasions. 

  So, after her birthday, she should have base sets of ANS 4,5,6 and 7 (already has 7). I think that's a pretty good start. I appreciate all the great ideas and opinions everyone!

  We'll see where she goes after this. Hopefully, she'll get excited about "building" her own collection. I'll keep everyone posted

Brian Mc

I believe I saw an ebay auction for a combo of series 1 and 2 (or maybe 2 and 3) boxes for a reasonable amount.  Sorry, I can't provide a link, but I'm sure you can find it under the search wack* pack* box*

[Brian Mc]

Ok, looks like I'm done buying boxes for now. I have 3 each of the 11 pack "bonus boxes" of series 2,3,4,5,and 6. I bought them in lots that had different bonus boxes so she could get all the different bonus stickers. She already has a base set of ANS7 so..... her birthday will be a Wacky affair. Still not sure if I'm going to give her all these boxes at once, maybe one box of each, maybe all three boxes of certain series..... ANY IDEAS?

Brian Mc

PS- Still looking for ANS1 boxes.... found some on ePay but too much $$$$. I'll keep looking.

[BumChex]

Ok, looks like I'm done buying boxes for now. I have 3 each of the 11 pack "bonus boxes" of series 2,3,4,5,and 6. I bought them in lots that had different bonus boxes so she could get all the different bonus stickers. She already has a base set of ANS7 so..... her birthday will be a Wacky affair. Still not sure if I'm going to give her all these boxes at once, maybe one box of each, maybe all three boxes of certain series..... ANY IDEAS?

Brian Mc

PS- Still looking for ANS1 boxes.... found some on ePay but too much $$$$. I'll keep looking.

Brian, the ANS1 target box has the infamous Coach Motel. Not many boxes produces. I'm selling ANS1 boxes sealed with 24 packs for $30 +$8 shipped. If you want more than 1 box we could cut the shipping down by using a flat rate box for around $10. Just PM me if interested.

[crackedjerk]

Ok, looks like I'm done buying boxes for now. I have 3 each of the 11 pack "bonus boxes" of series 2,3,4,5,and 6. I bought them in lots that had different bonus boxes so she could get all the different bonus stickers. She already has a base set of ANS7 so..... her birthday will be a Wacky affair. Still not sure if I'm going to give her all these boxes at once, maybe one box of each, maybe all three boxes of certain series..... ANY IDEAS?

Brian Mc

PS- Still looking for ANS1 boxes.... found some on ePay but too much $$$$. I'll keep looking.

I'd go with all the boxes of a given series at one time.  She how she responds to that (rips 'em all open at once, spaces them out a bit, etc) for the first series and adapt accordingly.  As much as I love Wackys, I simply couldn't digest five series at one sitting.  I'd want to space out the series by at least a week if not a month.  That's not to say how your daughter would want to do it, but that's how I would like to experience the ANS run.

By the way, I did see a Coach Motel bonus box on ebay recently that I think was starting at $65 or so and didn't have any bids.  I think the price on that has come down a fair amount.  The other bonus box seems pretty reasonable in price these days as well.

[Brian Mc]

Well, I decided to give her 3 bonus boxes of ONE series. In this case, I gave her ANS2, since ANS1 was a little cost prohibitive and also since I bought bonus boxes of series 3,4,5,and 6 too. So, I will space them out over time and let her enjoy each series for a little bit. When she opened the box, she was genuinely surprised and happy. She smiled brightly. Christmas is sooooo busy around here with 4 children AND a birthday, so we waited until the 26th to dig into them. Opening all 3 boxes, she ended up with TWO complete base sets, 3 Plop On Pop bonus cards (I thought they were all different boxes... sigh), LOTS of extra doubles and triples, 4 tatoos (1 double), and 9 magnets (2 are doubles).... so, she did quite well. I told her that she was missing some bonus cards (showed her my ANS2 collection), magnets, and tatoos of course, and that she might find some help here in the forums. She seemed very receptive to that idea, expressing an interest in finishing up the magnets (surprise!) as well as the bonus stickers.
 
So, the Wackys went over well. I'm so glad i asked for opinions.... and got some great ideas. My initial idea went by the wayside very quickly and her experience was much better because of it. So, THANKS, EVERYONE!! I'm going to post a couple pics, so lets hope I do it right! LOL


Brian Mc

[Brian Mc]

And another:

[BumChex]

Brian, cute pictures! It looks like a Wacky Xmas to me

[sco(o)t]

And another:

I recognize that look.... Collecting fever!

[crackedjerk]

And another:

Sounds like your plan just about worked out to perfection!  She's a lucky girl to have a dad who "gets" it.  Now, just bust open the vintage soda case in the background and it's the 1970's again!

[Brian Mc]

Sounds like your plan just about worked out to perfection!  She's a lucky girl to have a dad who "gets" it.  Now, just bust open the vintage soda case in the background and it's the 1970's again!

Good eye!! Yep, those sodas are MINE!! And I'm not sharing!! LOL  :-) 

[sunsweat]

Good eye!! Yep, those sodas are MINE!! And I'm not sharing!! LOL  :-) 

What sodas are in the box?  I can't tell from the photo.

[Sue Mee]

What sodas are in the box?  I can't tell from the photo.

[expando]http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1140703523_q9VaM-X2.jpg[/expando]

[Brian Mc]

[expando]http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1140703523_q9VaM-X2.jpg[/expando]

Wow, did you photoshop that from my picture??

Anyway, the sodas are:

Dads Rootbeer
NuGrape
Nesbitt's Orange
Bubble Up

  Had a Nesbitt's today. Not too bad, but I prefer Stewart's Orange Creme. Now there's a whole bunch of YUM.

Brian Mc

[BumChex]

Wow, did you photoshop that from my picture??

Anyway, the sodas are:

Dads Rootbeer
NuGrape
Nesbitt's Orange
Bubble Up

  Had a Nesbitt's today. Not too bad, but I prefer Stewart's Orange Creme. Now there's a whole bunch of YUM.

Brian Mc

Dads Rootbeer is hard to find in CO. I have found it a few times at the dollar store.

[Sue Mee]

Wow, did you photoshop that from my picture??

No, it's just an image from Amazon.com :-)