Store-of-value

I thought I would get a current and comprehensive review of the hobby when I ordered this book. I purchased it new because I wanted a current edition. As soon as I received it I saw that its copyright (even though it was a third edition) was 1990. I read it anyway hoping that maybe they had attached a couple of new chapters to cover the internet and online auctions and their impact on the hobby, but no luck. This book needs updating badly. Too bad, I was hoping for advice and I got something that a 10 year old would not want to write his book report on because it's so badly outdated by current events.

I READ THE BOOK MANY YEARS AGO AND IT WAS DATED THEN. I HAVE COLLECTED FOR 44 YEARS AND LOVE THE HOBBY, BUT THIS IS NOT GOING TO TEACH ANYONE ENOUGH ABOUT THE HOBBY TODAY TO BUY THE BOOK. IT IS SEMI INTERESTING BUT I THINK THAT IT IS FOR THE MID 80'S NOT TODAY.

MR. PEARLMAN IS VERY KNOWLEDGABLE AND THE BOOK WILL GIVE YOU A GREAT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION FROM THE DAYS GONE BY. IT IS FUN TO REMEMBER THE PAST, YET WITH TODAYS ISSUES WITH CARDS AND THE HORRID AMOUNT OF CARDS BEING PRODUCED, THE DAYS OF COLLECTING AND TRADING ARE STILL HERE FOR THE CHILDREN. BUT WHEN I SEE A CHILD OPEN A $20.00 PACK OF CARDS AND IMMDIATELY LOOK AT A PRICE GUIDE TO SEE HOW MUCH THEY ARE WORTH (ACORDING TO THE GUIDES), FOR ME IT THAS TAKEN THE JOY OF THE SPORT AND COLLECTING AWAY. THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY CHANGES SINCE THE PUBLISHING OF THIS BOOK THAT IT IS GOOD FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO COLLECT OLDER CARDS ONLY.

AS SOON AS I HAD GOT MY BOOK BY DONN PEARLMAN I KNEW IT HAD TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A GOOD BOOK BECAUSE I HAD READ MANY OTHER DONN PEARLMAN BOOKS IN THE PAST! IT HAD STARTED AS SOON AS I HAD OPENED THE FIRST PAGE AND I HAD GONE ON AN ADVENTURE.. THE BOOK TELLS YOU HOW TO NOT WASTE ALL OF YOUR MONEY ON CARDS AT THE SAME TIME.. AND IT TELLS YOU HOW THE CARDS GO UP.. TODAY THANKS TO DONN PEARLMAN AND BECKETT BASEBALL AND BASKETBALL CARDS ARE MY BIGGEST HOBBY!

If you have any love of the English language, and are able to tell good photographs from bad ones, you will truly dislike all of the books by this woman that I have read, including Barbie Exclusives volumes 1, 2 and 3. The text is virtually unreadable, almost completely devoid of any real information, and is generally a painful experience. The photographs are almost equally bad, ranging from grainy yellowish shots, to lovely ones in which box-front glare almost obliterates any details of the doll inside. Truly, you can do much better than this series! Try the Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Doll Exclusives and More by J. Michael Augustyniak.

Excellent and informative book. Was able to locate dolls and pricing from book that I could not find in other books! Great pictures, comments and descriptions!

Mr. Consalvi's book was a godsend when I first started to determine the values of my Steiff teddy bears. However, we are now in the year 2001, and the book is in danger of becoming outdated with regard to its price guides and the values of Steiff collectibles. Additionally, many new bears and animals have been made since 1990 but are not included in this edition, except for the Disney animals up to 1995.

A new, revised and up-to-2000 or 2001 3rd edition needs to be released ASAP.

In the meantime, puzzled Steiff collectors should look for a copy of "Steiff Sortiment 1947-1999" by Gunther Pfeiffer. ("Sortiment" here means "Assortment".) When used in conjunction with Mr. Consalvi's book, both provide a comprehensive look at Steiff's many world-famous toys, both old and new, but Pfeiffer's price guides are accurate up to 1999. Also, the new "Sortiment" has (at last!) an English translation from the German, making it much easier to locate your Steiff bear or animal.

I am fairly new to collecting Steiff and found this book was caught between the begginer and slightly more ecperienced collector. Some very good pictures and an in depth price guide which could have been just a little better organised. Several Steiff pieces that I looked for I couldn't find, I am not sure if it because they were made outside the time scale for this book. I would say a good addition and informative although I am back here at Amazon looking for something better.

This is a great reference book for contemporay Steiff collectors. It focuses on the 1980-1990 Steiff pieces, their editions & values, photos.