FREE GIFTS - CAN BECOME TREASURES - CRACKER JACKS - SUPERMAN - McDONALDS

Yes, Carnival Glass and Depression Glass were given as free premiums to our parents, but there were others, and will be more free premiums, even today.

Some of you might not remember when the Superman premiums that came in cereal boxes were free, but I do. I sure wish that I had kept the special ring that was mine as a young child. Today, it is worth thousands of dollars. Many of the other Superman toys also bring big bucks today. A trading card set will bring $2500, plastic telephone $1000 and radio $1500. These are still out there just waiting for you to find them.

Superman was the creation of two seventeen year old boys in 1938 just before World War II. He was featured on the radio, television, cartoons and several movies.

Another great prize that children collected were the Cracker Jack premiums. They started to put these prizes in boxes of molasses flavored popcorn in 1912. Many of these Cracker Jack premiums will bring $100 and up. Some are unmarked. So, search the guide on these pieces. Yes, there are guide books and resource books for just about anything. Check the 31 Club's Recommended Reading List, and search for any book on any subject, new or used. That way you will know these items if you run across them in a box lot.

What about now? Are there great collectibles being created today? Yes! In fact, I suggest that you pick up anything that is being given away free. At the pro baseball games they often give away something to the first five hundred or so that enter the park. This is also true of basketball. I have seen the bobble head plastic baseball figurines that were given at the ball park being listed on eBay the next day for $25 - $50.

But it doesn’t stop here. You might remember that early on in these blogs, I suggested that this is going to be one of the most interesting elections of our lifetime. So be sure to go to all the major candidate's campaign headquarters and pick up several pieces of each poster, bumper sticker, flyer and pin that they have for your taking. The reason you want to take several of each is that you might want to sell a few as the price goes up while keeping some for your own collection. These might become extremely valuable after several years.

Let's not forget the restaurant give aways. McDonalds is the king of this type of premium. They have produced more individual prizes than almost all other companies combined. Burger King, Long John Silvers, Kentucky Fried Chicken and so many others also produce premiums. If you started your child with a free premium collection the day they were born, by the time they were eighteen there would be no worry about the cost of their college education. In fact they would have money to burn.

This business can be easy, especially when you have people throwing things at you that can bring a lot of money into your pocket for free.

Just a side note. Yesterday Joshua was called into a casting call for a major company, and it is all because of the exposure from this website. He was so excited, and I was so proud.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

If you wish to leave comments use the ANONYMOUS button and then you don't have to sign in to leave your message.

YEAR BOOKS - Could Mean Cash If Signed. Presidents - Movie Stars - Sports Figures

How often have you seen old school yearbooks at a sale and never even picked them up to see who had signed them. This could have been a huge mistake.

On occasion, I will take my year books down off the shelf and read the wonderful things my friends have written in them about me from high school and college. Sure they did, you bet.

This can be fun, and there are a lot of these books out there with the names of some pretty famous people in them. Presidents and Congressmen and women did go to school, even if I do sometimes wonder about a few of them.

How about a yearbook with Babe Ruth's signature in it or Michael Jordon's. Could they have value? You bet. You may not pass those books by so quickly in the future, and if they wrote a message in the book, this will make it even more valuable.

The special things about signatures is that the ones that you think might be the most valuable might not be. You will often find signatures of people that you don't recognize that are worth thousands of dollars.

Let me give you a few examples. Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde fame will bring over $4500 in the market today. How about Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz? His signature is worth $2500 plus. Humprey Bogart - $2750, James Dean-$7000, Greta Garbo-$9000, Jimi Hendrix-$2000 and the list goes on and on. All these people went to school and had friends and signed year books. Wow!

Why stop now. How about sports figures? Jake Beckley, baseball, $3500. Joe Jackson, baseball $5500. John L. Louis, boxing $2000. Then we have government employees Susan B. Anthony $2000 and historical figure Daniel Boone $12,500.

I am running out of space but I think you get the picture. All these prices came from the price guide "The Standard Guide to Collecting Autographs" by Mark Allen Baker. Be sure to check the 31 Club's recommended reading list and order this book if you are interested. We've provided an excellent list of the books we like.

My son left me a message on my answering machine that everything looked good but I hope to get more of a report tomorrow.

