PEZ Dispensers, The Hot Collectible! by Richard Belyski

Well, if your reading this you must be a collector, whether it be comics, coins or fine antiques. I'm sure that at sometime during your search for what you collect you have come across PEZ dispensers. Maybe you have read an article about PEZ collecting, seen PEZ dispensers for sale, or just have seen it on television. By your reading this you must have that urge to learn more about PEZ, maybe even start a collection of PEZ dispensers. Let me first tell you that it is habit forming and if you read further you do so at your own risk.

Let me start by telling you a little about myself. I'm a "baby boomer" that started collecting pretty much like you. I heard that people collected PEZ and thought that it would be something fun to do. But I never knew I would one day be involved in PEZ collecting as I am. I started to sell PEZ to help feed my habit. I know it sounds like I have an addiction. Well, I do. My wife thought I was crazy. My family thought I was crazy. Am I crazy? No, not really. Buying PEZ to resell? Who is going to buy PEZ? I found there was plenty other collectors of PEZ out there. That was a few years ago.

Now, I am the editor of "PEZ Collector's News" and still collect PEZ. We are almost in our second year of the newsletter and we thought we would be happy with 500 subscribers. Well, I found that there are more PEZ collectors than I ever imagined. We have almost 1,500 subscribers and more sign up everyday. Enough about that, now to tell you a little about what makes PEZ so fun to collect.

At any given time there are between 60 and 75 different dispensers that you can buy for about $1.00 each. Not bad, something inexpensive that's fun to collect. I'm sure that in the current PEZ line you can find some character that you like. The current line includes some of your favorites like the Flintstones, Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Garfield and friends, Super Heroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Disney line, Trucks, Whistles, Dinosaurs, Muppets, Holiday dispensers and the new Star Wars line. Some people only collect the currents, some people only collect one line. One thing for sure, people do collect PEZ dispensers. Current dispenser can be bought in larger chain stores such as "Toys R Us", K-Mart or a chain drug store.

Once you get into collecting PEZ and buy all of the current dispensers the next question is "Where can I buy older PEZ?". I only have one answer and that the best place to buy PEZ is from the dealers that advertise in the newsletter. Of course you can buy PEZ at flea markets. They are getting much harder to find at reasonable prices and in good condition. One thing, make sure you know what you are buying and what it is worth. Antique dealers seem to talk a good story, but for the most part they don't know a great PEZ from a good PEZ. Some "antique dealers" go to their corner store, buy a PEZ dispenser, open the package and place a price tag. You, the consumer must know how much a dispenser is worth before you pay for it. Yes, even I paid up to $5 for dispensers that I could have bought in a store for $1. Who knew?

Another question that is commonly asked is "Should I buy PEZ dispensers that are missing parts?". Well, it is very hard to match parts and make your own perfect dispenser. I have a pile of broken PEZ, that someday they will be whole again. Oh, one big question is "Should I keep it in the package or open it up?". My answer is to buy two dispensers. At $1 each they are cheap enough to buy two. Open one to display and keep one in the package to increase in value.

If you do decide to collect PEZ, become an educated consumer. There are several books about PEZ collecting, buy one. Read it and become aware of what every dispenser looks like. Attend a convention. This year there will be 5 convention across the U.S. Attend one, look and see what all of the talk is about.

Once you see some of the PEZ dispensers, bet you say "I had that one as a kid!". Bringing back memories and having fun is what collecting is about. Right?

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