Bumper Sticker Collectibles
// May 19th, 2010 // Bumper Stickers
If you are looking for a fun investment for the future, then a bumper sticker is probably one of the few collectibles you can focus on and which will cost you less than five bucks. If you want a good example just try to find the all-time classic, “Honk if You Believe in Jesus!” – an original sticker was sold at a New York auction house for a cool, $1 million! There is a rumor that the fortunate seller immediately bought a new bumper sticker - “Laughing All the Way to the Bank”.
Sticking with the Christian theme – another bumper sticker fetched an even higher $1.2 million, the 1968 “Have You Prayed Today?”. Bumper stickers started life as mobile advertizing gimmicks and rapidly gained traction in the political sphere, and like today, religion and politics are very much entwined despite separation of Church and State. Many of the political bumper stickers of the Fifties were produced by religious supporters who also hopped on the popularity of the bumper sticker with their own religious message.
One aspect of collecting bumper stickers is that frequently, buying the sticker actually involves buying the car upon which it was stuck. It’s not unusual for bumper sticker aficionados to be paying way over the odds for a classic automobile, not because the car has the value but because it is the bumper sticker! A slight twist on this, is that some cars actually carry several bumper stickers and it is their combined value which makes buying the car worthwhile. One vehicle fetched just over $700,000 at auction – the value being in the bumper stickers fixed to it and no the wheels. Next time you are buying a car, make sure you check out the bumper stickers on it and see if you are going to bag a nest egg!
Falling down from the dizzy heights of these numbers, the majority of bumper stickers coming to auction or market are fetching sums between $10,000 and $25,000. This is still a very hefty increase on anyone’s investment when bumper stickers may have cost a few cents. The market is actually quite active, though recently it has suffered a drop in both activity and average prices achieved because of the economic downturn.
One question is if you are buying a bumper sticker today, which one is most likely to be valuable in the future?
Good question, and the honest answer is we don’t know, but there are some tips which if you follow them, are likely to improve your chances of hitting the jackpot. Go for popular bumper stickers which are likely to be used, i.e. people are buying them and sticking them on their cars. Though popular, most of these stickers will ultimately end up in a breaker’s yard. Keep your collection in safe and protected conditions. Don’t use them so they are in mint condition – sure, some collectors will buy the car if they are stuck on a fender, but a mint bumper sticker will be valued more highly and you will find that keeping a sticker on a car will cause you a headache when you want to get rid of the car!
Related articles
- Top 10 Reasons to Be Glad for Your Parking Sticker (labels4life.com)
- New Employees Benefit From Parking Stickers (easyorderparkingpermits.com)
- Top 10 Most Dangerous Driving Habits (totallytop10.com)
Related posts:
