Collectors in Australia

[chrisdean]

Hi Nicki,
I notice of some of the discussion boards that membership of Keepsake clubs is only open to residents of the USA, can you advise if other collectors can join or if you are aware of a collectors club in Australia. At present we only receive a limited offering in Target and some Hallmark stores in Australia which limits the collecting unless we source from the US.
Appreciate any responses, Enjoy the day
Regards Chris

[chrisdean]

Hi,
As a new member would appreciate if any one could give me a lead on the above or if there are any online clubs that I could correspond with. I have approx 40 Keepsakes at present, mostly the series ie Gone with the Wind, Skys the limit, Mischievious Kittens, Picked up the Its a wonderful life keepsake on ebay.
Regards Chris

[nicki]

Hi Chris,
Welcome to the forum.
At Hooked on Ornaments we have the pleasure of selling to many collectors in Australia & New Zealand. I know Hallmark ornament availability is very limited at your Target stores, and that is one reason we carry the full line of current year ornaments as well as the past year ones.

You are correct, in that the Keepsake Ornament Collectors Club is open to US residents only. However,at one time there was a local Hallmark Collectors Club in Australia. They purchased past year ornaments on a regular basis from us....but I've not heard from them in awhile. You might give Hallmark Cards of Australia a call and see if they know if a local club still exists.
That number is
Customer Service Freecall (Australia Only): 1800 72 99 99

Hope this information is helpful, and please visit our site hookedonornaments.com for a huge selection of ornaments available to you. Happy Collecting, Nicki

[Chris Dean]

Hi Nicki,
Thanks for the advice, I have sent an email to Hallmark in Australia but have yet to receive a response. I have also ordered the software program through your company that details all the Hallmark products so am keenly waiting to receive this, so I can plan more purchases. We have been lucky in that we have been able to get to the USA on a few occassions where we have been picking up Ornaments at Hallmark stores wherever we visit most recently in Scottsdale, but previously in San Diego and Charlotte.
Keep up the good work and enjoy the day,
Regards Chris

[Ginny]

Oct 1, 2008 18:10:04 GMT -5 chrisdean said:

or if there are any online clubs that I could correspond with.

Chris, there are 2 officially sanctioned by Hallmark online local club chapters of Hallmark's Keepsake Ornament Club. Unfortunately for you, both of them do have as a prerequisite, membership in the KOC. I suppose if you could arrange with someone in the US or Canada to put a membership in your name, pay for it and ship you the membership ornaments, etc. you would qualify for membership in these online chapters.

The 2 online clubs are COOL (Collecting Ornaments On-Line) which is the oldest ... i.e. longest online club in existence... with approx 170 members, mostly from the US but including Canada and Guam. At one time, if I remember correctly, we had a member from England. And the other online club is YuleLoggers whose membership I think exceeds 200.

You can get more info about these clubs from their websites: www.collectingornamentsonline.com and www.yuleloggers.com. Both do not pro-rate their dues; so new members must decide whether they want to join now and pay again in January, or just wait till late December/early January to join.

There are similarities between the 2 clubs, but they operate very differently. COOL operates exclusively through email using a distribution list (sometimes there are no emails in one day while other days there may be 30 or 50 of them) and YuleLoggers operates with a message board. I'm a charter member of both, but have been an officer in COOL for the past 5 years. Both clubs are great sources of info, both also do their share of some idle off-topic chit chat.

IF you could somehow figure out a way to join Hallmark's KOC, it would be great if you could plan a vacation to the US for early August 2009 and include attendance at the national event for the club in Kansas City at that time. You'd have to book hotel now though because I think they're close to being sold out, and you'd also have to have someone in the US to call in and pay for your registration in early 2009 because once they announce that reservation lines are open, these things have a history of sometimes selling out in minutes.

Getting together with fellow collectors in email and in person is one of the greatest things as far as I'm concerned.

[chrisdean]

Hi Ginny,
Thanks for the advice, will check up on the on line sites tonight when I get home from work, I have a friend who lives in Orlando and might get them to register me with the KOC.
If I can would love to get over in August will have to review the finances.
I purchased a few ornaments on Friday from Hooked on ornaments and also via Ebay.
Are you able to give any advice as to the Kansas get together dates and the agenda for the convention?
Enjoy the day,
Regards Chris

[Barb (Harris) Melton]

Hello, Chris -
To answer your question about the 2009 August event in Kansas City...not much is known! The dates are August 7th and 8th at the Westin Crown Center. Last I heard you could still get the $118 per night rate at the Hyatt (catty-corner across the road from Westin) but that might be outdated info by now. Hallmark has yet to give us *any* kind of agenda for the event, but we boldly assume there will be a get-together of some sort on Friday night, and then other activities on Saturday. These guesses are only based on past Hallmark events so we could be wrong. Keep checking back b/c I'm sure someone will post more info as soon as it is released.

[Ginny]

The last I heard a couple weeks ago was that the $118 rate was sold out, but the Hyatt was offering a $130-something rate.

I imagine that there are rooms being held at the lower rates that might start being cancelled as the time nears.

[Chris Dean]

Thanks Barb and Ginny,
Appreciate the information, like all countries we have been hit hard by the current economic downturn, our $A was nearly at parity with the $US two months ago, it is now valued at 65cents which makes visiting the US a lot more expensive. However I will look on the bright side, maybe I will get lucky in the next few months and be able to attend. Will keep working on it.
All the best and enjoy the day.
Received my YULE program yesterday so will dedicate some time on the weekend to reviewing my collection and checking any that I would like to add.
Regards Chris,
Spring weather over here, so it is a great time to be in Melbourne

[nicki]

Hi Chris,
Glad the YuleLog arrived quickly, you'll enjoy having a good record of your collection.

If your friend in the States isn't able to sign you up for the club, let me know and we'll be happy to work with you on that.

Certainly don't want anyone that wants to be a KOCC Member to be left out!

It would be wonderful if you could attend the event in August, but know that would be a huge expense. We'll all cross our fingers that it becomes possible, and even see to it that you get recognized for being the collector that "traveled the furthest"!!!!

[Ginny]

Oct 8, 2008 17:26:24 GMT -5 @Chris Dean said:

Spring weather over here, so it is a great time to be in Melbourne

Chris, I'm sure it is! Though I can't complain about fall in Missouri either. I had the privilege of visiting your country in December of 2006 and Melbourne was on the tour.

[nelsonronald]

Oct 13, 2008 23:08:05 GMT -5 Ginny said:

Oct 8, 2008 17:26:24 GMT -5 @Chris Dean said:

Hello Friends
I am going to Israel for the vacation and I have heard lot about the Eilat weather. There is many things to do like beaches, sea food and many other
I am too excited to go there.

Chris, I'm sure it is! Though I can't complain about fall in Missouri either. I had the privilege of visiting your country in December of 2006 and Melbourne was on the tour.