Technically, the World's Fair still exists...but it's not the event to Americans it once was. In this episode, we explore how historic World’s Fairs (from the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition to the 1933-34 Century of Progress and the 1964 New York World’s Fair) shaped culture and modern life, introducing electricity, the Ferris Wheel, early radios, Art Deco design, and even the spread of iconic foods. For us, it means there's a wide range of collectible items like souvenir spoons, commemorative glassware, advertising pieces, ephemera, postcards, guidebooks, and early plastic souvenirs. If you’re an antiques dealer, vintage reseller, or collector, you'll love this introduction to World’s Fair history, memorabilia, and high-demand collectible categories. After listening, you'll be able to better identify pieces that have a wide collector base and recognize why these global exhibitions, once the ultimate “influencer events," still impact what sells today.

In this, the 52nd (!) episode of Pick for Profit, we're marking one full year online. And this episode is all about the stuff we once walked around at estate or garage sales: vintage souvenirs. Yes, these items are in fact sellable. We take a tour here through buying and selling vintage souvenirs, travel memorabilia, and antique ephemera. We highlight items we've been surprised can sell, everything from classic souvenir spoons and thimbles to Route 66 collectibles, national park keepsakes, and the regional items from places like Branson and Lake of the Ozarks. Learn what makes place-based items valuable, including theme park memorabilia, concert programs, sports collectibles, and landmark souvenirs tied to destinations like the Grand Canyon and Mammoth Cave. We also cover overlooked categories like cranberry glass, vintage travel posters, railroad memorabilia, and even dark tourism collectibles. We also want to take a moment to thank our listeners. This has been such a fun year...and we can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

We're diving into pottery using recent buying stories! Here, we break down some basic pottery terminology (ceramics, porcelain, stoneware, salt glaze) to help you identify what you're looking at while shopping estate or garage sales. We also discuss why we bought some inexpensive vintage pottery books and drop a few excellent pottery names you can be on the lookout for yourself: Shawnee, Roseville, Rookwood, and California pottery brands. We're also letting you in on a recent pottery experiment. We bought 2 very different lots (rustic vs. refined-looking porcelain), two different price points and two very different values. One is far more valuable than the other...but what actually sells first? What turns out to be the walkaway price? Stay tuned for future episodes to find out.