Well, “Black Friday” has passed and thank goodness
for that! Every year I read about riots and assaults and weapons being used –
all by shoppers on “Black Friday.” Are these people insane? All in all, I am so
very glad that I don’t go anywhere near a store on that day! But, Christmas is
just around the corner and there are still deals to be made on some terrific
(and some not so terrific) John Wayne related items. So, if you are a collector
of all things Waynian, or if you know someone who is, slap some bacon on a
biscuit and start shopping. You’re burnin’ daylight!
Of course, the obvious choice among many new John
Wayne collectors as well as their friends and families are John Wayne movies
and soundtracks. Most department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart and
such will have an abundance of John Wayne DVDs for sale, and usually pretty inexpensively
priced. The thing to watch out for, however, are the mega-packs of the old John
Wayne films. Not that they’re not worth watching, because they most definitely
are. That being said, however, you should be forewarned that many of them that
contain the old John Wayne serials (he did three of them) do not contain the
complete serial, as in all 12 chapters. Usually you will find that both The Hurricane Express and The Three Musketeers serials contained
in these mega-packs are actually edited “feature length” versions of these two
serials. They are still worth having, and both are enjoyable to watch, but don’t
expect to get the full 12-chapter serial. The full serials are available, but
you do have to look for them.
Soundtracks are another gem that many if not most
John Wayne collectors love to have, and there are multiple outlets available.
Of course there is always eBay, and there are tons of John Wayne film
soundtracks on eBay, both original LP’s and 45’s, as well as remastered CD’s.
In my opinion, however, if you would like to find some of the best CD’s of John
Wayne soundtracks, especially some of the limited edition CD’s, the
BuySoundTrax.com is the best. Sometimes they can be a little slow with
delivery, but the products are well worth the wait. You can check out some of
their John Wayne soundtracks by clicking here.
Now if it’s collectibles you’re after, then again
there are several outlets, both online and off, that can fill your needs. But
in all good conscience, I need to add a caveat here. Being a John Wayne fan and
collector for a good many years I think there are two definitions for the word “Collectible.”
The first definition is, that a collectible is anything that people collect.
And of course, that definition would encompass just about anything, and a large
percentage of John Wayne collectibles would fall into this category. Since John
Wayne passed away, folks have been slappin’ his image and name on just about
everything imaginable, and then mass producing it. Although these items can be
considered “collectible,” they are only worth what you are willing to pay for
them, and most of them do not increase in value over time.
Some good
examples of these would be the Franklin Mint items and the Bradford Exchange
items. If you are interested in this type of John Wayne collectible, check out this
site here.
Here you can find such things as John Wayne The Duke Replica Pistol Wall Decor Art, Cheers To A Legend: John Wayne Porcelain Stein Collection, John Wayne: Life And Legacy Commemorative Wall Decor, John Wayne: Legend Of The Hour Collectible Wall Clock, John Wayne Centennial Collector Plate, John Wayne Belt Buckle Wall Art Collection, John Wayne American Patriot Express Train Collection, John Wayne: Tall In The Saddle Sclupture Collection, The Duke Express: John Wayne Electric Train Collection, John Wayne-Themed 16-Inch Tall Accent Lamp: American Legend,
John Wayne AM/FM Radio With iPod And MP3 Compatibility, John Wayne American Legend Watch, The John Wayne Tray Table Set: Includes A Free Storage Stand,
John Wayne: American Icon Collectible Cuckoo Clock and much
more.
In my
opinion, although these are some very nice items, and items I would enjoy
having, they are all extremely overpriced, and I am certain that they will not
hold their value as the years pass by. Personally, I would not buy any of these
items, however, I would not turn them down if my friends and family purchased
them as gifts (hint, hint).
As
overpriced as these items are, however, if you have some really deep pockets
(and I mean REALLY DEEEEEEP), then visit the Sports Memorabilia website (www.sportsmemorabilia.com) and
check out some of their John Wayne collectibles. For example, they are
currently offering an 8x10 black and white photo of John Wayne on the Mike
Douglas show in 1976. They are currently offering this photo on sale for $41.58
(plus shipping, handling & applicable tax). A might steep if you ask me,
and this is one of the least expensive John Wayne items they have. (See it here)
If you are looking for a John Wayne
display with a replica autograph, they have one of those for only $920.12
(marked down from $1,076.54!). The display includes a replica U.S. Marshal’s
badge, two color 8x10 photos, a replica True Grit poster, a couple of
descriptive plaques, a replica autograph, and a 1”x1” square piece of cloth cut
from a neckerchief worn by John Wayne in the film True Grit. Now call me skeptical,
but again, I think the price is more than a might high, especially for what you
are getting. The fake autograph, badge, poster and photos are only worth about
$20, and the one square inch piece of cloth – pardon me for saying so, but I
wanted a bandana worn by John Wayne, I want the whole dang thing, not just a
piece the size of a postage stamp! Somehow it really irks me that someone would
snap up a piece of clothing worn by John Wayne and cut it up into little pieces
just to make a buck (or a thousand bucks as the case may be), and as a John
Wayne fan and collector, I would not buy anything from someone who cuts up the
man’s clothes like this. If you are interested, you can see this item by
clicking here.