Thanks and God Bless for your prayers.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

If you wish to leave comments use the ANONYMOUS button and then you don't have to sign in to leave your message.

I FOUND A REAL GEM - His name is "Andrew Slaw" - He Likes Collecting

What a wonderful afternoon I had Sunday. It was spent with Andrew Shaw, a wonderful 15-year-old, and his mother, Anne.

How can I tell this story? It won’t be easy for me, and I’m not sure that I can keep a dry eye. You know God always has a way of bringing you back to earth when you least expect it. This is what has happened to me by meeting this wonderful and bright young man named, Andrew Slaw.

It all started so innocently when Andrew came to the Chicago Antique Market to have me appraise some of his things. But I promise you, it didn’t end there. After I had talked to Andrew for awhile, I could see that he was soaking up each word that came out of my mouth, and he wanted to hear more. The questions just seemed to pour from his lips in an unending stream. Each answer he received seemed to make his eyes glow brighter. After we talked for awhile, I asked his parents if, some day, he could come to my home with them and I would show him some of my son's collections. I also found out that Andrew was an avid garage sale and flea market person.

As he walked away from me, my eyes began to follow him on his trip through to rest of the market. Into this booth and out of that one seemed to be his pattern, often stopping to take a better look at an item in the many cases he passed.

I really didn’t expect to see him again, but to my surprise, I received a call from his mother asking if they could come by for a visit.How can you refuse a young man with so much spirit?

Staying on the phone for an extra few minutes, Anne shared with me that Andrew had spent a large percentage of his life in the hospital. She said that the ailment he suffers with is Familial Dysautonomia, and you can find more about it on line.

Our visit was scheduled for four o’clock Sunday afternoon and I couldn’t wait for the doorbell to ring. When it did ring, there stood Andrew with that wonderful smile, carrying a small wicker case.

We went to the kitchen and he began to take his prized possessions out for me to examine. There were the penny cards, hot wheels, wooden animals and a signed baseball. Each one had a special story behind it. I soon found out that Andrew knew his things better than I did. He had done his research and shared it with me.

I plan to spend many more hours with him while he teaches me about life and collecting. He happens to be our newest member of the 31 Club, and you better watch out or he will be the winner of our race.

Andrew left me with this quote " LIVE FOR THE MOMENT." After meeting him, I can assure you that this is permanently etched in my mind.

If you would be interested In supporting this cause you may call 847-913-0455.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

If you wish to leave comments use the ANONYMOUS button and then you don't have to sign in to leave your message.

VOTE or No VOTE? - That is the Question

We are approaching the political season, and I think this will be one of the most interesting times in our political history. The President's numbers are below forty, and the Congress has approval numbers even lower than the President's. There are already scandals, and up for grabs is a presidency that could be won by the first woman or minority candidate in history. We also have a gentleman running that is of the Mormon faith. The reason this is important is that I can remember when John F Kennedy ran as a Catholic, and how big a deal was made of that. We could have a first gentleman and the first couple to both be elected president in the White House.

This is going to be a hay day for political collectors, and you should get a head start on the market. Political memorabilia has always commanded high prices for the rare pieces, and as this season begins, you should stock your shelves with as much of it as you can. Most of it will be free, so you have nothing to lose. I would visit the campaign headquarters of all the candidates running for office -- national, state, and local because you don’t know what is going to happen in the future. Try to get, at least, duplicates of each item you acquire and if possible, even more.

As the season progress the value of these items will go up, and as they do, sell off some of the items that you have amassed until your goal is reached. Then it is okay to store the rest for a later day. If I were going to start a new collection and was younger, I think it would be the Political Memorabilia. There are pieces from past campaigns that command hundreds of thousands of dollars. It really doesn’t matter what side of the fence you are on politically -- there will be a lot of money on the line this election. Just for the record, I would like to say that I am on the side of Pro Life. In my younger years, I was for a woman's right to choose, but later, my conscience told me the unborn child should have a say. I am not campaigning but just sharing myself with you so that the decision will be yours to join me in this endeavor or not.

You can find older campaign items at most garage and house sales. There are guides for these collectibles, and you may find them on www.abebooks.com or on ebay. If you have pieces of political memorabilia that you would like to share with us please do. As I stated in the title, we should all vote, but if you don’t there is still money to be made during this political season.