Rare Bobblehead Sets New Local ShopGoodwill Record

The Assistant Manager at Goodwill of Western New York's Clarence/Williamsville location knew she had found something special when sorting through a box of donated goods. The 13-1/2 inch NFL San Francisco 49ers bobble head was unlike any she had seen before, so she decided to send it along to the expert team at our online auction division for evaluation. Research showed that the bobble head was made in the 1960s by the Otagiri Mercantile Company, a Japanese company. The story among hobbyists is these were promo dolls sold at airports in the United States, probably in the 14 cities that were home to the teams. The airport stores would display the jumbo bobble heads to promote the sale of small bobble heads, and the jumbo versions were never meant to be sold. The company might have produced just five jumbos per team and distributed them regionally.

The bobble heads were created by pouring a ceramic material into a mold of some sort. Once hardened, they were individually painted. Somehow these promotional pieces that were made in such small numbers, from a highly breakable material, and were never meant to be sold managed to survive. It’s extremely rare to find a jumbo bobble head.

The jumbo San Francisco 49ers bobble head was photographed and listed on Goodwill of Western New York’s online auction site Shopgoodwill.com/Buffalo. Bidding started at $50 and rose quickly over the five days that it was listed with 40 bidders vying for the coveted piece. When the auction ended on November 2, one lucky bidder from Arizona outbid the rest and became the proud owner of the jumbo bobble head with a bid over $10,000!

The purchase became the highest amount ever bid on Goodwill of WNY’s online auction site. The previous record was set in 2017 when a winning bid was placed on “Lucky in Love”, a highly coveted Pyrex casserole dish.

Goodwill of WNY is grateful to both the donor and the buyer of this item. Proceeds from the sale of this jumbo bobble head and all in store and online sales fund Goodwill’s job training and placement programs that help people train for, find and keep good jobs in Western New York. Together we’re changing lives and building careers.

Proceeds from items purchased through ShopGoodwill.com/Buffalo, Goodwill of Western New York’s online auction site, directly support Goodskills Career Builder and other Workforce Development initiatives that change lives in the local community.

Story Provided by Goodwill of Western New York