ebay link to Pez Outlaw Collectibles.
Got the age old question again yesterday. "How do I tell if a Black Santa is real?"I hate to tell people to scrape the inside of the head with a sharp knife. Barring that here are a few tips.These 3 heads were all that were ever made. Stem colors might vary.Watch the eyes. The one with white eyes pictured is the only way the eyes were ever done.Black santas were never carded. Sorry, but they were test type pieces & this kind of thing was not carded. In my opinion carded Black Santas are fakers getting to cute by half.. Also a good way to keep you from checking them. I would not give you $3.00 for a Carded Black santa. All of the Black Santas I ever had were Loose & I had a lot of them. All 3 types. Never ever carded. In all my travels & purchases in the 1990s I never saw or was made aware of a carded Black Santa. PERIOD! But what do I know, I only introduce The Black Santas made in Slovenia to the Hobby.The above statements are to the best of my knowledge True.
 |
| Left to right Black Santas 1, 2 and 3. These are the Pez Dispensers that put Pez Outlaw on Pez USA's radar/Hit List |
I asked Myself today. Is the reason Pez Corp has never released the Black Santa because I've been harping on it for 30yrs.
At a casual glance of all the Pez released by Pez Corp you do see a lot of Black character heads have been released, but no Black Santa. Today I wondered for the 1st time if I am the reason.
That couldn't be the reason, could it?
Pez Outlaw for 30yrs is the Only Person to release a Black Santa Pez Dispenser. Clarification, The 1st & released most of them in collections today. Pez Corporation has never released a Black Santa to the market.
30 years after I released The Original Black Santa Pez I am commemorating that Historical moment with Black Santa Pez Outlaw.
Pez Corporation.
Now would be a good time?
Now would be a good time?
 |
My personal Black Santa, before I sold him. |
Pez Corporation has refused to make a Black Santa for 30yrs n persecuted the person to the point of bankruptcy who had the audacity to release the only ones to exist.
Ponder that with me, Black Santa is the most powerful Pez Dispenser to have ever been created n I was DESTROYED for believing it was the right thing to do.
Wanna hear a funny thing, Poop Pez Sure, Brown Santa Sure because it will help destroy Pez Outlaw but Black Santa NO!
Ponder that with me, Black Santa is the most powerful Pez Dispenser to have ever been created n I was DESTROYED for believing it was the right thing to do.
Wanna hear a funny thing, Poop Pez Sure, Brown Santa Sure because it will help destroy Pez Outlaw but Black Santa NO!
Marcos was there pez test shot guy and pez experimenter in chief. This guy loved his work. He took us to a cabinet which housed there pez collection. I later gave him a pez space gun and a pez shooter for there collection. Most facilities had a pez collection of one sort or another. In Ljubliana it was different pez dispensers on a beam around the top of the a room in the warehouse. Seeing the pez collection one piece jumped out at me, it was a black Santa Pez dispensers. Like I said Marcos loved his work, he was a very enthusiastic guy when it came to testing pez colors. Josh & I went nuts you'd think we had just seen an alien. We were told he had made a small run of these Pez dispensers because he thought the company ought to do this. Austria had decided, saying it was to controversial to produce. COKO PEZ an African caricature on the box for chocolate pez candy was ok, but a black Santa Pez dispensers was to controversial. This would be big news to approximately 20% of the population in America for whom Santa is actually black. In my opinion Marcos was correct.
Black Santa is probably the most historic Pez Dispenser ever made by Pez without corporate approval. Reason being Pez Corporation was scared to death of him. Black Santa was very taboo, way to controversial to exist or do as a Pez Dispenser. For these historical reasons I believe my Black Santas are the rarest & most desirable Pez that exist. There were 3 different versions of my Black Santas. I know the politically correct answer to rarest is Make-A-Face. I disagree. Black Santa is rarest Pez as it was never meant to exist. Like Bubble boy, it was an in house rejection. Unlike Bubble Boy he was never mass produced. Make-A-Face was mass produced. Even Owl MMM was produced in larger numbers than Black Santa.
