We get those “collector” plates as donations to our thrift store a LOT. Many don’t sell…but some do. For example…the Norman Rockwell ones sit and sit…but one lady was thrilled to get one with a dentist on it…because her grandkid was graduating dental school…for $5.
Dolls? Well…it depends. If you have mint condition in the box Barbie from the 1960’s…or signed porcelain dolls from certain places…or a Ginny doll in mint condition…or a Tiny Tears with the ceramic head in mint…you might be able to sell those. But most old dolls…even the ceramic ones…really have low resale value.
I would suggest donating them to a place where they are sold for a good cause.
Anyone want my Star Trec commemorative plates? They were younger BIL’s, and he passed away 10 years ago. Our local “collector” store doesn’t want them. They’re selling for only ~$10 each on eBay. I have eight of them, I think, but I should probably just give them to Goodwill. They’ve been taking up visual space in my dining room for waaaaaay too long.
Just a couple of stray thoughts this morning, be careful of putting labels on items to designate who gets them. Years ago, an elderly aunt did that. She put little stickers on all of her things. I was to revealing get a large mirror which had a portrait of my great grandfather hidden behind the mirror. My aunt had two middle age married daughters, neither of which had children. The aunt dies and those two women destroyed all the tags. I have always wondered what happened to that portrait. It was sad at the time because the loyal house cleaner got nothing nor did any of my aunts friends.
As to personal letters- I once took over a job from a woman who had died. In her computer files were several revealing letters about an affair with a married coworker. I liked the woman and deleted the letters. I didn’t want to add to the gossip that was already floating around so don’t use your computer as a tell all place!
I think there are still plenty of Trekkers out there, VeryHappy. You probably know someone who would not mind going to a Star Trek convention. Some of the conventions will permit collectors to sell items at the convention (not sure what charge there is for this, if any–there is almost certainly a charge for space for “vendors,” but some of the conventions distinguish between “collectors” and “vendors”. You could give your Trekker friend or relative the plates to sell, and split the profit. Live long and prosper!
H has the letters his dad wrote to his grandma during WWII. They have been used as living history primary sources by all of my kids as various points during their school careers. I have each one in a separate plastic protector sheet. None of these letters have anything scandalous in them. None of them is what i would consider sentimental but H’s MMV.