The Tale of Tupperware - A History of Vintage Plastic

I grew up in the 80s and feel grateful that I was able to do so. We had great cartoons, even better music (huge fan of 80s music!), and unfortunately some crazy fashion styles that are becoming popular again today. Due to having a super sentimental family member, I still have most of my toys from the 80s. Stored up in the garage loft and in plastic totes in the basement, I have pieces of nostalgia right at my fingertips. Memory lane starts in my childhood home's backyard, up the garage loft steps, and a mere sifting through a huge cardboard barrel of 80s goodness. 

 

Though I complain that this stuff is around, I actually really love still having it around. The stuff brings back a lot of great memories & reminds me of how awesome being a kid in the 80s really was. In a seller’s viewpoint, I do have some items that would do well on EBay. Strawberry Shortcake is huge right now and people will pay a good price for authentic 80s Strawberry Shortcake & friends items. Who wouldn’t really… have you seen the “new” Strawberry Shortcake? Nothing like the original.

Anyway, I could go on about my 80s toys but will save that for another entry. Not related to toys, what else I remember about the 80s were the kitchenware items that my cousins and I used at our grandmother’s house, aunt’s house, and other relatives. That item was Tupperware. I didn’t know it as Tupperware then, I just knew it as the colored cups with the plastic lids with that raised lip that you drank out of it. Sure, it kinda was a glorified sippy cup but at the age of 6, they were cool. I also remember the pitchers that held a favorite drink of the time – Kool Aid. It was a burnt orange color with a lid that had to be pushed down in to fit just right. There was a suction sound I remember, knowing that signaled the lid wasn’t going to fall off and cause havoc. My mother still uses her brown and burnt orange Tupperware containers to hold Christmas cookies. The containers are over thirty years, but they still do a great job at keeping cookies fresh!

Similar to LustroWare, I never really considered looking for Tupperware when I was out at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, and the flea market. There is a big market for vintage Tupperware items on both EBay and Etsy, as these items have proven they can withstand wear & tear over the plastic products that are out today. 

~ A Tupperware History ~

The brand was the birth child of Earl Silas Tupper of New Hampshire. Raised in an agriculture atmosphere, he grew up helping his parents around farms and plant nurseries, whichever occupation his parents held at the time. Earl fashioned himself a career out of being a tree surgeon, but his true passion and dream was to be an inventor and create. He was meticulous in keeping track of all his ideas and time spent brainstorming his would-be inventions. Some items that he did think of were a fish-powered canoe and a muscle-building corset. Who wouldn’t want either of those?

In 1936, Earl declared bankruptcy and left the tree surgeon field. He took on a job at the Viscaloid plant, which dealt in plastics of the DuPont Chemical company. While working at the plant, Earl took a fancy to the plastics world and purchased some used molding machines from the company. Just two years after he left the agricultural business, Earl’s new venture of “Tupper Plastics” hit the market, producing such items as containers for cigarettes and soap.

Being the inventor that he was, Earl knew that the plastic during his time wasn’t the most durable or suitable for kitchen use. In 1945 he experimented with polyethylene pellets, which was lightweight and known for its’ durability. A few years after experimenting with the pellets, Earl produced the “Wonder Bowl” which was used for food storage. It promoted the “Tupper Seal”, which was later patented by Earl.

The beginnings of Tupperware started slow. The brand was mostly marketed to housewives, however housewives weren’t too interested in buying. The products were sold in hardware and department stores, but sales never took off. That all changed when a fellow woman and homemaker revolutionized the Tupperware brand and brought it into the homes of the American woman.

Brownie Wise, a Georgia native, was a divorced single mother. Trying to find a job that fit her schedule of being a single mom, she started selling home products out of her house. She was introduced to Tupperware and as they say, the rest is history.

 Brownie ordered some Tupperware items and began selling them from the comfort of her living room, inviting friends, family, and neighbors to view and try out the product. Earl Tupper caught wind of Brownie’s method of selling and in 1951, she became employed as president of sales of Tupper Home Parties. It was then decided by the company that selling out of the home by holding demonstrations would become the sole selling method of Tupperware.

Check out www.tupperdiva.com

The idea of Tupperware parties was basically a gold star idea from the start. Homemakers and housewives were easy to market to, especially considering the convenience of the Tupperware party. Woman looked at going to a friend or relative’s house to view the items not just as a possible shopping trip, but as a new way to socialize and get together. Woman that were interested in working from home or were looking for a part-time job while tending to the kids could easily take on the job of selling Tupperware. Similar to the hostess parties that we have today such as Pampered Chef, there was always the lure of incentives and gifts for both the party giver and the party attendee.

With Brownie’s marketing idea and the popularity of the Tupperware party, Brownie became known as the face of the brand. In the 1950s, Florida became the headquarters for Tupperware and Brownie put her mark on the HQ as well. There were offices but also party spaces and even a pond. Jubilees were held yearly to entice women to amp up their Tupperware sales in order to have the chance to win an array of prizes and awards.

Earl Tupper gave Brownie the axe in 1958. Some stories allude to the fact that Earl was a shy man and didn’t appreciate all of the spotlight that Brownie was receiving, considering that Tupperware was Earl’s company and not Brownie’s. Other stories give a masculine power trip by referring to the fact that Brownie was the only female among the higher-ups at Tupperware, and the business men did not like this. Regardless, Brownie was shelved as the spokeswoman of Tupperware, though in recent years her image and name has once again been reconnected with the brand.

Since then, the Tupperware brand has endured some highs and lows, with perhaps the biggest change being that sales is not done solely through hostess parties anymore. Catalogs are now available and Tupperware products can be purchased online. Instead of going to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party, there are now “virtual” parties via the internet.

