Scratch And Sniff Astounding

I like collecting things.  I have some collections I've had for over two decades, such as my mint collection and my origami book collection.  I even have some collections I didn't realize I had, such as my scratch and sniff sticker collection.

Through a concatenation of events that started with me giving one of my son's teachers some old scratch and sniff stickers for her birthday, I found out that I had not only a collection, but a valuable one at that.   When I gave her the stickers I remarked that they were probably older than she was as they were from the 1970's and I'd gotten them at a flea market many years ago.  "They're vintage?" she asked and that one comment sparked my interest.

Were they collectable?  Did other people have a collection of scratch and sniff stickers like I had from when I was in elementary and junior high school?  It turns out that yes, other people not only collected scratch and sniff stickers (it was a huge fad back then) but there are people that still are collecting.  It also turns out those stickers I'd been giving away for years were uncommon and much sought after.

I found a book about collecting "sniff stickers" as they're called that cataloged a huge variety of stickers from the 70's and 80's.  The first section in the book was on the stickers I had given my son's teacher.  "Hard to find," "Rare" and "Much sought after" were phrases used about these early stickers that were pioneered by the 3M company.  The price of $6-$9 each was what surprised me the most.  The book giving those prices was a bit outdated too.  Could my stickers possibly be worth that much?

A proof of value experiment on eBay ensued.  I posted one apple, one orange and one cheese sticker.  The orange one which wasn't listed as that valuable went for $.99.  But the apple and cheese stickers went for $13.50 and $12.50 respectively.  Did I mention this was for one sticker?  Just one.  That's right.  That's crazy.

Did I also mention that I have hundreds of each of  these stickers?  I was so thrilled that I mailed two to each winner.  My husband said he'd be willing to sell them for me if we ever need a steady income or if we want to retire to Cozumel. 

The Big Boy Update:  Two years old today.  We celebrated with pinkeye.   Hooray.  School called and asked if we'd come and get him (and his sister too) because there was a case already in his class and he looked like he was scratching his eye.  His sister did not show signs but his doctor said he had one mildly red eye and it wouldn't hurt to treat both eyes and both children.  So it's drops for both for four days.  What a way to celebrate being two.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Soup.  I gave her some of her brother's favorite soup, Campbell's Vegetable Beef, today.  Not only did she like it, she insisted on using the spoon and putting it into her mouth.  She finished her half can and moved on to her brother's half can before she was done eating.

Someone Once Said:  If your man wants something, and you can accommodate him with no grief, give it to him!