Ocean City Vacation: July 2018 (Keychain Souvenirs Haul)

Remember how, in a previous post, I wrote about the lack of souvenir keychains in gift shops? Well apparently, there's at least one place where souvenir keychains can still be found in abundance, and that's Ocean City, New Jersey. My best friend and I took an 'extended weekend' trip there near the end of July, and I came back with over half a dozen keychains for my collection.

My best friend bought this first keychain for me as a gift. I was eyeing it at one of the shops on the Boardwalk. But because it was the first day of the trip, I was trying to decide whether I should just buy it then or wait and see if I could find it cheaper elsewhere. My friend must've gotten tired of waiting for me to make up my mind, because she offered to buy it for me. The turtle itself is made from wood and has the words "Ocean City" painted on the underside.

This next group of keychains came from a shop on Asbury Avenue called Hoy's 5&10.

I first learned about 5&10, or five-and-dime, stores in my grade school social studies textbook. I don't know whether the store in Ocean City actually dates back to the 'golden age' of five-and-dimes. But I did realize that, due to inflation, there wouldn't be anything in the store for five or ten cents at the store. However, because there's a chain of stores in my area called Five Below (where everything for sale is five dollars or less) I thought that maybe the 5&10 in the name had been updated to mean five and ten dollars. I was wrong in that assumption. There were a number of things for sale at Hoy's 5&10 that were over ten dollars. Actually, this lot of three keychains ended up costing me over ten dollars. But honestly, where was I ever going to find that noodle bowl keychain again in the United States. And as the previous keychain featured in this post demonstrates, I have a real fondness for turtle design keychains. The black shell with the rainbow-colored floral design is actually a coin purse, made from two shells that had been painted black and stitched to a zipper.

This record player keychain, or 'turntable' as it's called on the packaging, is from the World's Coolest line by Super Impulse. Record players, like typewriters and VHS tapes, are 'old school' technology, and have received renewed attention in recent years. The resurgence of these items in popular culture has genuinely piqued my interest, since I fondly remember such things from my childhood. In my keychain collection, I categorize these and similar items as 'retro tech', the word retro meaning inspired by or imitating the recent past. I plan on devoting a blog post to the subject at some point.

I was looking at the 'turntable' keychain in a store called Kay Jay's Doll Shoppe, but I put it back because I thought the price was a little high for one keychain. I was also feeling guilty for spending over ten dollars on keychains at Hoy's 5&10. My best friend bought the record player for me when I wasn't looking, then handed me the bag after we left the store. I replaced the original metal clip on the keychain with a split ring after getting home from vacation, because I'm nitpicky like that.

I found this seashell keychain for sale at a candy shop on the Boardwalk. Now, the thing I've noticed about seashells is that they can be fragile. Shells with thinner walls can easily crack or crush. So when I looked through the basket of shell keychains at the store, I made sure to pick one that not only looked interesting, but also had decently thick walls. Hopefully this will make it more durable.

This dolphin keychain came from a 'dollar store', also located on the Boardwalk. The store had a similar keychain with a sea turtle design that I was considering buying. However, the sea turtle seemed to have a rather unpleasant expression, while the dolphins looked much more cheerful. And I do have the same soft spot for dolphins that I have for turtles.

I think I was drawn to this last keychain because it's made to be three collectibles in one. First off, it's a souvenir keychain. Secondly, it's a collectable souvenir spoon. And thirdly, it can function as a bottle opener, thanks to the way the back is shaped. Not only that, but there's a 'spinner' element at the top as well.

In spite of the impressive number of keychains that I brought home, there were a few I saw that I'm wishing I'd picked up. Hoy's 5&10 had a clearance priced keychain showing the Ocean City Music Pier. The Music Pier happened to be right near the Boardwalk entrance that my friend and I always used, because it was the entrance closest to our hotel. There was also another keychain I saw at one of the Boardwalk shops that had a quote on it about how the sand and the salt water would wash away but the memories would last forever, or something like that. I really should have bought it, since I liked it so much and since it wasn't that expensive. But I was feeling guilty again for already buying so many keychains on the trip.