Let me restate, Black Santa was an actual proposed dispenser to Pez Austria. The first group of Black Santas are actually prototypes. Black Santa was rejected because of racist prejudice. Some of this was Austrian Pez Corporate Racism, som
Black Santa is probably the most historic Pez Dispenser ever made by Pez without corporate approval. Reason being Pez Corporation was scared to death of him. Black Santa was very taboo, way to controversial to exist or do as a Pez Dispenser. For these historical reasons I believe my Black Santas are the rarest & most desirable Pez that exist. There were 3 different versions of my Black Santas. I know the politically correct answer to rarest is Make-A-Face. I disagree. Black Santa is rarest Pez as it was never meant to exist. Like Bubble boy, it was an in house rejection. Unlike Bubble Boy he was never mass produced. Make-A-Face was mass produced. Even Owl MMM was produced in larger numbers than Black Santa.
Let me restate, Black Santa was an actual proposed dispenser to Pez Austria. The first group of Black Santas are actually prototypes. Black Santa was rejected because of racist prejudice. Some of this was Austrian Pez Corporate Racism, som
e was an interpretation of perceived racism by Pez Austria about the USA. So Black Santa was deemed to offensive by Pez Corporation as a whole.
Unlike Bubble Man/boy my sales of Black Santa did not influence Scott McWhinnie to mass produce Black Santa. Out of 30 to 40 Pez One of the only dispensers Scott did not duplicate. No Comment.
Asked if Black Santa was produced as a Misfit, my answer follows.
nooo, noooo. no way never. a real bug up the Austrian ass about a Santa that is Black. very serious on that. Marcos/Slovenia thought it was a great idea which as per his job he created for submission as possible. he got shot down very hard. thats why when josh n i thought he was agenious about it we became fast friends. he felt vindicated after being ridiculed n scorned.
Marcos Creations.
Black Santa Pez dispensers. red hat ones and white hat ones.
To me the Black Santa is the most powerful Pez Dispenser to have ever been produced and never released.
Well that's a Hell of a statement, back it up.
No other Pez dispenser can claim to have shut down 2 factories in Europe besides making a farmer from Michigan an internationally Wanted Man by an International Corporation.
Black Santa and Bubble boy gave birth I hope one day "The Legend Of Pez Outlaw".
To my knowledge there are 3 versions of the Black Santa.
There was the 1st run of say 30 to 60 pieces intended as an idea for a new line by the color guy in Ormoz.
Sample pieces were sent to corporate offices as was the practice.
After being rejected these sample pieces made there way to Johan Patek and David Welch by executives seeking money.
Executive/management types sending care packages of 20 to 50 pez to Johan and Dave was a very common practice.
I found this out when one gave me a package of pez and said you can send me money later.
At any rate thats how the 1st version found it's way out of Pez Austria.
The second version is a bit of a hodgepodge and I'm foggy as to why when or how.
The third version was a complete run of 300 made as a suprise for me by the management in Ormoz.
This was done for 2 reasons.
1. They really liked me before Austria put the fear of God into them.
2. After receiving as a gift one of the 1st version Black Santas Joshua and I were like children who'd received this years hot toy for Christmas.
Our reaction delighted the people in charge in Ormoz, remember they thought that a Black Santa was a very cool idea for production along side of the White guy Santa. We had validated there initial joy that had been crushed by the USA and Austria.
After Josh and I sold our Black Santas to collectors a shit storm hit Slovenia, the likes of which they'd never seen before.
I personally saw it happen, I saw the looks on there faces and the fear in there hearts was plain to see.
First Austria bought the Ormoz injection molding facility and then put another level of Austrians above the management that already existed.
There anger over Black Santa was not salved by buying Ormoz, eventually they shut down pez production and packaging in all of Slovenia, moving all of it up to Hungary so that they could keep a better eye on everything.
The crazy part was that my connections for getting pez was even better in Hungary because in Hungary they unlike Slovenia had no problem coloring between the lines or ignoring the lines completely.
My Kind Of Town.
Ormoz became a dustpan factory because of Black Santa Pez Dispenser.
Kolinska became a soup catsup and mayonnaise factory because of Black Santa.
Let me say it for you, all of this fallout to Slovenia was really because of Pez Outlaws activities in Slovenia. You say Potato, I say Potato.
But I got ahead of myself.
