Many people will run auctions claiming their items are Steiff, if ID is no longer attached, but it often turns out they're not Steiff. To be an educated consumer, as with any collectible, do your research!

The best books on the market are the four Sortiments by Gunther Pfeiffer. The two most current books are for Steiff pieces manufactured between 1892-1943 and 1947-2003. (See the 4-year gap between books? That's because Steiff wasn't allowed to manufacture stuffed animals during the war. The German government forced them to manufacture items for the soldiers.)

Unfortunately, these books are not cheap and you can't walk into any bookstore and find them on the shelf. I bought my copies on eBay. Expect to pay about $100 plus shipping for the 1892-1943 book and about $75 plus shipping for the 1947-2003 book. The other two books are less expensive because they're older and, thus, not up to date. Steiff publishes annual catalogs so it would be a good idea to supplement the books with those catalogs. (Again, you can find sometimes find them on eBay for $5-$10 plus shipping.)

Another fabulous book for the "hard-core" Steiff collector is Button in the Ear by Cieslik. It's often available on eBay at a fairly reasonable price ($45), and is filled with information and old photographs you won't find anywhere else. You will drool over some of the pieces you'll never get to see in person, much less on the auction block.

Less expensive ways to research Steiff items are obviously via the Internet. However, the sites are often incomplete, offer few photographs, and pricing is not very realistic (if you use eBay as your guide for pricing). They quote retail values and, honestly, most collectors will not pay retail prices. But don't discount those sites -- use their information as a base, deduct 50 percent, and that's an approximate price you can expect to pay or sell your item for on eBay.

A good website is run by the Sortiments' author, Gunther Pfeiffer. There is an annual fee for unlimited access, and it has most of the information and photographs that can be found in the Sortiments discussed above. However, the last time I looked, the site had not yet added the older pieces found in the 1892-1943 Sortiment. The suggested prices on this website, unfortunately, are not very realistic either for the reasons cited above.

Personally, since I have the books, I dropped my membership after one year. Still it's cheaper than buying the books if you have a "fleeting" interest in Steiff, i.e., you're selling some Steiff and you want some education and history on the pieces before putting them on eBay. Email me for a couple of website addresses if you're interested.

Another situation you'll typically run into is when a seller thinks that, just because his/her item is a Steiff, it automatically must generate a high price tag. I've seen the same Steiff animal, in similar condition, start at $15 on one auction and $100 or higher on others.

The German eBay is a fabulous source for Steiff, but you must take higher shipping costs and the euro vs dollar currency into consideration. Right now the U.S. dollar is very weak against the euro, and, as a result, "bargains" are much harder to find. Ask before you bid! Many Germans do not speak English but some of the online translation websites aren't too bad in a pinch. (Use Google to find a free language translation website or email me for information about the site I use.)  However, here are a few key words to make your search on the German eBay a little more user-friendly:

• dog (hund);
• cat (katze);
• rabbit (hase);
• monkey (affe);
• cow (kuh);
• fox (fuchs);
• bear (bar);
• lion (lowe);
• deer (reh);
• donkey/mule (esel);
• horse (pferd);
• puppet (handpuppe);
• doll (puppe);
• fish (fisch);
• bird (ente);
• mouse (maus); and
• frog (frosch).

Other important words: multiple animal items (tieren or konvolut); not played with (unbespielt); played with (bespielt); and from an estate sale (dachbodenfund).

As you explore the German eBay, you'll quickly recognize many words as they're very similar, if not identical, to English. In addition, if you know the name of your Steiff piece (i.e., Peky, Foxy), you can search that way too. Keep in mind, however, that just as English has more than one word for something (i.e., parrot, macaw, chicken, rooster, hen etc. for "bird"), so do other languages. So obviously the above list is very far from complete and is only meant to get you started. Start your own list of key words

Since there are thousands of Steiff pieces out there, keep your "habit" in check by buying only what you like. Don't make the same mistake I made when I started out -- I bought every piece in sight just so I could grow my collection. It's better to buy a few good pieces each year than a hundred mass-produced ones. Of course there are many pieces in awful condition, so look at the auction photos carefully and ask questions.

In addition, some items might be missing parts, i.e., the joey may no longer be in the kangaroo mom's pouch. Many times, you'll see dogs missing their collars or cats missing their bows, but the sellers don't realize they're gone. You'll see a LOT of replacement bows that almost look like they could pass for the originals. These replacements are not meant to scam you, but some people just feel that a bow -- any bow -- completes the package and makes it look cute and more likely to attract bids. Hopefully the seller will identify the bow or collar as a replacement but, if not, that's where your education about Steiff comes in handy. Ask for more photos or information if necessary. We're talking about your hard-earned money here so don't be shy and don't bid on an item until you're satisfied with the answers.

Here's a bit of advice, which may be obvious but needs to be said anyway -- older pieces are more valuable and desirable. Items made of mohair are usually more valuable and collectible. Steiff reproduced a LOT of its older pieces in the 1980s -- and they still do -- and the reproductions are not necessarily identified as such in the auction description. This is where identification is vital to prove the item's age.

The Pfeiffer Sortiments discussed earlier have an indepth section on what IDs were used and when, i.e., the Made in U.S. Zone tag (sewn into one of the body seams, usually on the right arm or leg) was used from 1947-1953. So if someone claimed to have a piece dating from the 1970s with a U.S. Zone tag, you'd know it wasn't true. Every piece of identification has evolved since Steiff started making its dolls and animals, and knowing this history is an absolute necessity if you're serious about collecting and don't want to be ripped off.

I've learned some of these lessons the hard way but, fortunately, most through education and experience. eBay is a fabulous learning tool and what might have been rare before the Internet explosion may turn out to be fairly common.

A great story that developed as a direct result of my eBay Steiff guide: I was contacted by a thriftstore in the southwest U.S. that received an anonymous donation of early 1900's children's clothing, photos, books, and a Steiff bear. They didn't know it was Steiff at the time, but they were "street smart" enough to realize it wasn't something to toss into the thrifitstore's $1 stuffed animal bin (yikes!). To make a short story long, the bear was auctioned for over US$16,000 (not on eBay ... sorry). All proceeds are helping the homeless in their community. It doesn't get any better than that, does it???!!! The Cinderella tale about this wonderful thriftstore find was published in the May 30, 2007 issue of Antique Trader. Try to pick up a copy at your library for a wonderful and uplifting story.

Steiff? (Yes ... from the early 1900s)Steiff? (No, Schuco)