EBay has become the home for Tupperware as well. Just search for Tupperware and you become instantly aware of how prominent the brand still is and what is most sought after by collectors.Check our my next entry to learn more about buying/selling Tupperware & my recent amazing Tupperware find at a yard sale!

Yard Sale Secrets

With the arrival of spring and looking towards the summer, yard sale season is moving into full swing. I used to enjoy going to yard sales when I was younger but then my interest waned for a good ten years, when I just became accustomed to the usual “junk” that was present at yard sales and stuff that I did not need. Things have changed since then and I now realize that going to yard sales can be a good way to purchase cheap, good items. Naturally, yard sales are still packed with junk but one needs to look past this and look into the bottom of the piles and boxes to find the treasures.

Yard sales can be one of the best places, along with thrift stores, to obtain items/selling inventory for a low price. Yard sales are different than flea markets in many ways, but the biggest difference is in the sellers. Flea market sellers usually are regulars. They have their tarps and tables set up at the same location every weekend, for the whole season of the flea. They know that if they do not sell an item one week, there is always the following week or the week after that. Yes, they want to get rid of inventory, but they aren’t as quick to sell knowing that the next customer that comes by could pay full price. Many flea market sellers are also pickers. They buy their items cheap and sell them at a mark-up to make their profit. They can ascertain the value of an item and price it accordingly, sometimes being under or over the value. They know how to wheel and deal and most have been in the flea business for a number of years.

Yard sale sellers are different. Sure, they may host a couple of yard sales out of their garage over the course of a summer, but they aren’t setting up their tables to bring in a second income. Yard/tag sellers pull all of their spring cleaning items out of the garage, sift through their child’s toy box for unwanted items, and bring out boxes of stuff they accumulated from deceased relatives that they never really wanted. Many, if not most, want to get rid of much as possible on the day of their sale or at least on the 2^nd day of their sale if they have a two-day venture. 

You will find antique & collectible items at a yard sale, but the tag price usually isn’t as high as what the item might be at a flea market and not as much as it would be at an antique store. Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part prices are cheaper. Many people do not know what they have, especially if it is a sale due to a housing move or a deceased relative. Or, they do know the value, but choose to use the venue of a yard sale because it’s easy & fast. Listing items on Ebay takes time and many people do not want to have to take pictures, write descriptions, etc. So, they mark it for $10 and hope someone will bite.

So, how does one succeed in getting the most of out of yard sales and tag sales?

1. Have a plan. It may seem a little obsessive-compulsive, but never just wake up on a Saturday morning, pull out the newspaper, get in your car, and go. I always look at the yard sales at least the day before, if not two days before to catch all of the listings. Sift through all of the ads and see which sales you feel that are an absolute must for you to attend and which ones you have no interest in. Most advertisements list exactly what the sale will have. Often, phrases such as “Too much to list!” and “Much more!” could prove true or prove to be a dud.

2. Plan your route. Gas prices are high and having a route to minimize wasted gas is a must. Pick which sale you think will be the best for what you are in search of, or the one that sounds most appealing, and work from there. See what other sales are in that area and plan – either start local from your home and work out, or start further away and work your way in towards the local sales.

3. Don’t be an early bird. When my family used to hold garage sales, we always had someone that wandered in through the side garage door, asking if they could look through the boxes prior to us opening. It was rude and somewhat uncomfortable. If the doors are closed, don’t go in. Being pushy is not a way to get a good price on items. 

4. Get there at start time, swing by at closing time. I’ve always tried to get to a sale between the opening time and within an hour of the sale. The early bird gets the worm and one doesn’t want to miss out on that “find” and have someone else swipe it up. The other side of the coin is getting to a sale about 20minutes or so before it’s time to pack up. One might be able to get a few bargains and bundle purchases, especially if the seller has a good amount of items left and doesn’t look too thrilled to be packing everything up.

5. Be polite. Say hello to those holding the sale. Ask questions and engage in some sort of conversation, even if it is about how nice the weather is. This can all be helpful in later dealings when it comes to securing a price. No use in grumbling or complaining and then hope to get a cheaper price on items.

6. Haggle. I tend to think that haggling happens more at flea markets, but haggling does occur at yard sales. You have to be careful though when it comes to asking for cheaper prices, especially if your way to obtain the cheaper prices is by pointing out the imperfections in the item. Yes, point them out, but don’t go overboard. If something has so many things wrong with it, why would you want it anyway? Don’t haggle on items that are already cheap. I have had people ask for a better price on something that was 25cents. $1 and up is okay to ask for a cheaper price, but anything under can get a little iffy.

7. Bundle. If you want that $1 item for 50cents and have a good amount of items you would like to purchase, ask what their best price would be for everything. Most times the seller will either just take a look at the items and figure out an amount or look at the ticket price for each item and round down a few dollars.

8. Use your technology. Check out Ebay on your phone and Google the maker’s mark on an item to see if you would be able to make a profit and/or if it’s worth more than the asking price. If you have questions on an item, a yard sale seller could know more about that item than a flea seller, especially if the item had been in the family/belonged to a great aunt or grandmother. At flea markets, if the seller is a picker, chances are they might know a little about the item in regards to age, but knowing the full story of an item’s history is more readily available at a yard sale.

9. Have fun. You never know what you are going to find at a yard sale. Over the past years, the news has covered a few stories about the ultimate finds at yard sales. While this isn’t an everyday occurrence, you never know what you could stumble on!

~ Flea Fact ~

Yard sales are a great way to discover new finds. Look through the junk at sales to find the real treasures. Ask about the history of items, especially if they are old. Plan your route ahead of time and save on gas.