April should bring spring like weather, and baseball pez, and it marks the opening of pez convention season. We are anxiously waiting for all of the above as mother nature has seen fit to perpetuate winter with more snow to the middle of the USA, Pez Co has delayed the baseball pez to a revised ship date of April 1 and we have not been billed yet, but at least the Pez Conventions and gatherings are a sure bet! We do have a few new items to share with you in this month’s edition of the Pez Collectors Store Newsletter.
First, we have some new, old releases which have been added to the web store. We were able to get some older, retired European World Cup Soccer Looney Tunes Pez sets. These colorful Bugs Bunny Soccer ball stems, Taz with the soccer ball in his mouth, Tweety with I "Heart" Soccer emblem on the stem and red and orange cap and the Daffy Duck with coach whistles on the stem make up this 7 dispenser set. Several of the dispensers are also available separately.
We were also able to acquire some old inventory for Wal-Mart Rigs Pez sets and we have added more D-series trucks, super heroes, Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, Garfield, Peanuts and Pokemon Pez to our retired categories. These items do not show up in the new to the store listings because they are added inventory to older products. Our inventory changes almost every day as we acquire more of previously out of stock pez items, so always check back often if there is something you are looking for that we don't have listed. It may be in stock the next day. The search box function is a very easy way to find items if you're not sure what category it might be in.
The Pez sports section continues to grow with the announcement of three new NCAA footballs to be added to the lineup with a scheduled release date of July 1. There will be a new Louisiana State University, University of Missouri Tigers and University of Arkansas football pez. We have not received pictures yet, but the logos for these teams could lend themselves to some great looking graphics on the footballs.
We are still waiting to hear that the Yankees Stadium and the Phillies are being shipped to us, but they should arrive soon. We also know that there are 4 additional new baseballs with a new logo for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, but these new baseballs will replace the older versions as the old inventory is depleted. We don’t know when that will be, so we are waiting to place orders until it appears that the new baseballs are beginning to ship.
The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set has now been fully revised with the addition of Pete the Cat plus all of the previous characters. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Daisy and now even Pluto have a new look. Pluto has lost his green collar, has a larger lump on the back of his head and has longer ears that come down over the top edge of the stem. His eyes have a somewhat different shape, giving him a new look, but he is still smiling. Daisy has a larger bow with a different angle than before. These new Pluto and Daisy Pez should be available in the Pez Collectors Store quite soon! Pete the Cat, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald are all available in the Pez Collectors Store now.
May 1 is the anticipated first ship date for the Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs pez release and it should include Scrat the Squirrel with his acorn and Momma Dino the T-Rex Pez. There is no word yet on whether the other characters will be updated or revised with this new pez release.
Pez International has new pez in the lineup for this year as well. We are greatly anticipating the release of Thomas the Tank Pez dispensers with Percy, James and Thomas. These are seen below as featured in the 2009 salesman catalog.
Tigger and Pooh in sleuth mode are beginning to appear and we are trying to get these to add to the Pez Collectors Store.
Also coming from Europe will be two new Hello Kitty with bow pez dispensers and two new Hello Kitty with Hibiscus flowers. Winx Club Flora, Stella and Bloom will also grace the tops of European Pez releases, but no release date has been announced yet and these designs are not final according to the disclaimer added to the photo in the sales catalog.
Scheduled for release in September 2009 are the European Fairies with the addition of Rosetta and Iridessa. The photo in the sales catalog indicates that these will have the purple flower skirts as seen in the USA, but there are no lines on the skirts as has been seen in the past with the European Fairies Pez releases.
The convention season is kicking off to a great start. I am not really sure why the convention year seems to begin with the Northeast Pez Convention but it is April 2 – 4, 2009. The Pez Collectors Store is not able to make it to this convention this year, but for those who can or are attending, have a Pezzy great time! Host Richie Belyski does a great job running his conventions!
The next gathering is the Kansas City PezHead Gathering, hosted by the Pez Collectors Store, May 23, 2009. In conjunction with the gathering, we have set up a small display of pez at the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum. These are a few of the pez from my personal collection and we tried to put together a display, given somewhat limited space, that would appeal to folks of all ages, pez collectors and future pez collectors! The pez collection is housed in the Baby Boomer room of the museum and will remain on display until August 30, 2009.
The Kansas City PezHead Gathering registration includes admission to the Toy and Miniature Museum, so attendees will have the opportunity to see the pez display along with many toys from all time periods in the vast Toy and Miniature Museum. We have many other activities planned for the gathering, so be sure to get registered. Absentee packets, extra gathering lapel pins and Crohn’s and Colitis Charity pins are also available for order at www.pezcollectors.com
For those who need hotel accommodations, the Holiday Inn at the Plaza is offering us a discounted room rate of $95.00 plus taxes ($15.225%) for a King or 2 Queen room.
The hotel is located very close to the Gathering location at UMKC and they offer a free shuttle to the University, the Plaza or anywhere within a 2 mile radius of the hotel. The hotel has free hi-speed internet access and is located on the Plaza and very near by other Kansas City attractions.
You will need to be certain to indicate when making reservations that you will be with the Kansas City PezHeads Gathering (or the PezHead conference) group to receive the discounted room rate. The group discount rate is available for reservations made through April 22, and after that the rooms will be available on a space available basis at the prevailing rate, so be sure to make reservations early. Hotel information can be found at in the Pez Collectors Store at www.pezcollectors.com
That is all the news we have for now. Hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of the Pez Collectors Store Newsletter!
Happy Pezzing!
Chris Jordan