Of course, collectors often think about 'the ones that got away'. It's one of the factors that drives them to keep collecting. I hope that you enjoyed seeing what I got on my trip. And to any other keychain collectors out there, I wish you luck on your own collecting journeys.

Signed, Treesa

Gift Keychains

It may just be that my parents knew or were related to a lot of nice, generous people. But when I was a kid, and someone found out during a family visit that I collected keychains, their first reaction was always to head for the household junk drawer, to see if they had any spare keychains to give me. It didn't seem to matter whether the person in question was a grandparent, my father's uncle, or my mother's cousin. It seemed everybody wanted to help me grow my collection. Even now, people will still save keychains for me, or will pick them up on their travels.

One of my sisters, my third sister A., has done a lot of traveling while working for conservation corps, farms, and even the park service. She'll typically be away for months at a time. But whenever she comes back to the area between jobs, she always has at least one keychain for me. She brought back the two souvenir keychains pictured below from a stint in Ecuador.

This next group of souvenir keychains are ones that my sister A. picked up while she was driving back from a job in Texas.

As you can see, she made stops in several other states along her route, including New Mexico and Missouri and Colorado, though I’m not sure in what order.

When I was still in grade school, my father brought back this assortment of souvenir keychains from a business trip to England. The stuffed, fabric bear has a label from Liberty Of London, a luxury department store in London, England.

The Siegfried & Roy keychain pictured below is a souvenir from Las Vegas and was a gift from my paternal grandparents.

It's become even more special to me now that my grandparents have passed away.

My Mom's cousin in New Jersey, S.R., gave me these two keychains.

The piggy bank design keychain is from the Bottom Dollar Food grocery store chain. I don't get the chance to see my Mom's cousin very often. But she still saves keychains for me, for those times when I do see her. I return the favor by picking up the occasional Boyds Bear for her collection.

Not every keychain gift I've received has been from a relative, however. This Army National Guard military vehicle keychain was a gift from a family I used to babysit for. The father had served in the military.

As you can see, my family, my extended family, and even random acquaintances have been very generous with their keychains. I think this generosity is partially explained by the fact that keychains are relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to find. Not everyone can afford to spend the time and money needed to get that perfect, high-end collectable for a friend's or relative's collection. But a keychain is something that almost everyone can find and can fit into their budget. In fact, there might still be some businesses that give away promotional keychains for free, though the practice is not as common as it used to be.

So, my collecting tip for the day to any other keychain collectors out there is that it pays to let people know you collect. Even if you're not comfortable asking people directly for their unused keychains, sometimes just telling someone that you collect them is enough that they'll think of you the next time they clean out that junk drawer.

Signed, Treesa

"Keychain Terminology" Post Updated

I've updated my post on Basic Keychain Terminology to include "infinity ring" type keychain findings. You'll have to click the link above back to the original post to find out what those are. But for anyone who may be wondering, infinity ring keychains have nothing to do with the Marvel movie franchise.

Signed, Treesa

Armchair Traveling (Collecting Souvenir Keychains From Places You've Never Visited)

Some of us will never get the opportunity to travel the world. We either won't have the financial resources to do so, or our lives will be so busy that setting aside the time needed to travel won't be an option. Even those people who have the money and the free time needed to tour the globe will probably have to limit themselves, deciding where they'd most like to go in their lifetimes. If everyone lived to be a hundred years old, each person still probably wouldn't get to see all of the wonders that our world has to offer. Our planet is just too big.

Personally, I have always felt uncomfortable when I've had to travel. Some people feel a thrill of discovery from being in a new, unfamiliar environment. But being somewhere I'm not familiar with has a tendency to make me anxious and uncomfortable. I don't travel alone, and I wouldn't consider going to a country where I didn't speak the language unless I was with someone else I knew who did speak it.

