• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

Nostalgia Master Gary Sohmers Breaks Down Current Collectibles Frenzy

Written by CHRIS FARAONE Posted April 1, 2022 Filed Under: LIFESTYLE, Shop

“Many people prefer to see it, inspect it, and not buy it online.”


As a dedicated toy and junk collector myself, I have admired Gary Sohmers for years. He’s among the best known toy and pop culture collectibles appraisers in the world, largely thanks to his years-long stint on Antiques Roadshow on PBS.

Sohmers also hosts annual events including NorthEast ComicCon and the upcoming Music Collectibles Extravaganza in Boxboro. It’s a blowout of sorts, featuring loads of vendors as well as the likes of Vinny Appice from Black Sabbath signing autographs. (I’ll be on hand myself, buying and selling vintage magazines).

The Dig is a co-sponsor of the event, and we caught up with Sohmers at one of his recent comic conventions to ask him a few questions (while we were speaking with him, he sold several records, a few toys, and a poster). What follows is an abridged version of our chat, but we encourage you to watch the full video since actress Tara Reid crashes the interview.

What are your favorite toys? What stuff do you never part with?

Everything is in my collection until I sell it. If I like it and it makes me happy and it brings me joy, usually it’s stuff from my youth. I collect a lot of toys from the ’60s because I grew up in the ’60s, and I also collect things that I think might eventually go up in value. There’s two logics to any type of collecting—you’re collecting for the now and how you feel, but there’s also collecting for the future and what it might sell for.

Part of my job is helping people with their stuff. I get to see a lot of great collections, and I get the things that I like for myself, and I get them the most money possible for their stuff.

What is something that you are a particular expert in when it comes to appraisals?

There’s three different valuations. There’s liquidation value, fair market value, and replacement value. So when anybody wants to know what their stuff is worth, I kind of have to get it qualified—like, How much is it to get rid of? How much is it worth for you to sell at auction? Or, How much if it burned up in a fire? 

I ask people, What do you want to know the value for? … The great god Google will tell you anything you want, Why are you asking me? [It’s because people want to know] what they can really get for it, [not] what some guy in Iowa is selling it for in his underwear.

My job now is the three Ds—downsizing, divorce, and death. Usually all three of them come into play when people have to sell their collection.

But as far as what I am an expert in, I’m an expert in popular culture, rock and roll, and childhood stuff. We have this nostalgia curve, so childhood stuff could be my childhood, or it could be my child’s childhood.

I saw an estate sale on the way up here, and there were 300 people waiting outside to get in. As an OG of this world, where does a convention fit into the frenzy going on at the moment?

A lot of the different levels of collecting broke up and changed when the internet made it so you can shop from your bedroom, and these different levels evolve. Many people prefer to see it, inspect it, and not buy it online. There are also people who don’t want to travel, and online auctions, but people who come to conventions and comic cons and flea markets either want to get it for as cheap as possible and they just want it for themselves, and then there is the investment crowd. It’s well known now that a video game can sell for $20,000 or that a comic book can sell for a million dollars. Now they’re all trying to learn, so they come in here, they have their phones, and they look it up on Fleabay. 


Music Collectibles Extravaganza. April 8-10. Regency Hotel, 242 Adams Pl, Boxborough. collectiblesextravaganza.com


CHRIS FARAONE

A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Related posts
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Recognition For Religion Reporting On “Boston’s Church To Condo Pipeline”
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Congrats To Worcester On Coming In At #69 On Best Places To Live List
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Drunk On Drug Money, Easthampton Councilors Approve Second Tesla For Police
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Bud’s Home: CEO Explains Dispensary’s Commitment To Exciting Retail Experience

Filed Under: LIFESTYLE, Shop Tagged With: collectibles, GTFO, Life, shop

WHAT’S NEW

State Wire: Wraparound Services Spotlighted For Community Action Month

State Wire: Wraparound Services Spotlighted For Community Action Month

Diabetes Researcher Claims She Was Unlawfully Denied Entry To US

Diabetes Researcher Claims She Was Unlawfully Denied Entry To US

Inbox: "Reformers Vow To Press For Changes In the Massachusetts Democratic Party"

Inbox: “Reformers Vow To Press For Changes In the Massachusetts Democratic Party”

MA Lawmakers, Advocates Say Steps Needed To Tackle Ghost Guns

MA Lawmakers, Advocates Say Steps Needed To Tackle Ghost Guns

"Spotted Lanternfly, back_2017-06-16-16.50" by Sam Droege is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0

Invasive Spotted Lanternfly Alert!

Morale Violation: Whistle-Blowers Report Culture Of “Retaliation,” “Nepotism” At Parole Agency

Morale Violation: Whistle-Blowers Report Culture Of “Retaliation,” “Nepotism” At Parole Agency

Primary Sidebar

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • Morale Violation: Whistle-Blowers Report Culture Of “Retaliation,” “Nepotism” At Parole Agency
  • We Turned the North End Restaurant Lawsuit Against Mayor Wu Into a Musical
  • Do You Want To Work For the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission?
  • Inbox: Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns To Boston Waterfront
  • How Long Can Major Cannabis Cultivators Sustain Massive Indoor Grows In Mass?

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 24.08 – 04/21/22

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]