And the prices just keep getting
steeper at the Sports Memorabilia store. They have another John Wayne display
containing a couple of photos, a reproduction poster, repro badge, miniature
replica shotgun, a deck of playing cards, a couple of pieces of film from a
copy of True Grit, a piece of card stock with the words True Grit printed on
it, and a small piece of paper with an allegedly authentic John Wayne
signature. What I find interesting about this particular display is that it is
supposed to be a “True Grit” display, and yet of the two photos included in the
display, one is from Hondo and the other an El Dorado publicity still. And the
shotgun? Funny, I don’t remember John Wayne using a shotgun in the film. Oh,
and the price for this item is only $4,075.00 (on sale). You can view this item
by clicking here.
The final item I would like to
mention from the Sports Memorabilia site (and only because I just cannot
believe anyone would actually pay this kind of money for their items) is
another John Wayne display. This particular display features seven replica mini
posters, a replica six-gun, a replica badge, another one-inch square from the
same bandana (argh!), and a page from what is purported to be an autograph
album. This page contains a black and white publicity photo of Wayne from The
Flying Tigers, and two signatures. The first signature reads “John Wayne” and
the second signature reads “Marion M. Morrison”. Now again, call me skeptical,
but I really have to question these signatures. Granted, the photograph is not
very clear, but the John Wayne signature
just doesn’t look like his signature when compared to the authentic ones I have
seen, and as a matter of fact, neither does the Marion M. Morrison signature. And I also question just why he would
sign both names? It doesn’t make much sense to me. In my opinion, it seems more
likely that a fan attached the photo to the album page, and then wrote (in
cursive) both names, as well as the other information written on the page. At
any rate, the display does come with a certificate of authenticity, and a
guarantee that the signatures are correct and authentic, but how would you
check the provenance of the signatures without being able to actually speak to
the original owner who acquired the signatures? I suppose you could take the
display to an expert and have them authenticate the signatures, but…who knows?
The price on this item is $7,296.10 (and again, that is on sale and marked down
from $8,536.44!). You can see this display by clicking here.
All in all, I personally would not
buy these items, even if I did have a few hundred thousand just laying around
in loose change, and I would seriously wonder about anyone who did.
A quick check of eBay shows replica
John Wayne signatures and reprinted John Wayne signed photos for only $5 to
$10. A much better deal than the $920 (on sale) at Sports Memorabilia, and I
saw an actual John Wayne autograph (being sold by the person who got the
autograph from Wayne) being sold for $475. Again, much better than the $4,000 -
$7,000+ range I wrote about above. You can see these two items and more John
Wayne autographs (both real and reprint) by clicking here.
Personally, it is my opinion that if
you are looking for John Wayne memorabilia, then eBay is probably the way to
go. On eBay the John Wayne fan & collector (as well as anyone looking to
buy for their favorite John Wayne fan or collector) can find just about any
type of John Wayne collectible and or memorabilia. A quick search for “John
Wayne” on eBay today showed books and magazines about John Wayne, vintage John
Wayne Adventure Comics, original and reprint movie posters and lobby cards,
film props, costumes, DVDs, VHS tapes, and many of the mass produced “collectibles”
available elsewhere such as plates, playing cards, knives, radios, lamps, wall
hangings, photos, badges, figurines, tin signs trading cards, coffee mugs,
ornaments, NASCAR cars (both large and small), belt buckles, medallions,
jewelry, watches, toys, and porcelain & ceramic John Wayne items. I even
found several pieces from the recent Heritage Auctions auction of John Wayne’s
Personal Property (so if you missed out on that historic once in a life time
auction, you now have a second chance!). In other words, if it is a John Wayne
collectible, it can probably be found on eBay.
So happy shopping Pilgrim, I hope
you come up with some great deals on some great John Wayne collectibles and
memorabilia. And if any of my family members read this, Christmas is comin’!
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