Thursday, January 3, 2013

Sealed Vintage Goods: To Open or Not to Open?

How was your holiday season, everyone?  Things just flew by, didn't they?

I arrived home last evening (or 2:15 AM in the morning in UK time) and still can't believe that my vacation has already run out.  Nor can my body believe that I'm staying up until what feels like 6 AM and rising at 11:30 in the morning.  Oh, jet-lag...

I did have a little surprise waiting for me though.  My mother was clearing out the kitchen and found this vintage 1970's GE M24WH hand mixer.  Since I'd just bought her a new model for Christmas, she thought I might like to take it in.



There's only one issue.  It's still sealed in the original packaging, which I've got to decide whether or not to tear open.



I love vintage packaging and the fact that it has never been touched by human hands increases its cool-factor, but what good is a blender if you can't even see/use it?



According to Ebay, here is what I can expect to find inside.  Not the coolest retro blender ever, but still much nicer than the flakey Chinese c*** that seems so prevalent these days.

Source: Ebay

So what's the verdict?  Dig in or tuck it away?

19 comments:

  1. Bust it open just put back in box when not using it. I have the same one that was my parents and it still has the box as well, it's made plenty of cookies and B-day cakes. You'll never need another. I also still have there G.E. electric carving knife(1970's) in the box and let me tell you when your reupolstering and need to cut foam it does a fantastic job.

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    1. Yep, my mom still has the same carving knife, blender, and another one of these hand mixers. All three are still in perfect working order after 40-odd years of use, but she wanted an updated set. Something tells me that the old ones will still be going by the time the ones I gave her need to be replaced.

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  2. I have the 1965 version of this model. Parents received it as a wedding gift. Mother passed it to me in the early 90s. It still works like a champ, and gets used all the time. The one she bought to replace it also had to be replaced.

    If you need a good hand blender, dig in. You shouldn't be disappointed.

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  3. Open it. Keep the box and all the rest, but what use is good design if no one ever uses it? I love those old hand mixers. I have one that's around the same age (it's mustard yellow) and it has never failed me. Of course, now that I have a Kitchen Aid, the only thing I do with it is make whipped cream, but I'm an obsessive baker. Most people don't need a 6 quart stand mixer sitting out all the time.

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    1. Yep, we've got the mustard yellow ones as well (and the matching carving knife and blender). They're still rock-solid.

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  4. Eeeek, I know the feeling BUT I say open it. What good is it sitting in its box? It needs some love!

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    1. Think we might go for it. The girlfriend promised to bake and that was the deciding factor.

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  5. I say open! You already have a willing baker. :)

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  6. I'd open it carefully. Or maybe just display it unopened until you were in dire straights for a mixer!

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    1. Hah! Knowing my cooking, that might be a while. My idea of gourmet is chicken and pasta with some canned cream sauce and Tobasco. I might throw in some cracked pepper or something if I wanted to church it up a bit. I've never touched anything requiring a mixer.

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  7. Open it, use the heck out of it, keep the box; it's not going to turn to gold in that box.

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    1. By then, maybe they will have perfected the art of alchemy.

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  8. Hey! Glad you're back in the StL!

    My take on this nagging problem: if it's something that is relatively easy to find and you want to "use" the item...leave it in the box and find another out of the box to use. If it's a hard to find item and you're not likely to find another any time soon...leave it in the box. That box is only going to get opened once!

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    1. Hah! Yeah, my girlfriend shot down this one. "You are NOT going to have a mixer collection." She is over in England though, so there's not much she can do to stop it.

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  9. I have grappled with this several times myself! I sold some NOS vintage glassware in my shop, and wanted my buyers to have the pleasure of opening the boxes themselves, but had to check to make sure the glass wasn't damaged or broken. It broke my heart, but eventually I opened the box. I say go for it...and just enjoy the thrill of opening something that has been sealed for so many years! :)

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    1. I'm still waiting to open it. I guess I'll just put it off until I actually need a mixer. As a young man living on his own, that opportunity does not present itself often.

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