I truly don't know how it happened, but a few years ago, my mother and I got addicted to working Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzles. I found that I had a few older ones, unopened, in my collection of things. One thing led to the next, and because I was already an eBay addict, one day I decided to find out if anyone sold jigsaw puzzles on eBay, and what, if anything, my puzzles might be worth. Voila! Charles Wysocki puzzles - lots and lots of them! Each and every one looked really interesting! So I started purchasing them. And when I got them, I realized that some of them had duplicate numbers, but had different pictures.

Well, that set me hunting for information, and I stumbled across a free website with puzzle information, including just about anything you'd want to know about Charles Wysocki's artwork being made into puzzles. There were pictures - and lists of when puzzles were released! I was tickled pink, and I set out to make sure I had one of each and every Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzle ever made. This puzzle website is a freebie - there is no buying and selling going on - it is purely informational. You can find this information at puzzlehistory.com

In my craziness, I have yet to get my hands on one of every puzzle done with Charles Wysocki artwork, but I am very, very close! The Colorforms ones are probably the most difficult to find, and some of them in good shape still sell here on eBay for probably close to $100 - sometimes more if the boxes are still sealed.

Many people are busy buying and selling Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzles here on eBay, and the reason I decided to write this little blurb is to hopefully help you do a good job of listing what us puzzle fanatics want to know about the puzzles. So here is a list:

1. What is the name of the puzzle? On the newer puzzles, you will find the name on the side of the box, along with the copyright information. On the older puzzles where no name is listed, if you go to puzzlehistory.com and turn on the pictures, you can match the box you have with the picture, and then you'll have the name.

2. What is the puzzle number? Again, it is on the side of the box. Most of the puzzles start with 04679 and that is followed by one or two numbers. On the newer puzzles - the small boxes which they began releasing in 2002 - there also may be a letter prior to the number. This is important for those of us who are checklist fanatics - helps us quickly find what we need to make sure we do or do not have the puzzle you're selling.

3. Is the puzzle manufacturer sealed? If so, chances are very good that you will get a lot more for the puzzle than if it has been opened. Although occasional flukes do happen, puzzles in sealed manufacturer boxes are considered complete.

4. If the puzzle is not sealed, is it complete? For some time, there was a list going around of how many pieces (1000 is NOT the total number of pieces in a Wysocki puzzle) were in each puzzle. However, the number of pieces on the older puzzles varied with the puzzle mold they were cut from, so the count isn't consistent, even within one specific puzzle. The ONLY way to know if a puzzle is complete is to actually assemble the puzzle. Although many people claim to count the pieces and say the puzzle is counted complete, generally, a puzzle fiend such as myself will not take that at face value, because many sellers assume that 1000 is the correct number of pieces, when in fact, it is not.

Recently, I purchased several puzzles from eBay where the seller said they had counted the pieces, and they were complete. Six puzzles - none of them were complete when assembled. The seller had counted the pieces, and each box had a note in it that it had 5 extra pieces, or 7 extra pieces, when in fact, they were actually missing pieces. The seller assumed that there were 1000 pieces exactly in each box, when in fact, right now it appears that the puzzles made from 2002 - present actually have 1008 pieces in the box. As a seller of puzzles, you may want to consider telling the customer in the auction that the item is sold "as is" and you cannot guarantee that the puzzle is complete since you have not personally assembled it.

So - the long and the short of it is - don't piece count the puzzle and assume it to be correct.

5. If you are a puzzle person like we are, and assemble puzzles, with the eventual intention of reselling them and feeding your habit by reinvesting in more puzzles (is that an addiction???) consider spending a few bucks at your local grocery store and buying some inexpensive zip-lock bags for storing your puzzles in, once they are completed. Generally, people who buy puzzles on eBay - especially the collectors - prefer the boxes in as mint condition as possible, which basically means clean-cut when they are opened, no price stickers on the boxes, no damage to the pictures, and no tape to hold the lid on the box. So, keeping that in mind, the best thing you can do to preserve your puzzles once you've completed them is simply to zip those little pieces right into a ziplock bag, and tuck it back into the original box for safekeeping. Again, when reselling your puzzles, chances are you will get more attention for your auctions, and hopefully  more bids, the better the shape the puzzle is in.

6. Selling that puzzle on eBay? Gallery pictures are now free, so use them! A picture is worth 1000 words, so "they" say!" What do you need to tell me, the potential buyer? I want to see Charles Wysocki in your title, and I want the name of the puzzle. If it is sealed, that is very helpful, as well. So as an example, I am going to sell you a 2003 Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzle called "Farm Folks." It is in a sealed box. Item number is: 04679-G34. So on my title line I will list: Sealed Charles Wysocki Jigsaw Puzzle Farm Folks G34(I think all of that will fit!) When someone is searching for a jigsaw, it will come up; when they search for a jigsaw puzzle, it will come up; when a search is made for Wysocki, it will come up. If necessary, depending on the title length, you could leave out the "Charles" from the title. However, in that case, the search will give you both Charles and Heronim Wysocki's puzzles. I personally don't collect Heronim's puzzles (Heronim is CharlesWysocki's estranged brother), so I always search for "Charles Wysocki" when I do my searches.

7. 9/21/2007 - I am adding this additional hint to those of you who sell puzzles. PLEASE, do not do "mixed" sets with both Charles Wysocki and Heronim Wysocki in the same group. I am sure I am not alone in that I am a Charles fan - big-time, but I do not care for the work of Heronim, and so if you have multiple puzzles in an auction, chances are I will overlook your auctions in favor of someone else's, because I don't want to buy puzzles from artists that I don't care for. I guess you could also include any other artist in the batch. Personally, I generally buy puzzles one at a time to get what I want for my collection, because I don't want to get stuck with stuff that I don't want, yet have to pay the shipping on it in order to get one item or maybe two that I'm interested in. I think you might find you get a lot more for your good individual puzzles that people want than you do for a batch of miscellaneous items. Just my opinion, for what it's worth!

Well, hope that helps you in your wheeling and dealing with Wysocki jigsaw puzzles here on eBay! Happy selling, and happy collecting!