Value-Added

First, just to let you know, I was not the lucky stiff who snagged the Presentation Series *Witez II on eBay today. My luck’s been good, but not THAT good. I’m (mostly) okay with that.

Second, and case you were wondering: yes, I know all about the #82 Donkey with Baskets on eBay. In fact – and as you might have guessed – I knew about it before most of you guys did.

What’s blowing my mind right now is that I could… probably afford it right now. But considering the state of the world right now, keeping my discretionary purchases to a minimum seems like a wiser choice for me. 

(Though I am mulling over these new Grab Bags Reeves is offering that allegedly have some actual good stuff in them, not just the usual Regular Run warehouse leftovers. I think I might wait until I see the contents of a few pop up online before I decide, though.)

As some of you also know, I got insanely lucky several years ago when I located this treasure on eBay, for a sum very much within my budget:

Both of the Elephant with Howdah and the Donkey with Baskets came out around the same time – early in 1958 – and left just as quickly. I presume that they were originally made to capitalize on the success of their other value-added products, most notably the Western Pony Groomers.

However, most of these other value-added models – which grew to include such oddments as the French Poodle Sewing Kits and the infamous “Candy Packers” – were primarily sold via holiday catalogs. The Elephant with Howdah and Donkey with Baskets appear to be Breyer’s the only contemporaneous attempts to add these kinds of items to their Regular Run lineup.

Ones that obviously failed, based on the scarcity of both items.

Why both items were discontinued so quickly is a mystery. Was the fact that they were significantly more expensive ($1.50 instead of $1.00, wholesale) or that customers also expected something inside those baskets, like candy or office supplies?

Regardless of the reasons behind their mysterious disappearances, a return of either does not seem so far-fetched now, especially in light of this year’s Vintage Club releases.