Luckily, I can still experience a little of the pleasures of travel without leaving the comfort of my own home, thanks to my keychain collection. By collecting souvenir keychains that family members, friends, and even strangers selling at flea markets have brought back from their travels, I can vicariously share some of their experiences. I can look at a keychain from Venice or Stonehenge and try to imagine what it must've been like to be there.

One time I found a souvenir keychain from Iceland at a thrift store.

I don't know much about Iceland. I was never good at geography. But the fact that I'd never seen a keychain from there before made it seem exotic. I'd seen a number of keychains from France and Italy secondhand over the years, but never one from Iceland.

Of course, I do understand that there's a big difference between looking at a keychain from someplace, and actually seeing the sights in person. But in my mind, having a keychain from somewhere is sort of like looking at a picture printed on a souvenir postcard. It's not the same as being there, but you do get a general impression of the place.

Signed, Treesa

Been There, Done That, Bought The Keychain (Souvenir Keychains)

Keychains have been a popular vacation souvenir for decades. Unfortunately, if the lack of keychains stocked by the gift shops I've visited on my most recent vacations is anything to go by, then that popularity seems to be waning. It used to be that no matter where you went, any gift shop worth the name would typically feature a rack of keychains. The display would most often be located either on the counter by the register (a prime location for impulse buys) or on the opposite side of the rotating rack where the postcards were displayed.

One of my very first keychains was a souvenir from the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.

My mom still likes to tell the story about the nice people at the leather shop who gave each of us kids a free keychain, and gave my then baby brother a scrap of leather to chew on.

My all-time favorite 'vacation destination' has got to be the Disney parks. I've been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World three times in my life and Disneyland once. As someone who had multiple siblings and could only get to Florida or California by airplane, I can say with certainty that these trips were huge undertakings for my parents, both logistically and financially. It took my mother and father years to put aside enough money for each of these vacations, but they did it because they wanted their children to have the chance to go. I happen to think that the memories we made on those trips were worth the cost, even if I still have nightmares about that Snow White dark ride.

Here are just some of the Disney parks keychains I've collected.

There are keychains here from Walt Disney World resort, Disney's Animal Kingdom park, Epcot, Typhoon Lagoon water park, and even Hong Kong Disneyland. Most of them were purchased secondhand. I can't seem to resist Disney parks keychains when I find them at flea markets or yard sales, especially knowing how much they must've originally cost at the parks. There was one time when my parents and I went to a pop-up Disney outlet store that had leftover merchandise from the parks, deeply discounted. I must've bought half a dozen keychains.

One great thing about buying keychains on vacation as souvenirs is that their small size makes them easy to pack for the trip home. Keychains are also, for the most part, fairly sturdy. Try packing a souvenir snow globe or sand sculpture in your luggage and you'll see what I mean.

It saddens me that souvenir keychains appear to be going the way of the dinosaurs. But then, unless they end up in someone's permanent collection, souvenir keychains tend to have a rather limited shelf life. Sure, they're fun to buy while on vacation. But when it comes time to do the spring housecleaning, chances are the souvenir tee shirts and the souvenir keychains will be the first to go. I've been shopping at thrift stores long enough to know that vacation souvenirs are some of the more heavily donated items.

However, in the back of my mind is a nagging worry that fewer souvenir keychains in gift shops will mean fewer souvenir keychains ending up on the secondary market. There may come a point in the future when the supply of souvenir keychains available to collectors dries up, which could cause the prices of the remaining keychains to rise. Granted, this isn't really likely to happen, since I can't imagine that collector demand will ever be high enough to exceed the available supply, even if the supply of souvenir keychains dwindles in the future.  However, it may already be happening.

I was at an antique show recently, and one of the dealers had a basket of souvenir keychains. Due to their appearance and the materials used to make them, it was obvious that these keychains were not 'antiques'. However, the dealer was charging three dollars each for them. In the past, these same keychains would likely have been priced at a dollar each or less at a flea market or yard sale. Of course, the pricing may have had more to do with the venue than with the keychains themselves. As I wrote in a previous post, adding the word 'antique' to anything always seems to up the price.

Signed, Treesa

Anatomy Of A Keychain

It's come to my attention that my usage of the word "keychain" is somewhat flawed. The term keychain technically refers to only one of several parts that make up what I think of as a keychain. In this post, I will be listing each part by name along with a brief description. There are three separate parts on this list, although some keychains can get by with only utilizing two of them.

 visual aid

(a Rawcliffe pewter keychain from the Medieval Times dinner theater chain)

Part 1: The Keyring
The term "keyring" specifically refers to a split ring, which I referenced in a previous post on Keychain Terminology as being one of the most common types of keychain "findings". As I explained in that post, not every keychain uses a split ring finding. But in my online research, I found the term 'keyring' being used in a generalized way to refer to the part of the keychain that holds the keys.

Part 2: The Keychain
In this context, the "keychain" is an actual chain that connects the part that holds the keys to a decorative or personalized ornament. In some cases, the chain used is a "snake chain" (which I mentioned in my Keychain Terminology post) rather than a standard chain. However, I have seen a lot of keychains in my time that don't actually have a chain part. In those examples, the part that holds the keys is directly connected to the decorative part using a jump ring finding. This brings me to the third and final keychain part.

Part 3: The Key Fob
The key fob is the decorative or personalized, ornamental part of a keychain. Whether it's printed with the name of a business or shaped like a cartoon character, it's generally the part that makes people want to collect keychains in the first place.

Despite me having discovered all of this information, I don't think you'll see me stop using the word "keychain" anytime soon. The fact of the matter is, I haven't been able to find a term that I can substitute which refers to the whole keychain, rather than just a part of it. So I guess I'll just have to keep using the word keychain the way I always have. But now, if someone asks me what the difference is between a keychain and a key fob, I'll be able to tell them. And so will you.

Signed, Treesa

Shop 'Til You Drop (Tips For Buying Secondhand Keychains)

Here are a few shopping tips I'd like to pass on to anyone buying keychains on the secondary market. I already mentioned yard sale shopping in my introductory post. Now I'll be discussing flea markets, thrift stores, and online shopping.

Flea markets can vary widely in price, depending on the market and the seller. If the seller is a professional dealer who makes his or her living buying and reselling, he or she may be more informed about the current market and might take more time to research items. If this is the case, then you can usually expect to pay a little more. There are some amateur sellers who will look stuff up on popular online auction sites, to see what other people are charging. But in terms of keychains, they usually will only bother if the keychain looks 'vintage', or if it was a "big ticket item" that someone paid a lot of money for in the first place, such as a designer brand.

Also, flea markets that are held once or twice a year by a school or a house of worship will often have lower prices, because they tend to attract fewer professional dealers. The pros seem to prefer setting up at larger markets that are held one day a week at a designated location, and they will likely have a reserved spot that they return to week after week. Some dealers will travel on a circuit from market to market, seeking out large, well-known venues that attract the most customers.

Prices at thrift store can also vary a lot, depending on the store. I've noticed the larger chain stores tend to have higher prices than the smaller shops run by local charities or houses of worship. Of course, if the smaller shop bills itself as specializing in "antiques and collectables", then that's a whole different thing. Adding the word 'antique' to anything always seems to up the price. Something else to keep in mind is that some larger thrift stores only sell keychains in bulk lots.

Shopping online may be convenient for many, but you tend to pay for that convenience in the form of added shipping and handling costs. Many online sellers will market their keychains in lots, and one downside of collecting keychains is that, in bulk, they can get heavy very quickly. This means that it can end up costing more to ship the lot than you paid for the lot in the first place. For this reason, I tend to do very little of my keychain shopping online.

I'm hoping these tips will be helpful to you in growing your own collections, whatever you happen to collect. However, keep in mind that these are just generalities based on my personal experiences as a longtime 'thrifter' and keychain collector. There are exceptions to any rule, and your own shopping experiences may differ somewhat from mine. As they say, your mileage may vary.

If you have any secondhand shopping tips of your own that you'd like to share, feel free to leave a comment.

Signed, Treesa