The Black Santa you see me holding in the picture below is from the 300 in the third group that were made as a surprise/giftish(.23 cents ea) for me before all that horrible stuff happened.
Before news of me selling the Black Santa had traveled very far I received news from Ormoz that they'd made 300 Black Santas for me.
In the time it took for me to go and get them.
It may have been a month or 2 remember I had irons in the fire up in Hungary and McHookers probably happened in this interval also.
To my surprise while in route to pick up the 300 Black Santas I received news that the storm had begun and that I could only have 30 of the 300 and at that they were putting themselves at great risk.
I believe that some of the 300 - my 30 = 270 went to the plastic chipper.
After Ormoz shut down is when Ivan came on the scene and I do believe he found a few of the 300 Black Santas rescued from the chipper by folks that just couldn't let it happen.
I think of the Black Santas Ivan found and sold as "the Rescues of the 300".
I'd like to add another group of product to the Pez Dispenser Lexicon.
"Midnight Specials"
Midnight Specials is not intended as a derogatory term, to the contrary it's kinda a magical name for product created by a worker on pez equipment without authorization.
Most odd color variations are Midnight Specials and some even go so far as to complete the picture by having a buddy card them.
Midnight Specials are created solely to feed the insatiable appetite of collectors willing to pay top dollar for unique items.
I reference this term in this story because I feel that some/probably all of the Black Santas That I refer to as being in category 2 are Midnight Specials.
Legit by any standard of analysis but that's there origin.
The term "Midnight Specials" is a very colorful and expressive term for your color variations. It's like owning who you are and reclaiming a once derogatory term and embracing it with pride as many other groups have done.
Category 1 Black Santas, uniform to one another and intended as a concept/test piece.
Cat 2s always struck me with how rich and shiny the black plastic is that was used for the head.
Category 2 Black Santas, a hodgepodge that runs the gambit in beard, hat and stem color combos.
Category 3 Black Santas, "The 300" very uniform, again all identical, I've always noted the odd clear layer on the surface of the face.
Almost 24yrs ago I introduced the Black Santa to US collectors.
When I released the Pez Corp rejected prototype Black Santa, I an unknown became the most wanted and Hated person on planet Earth by PEZ Corporation.
The Black
Santa Pez Dispenser was rejected By Pez Corporation.
Black Santa is probably the most historic Pez Dispenser ever made by Pez without corporate approval. Reason being Pez Corporation was scared to death of him. Black Santa was very taboo, way to controversial to exist or do as a Pez Dispenser. For these historical reasons I believe my Black Santa's are the rarest and most desirable Pez that exist. There were 3 different versions of my Black Santas. I know the politically correct answer to rarest is Make-A-Face. I disagree. Black Santa is rarest Pez as it was never meant to exist. Like Bubble boy, it was an in house rejection. Unlike Bubble Boy he was never mass produced. Make-A-Face was mass produced. Even Owl MMM was produced in larger numbers than Black Santa.
Pez Outlaw shot to the most wanted & hated pez dealer after smuggling approximately 30 Black Santa Pez Dispensers into the USA.
Black Santa was reviled by everyone in Austria at first sight.
Pez Corporation didn't just reject Black Santa, they thought of it as something obscene.
Ormoz had there license to produce Pez revoked because of Black Santa and literally became a dust pan factory.
I became the most wanted person walking the earth by Pez USA because of Black Santa.
To validate these statements note that everything that I ever created was copied by Pez USA. EXCEPT Black Santa.
ALL all of the Black Santas that I ever sold were created in the full light of day as proposed project initially then as a present approved by Ormoz management. Which they got the Hammer for.
So many people got really hurt by Black Santa so forgive me I get a little wound up about him.
I'm just a story teller, you want facts about pez that's John Laspina and David Welch s department. I will always yield to there knowledge.
I'm very serious about that thing of me just being a story teller. I don't want anyone to view anything I say as more important than words of a story teller. The only real facts I know are the stories of Pez Outlaw. nothing else.
I used my tax returns in 1994 to finance my first trip to Slovenia, the date of 8,7,1994 which in US translates to 7-8-94 (they flip first 2 numbers) I believe by happy coincidence matches the timing of the trip when i got the 30 black santa's. making it my second or 3rd trip to slovenia.
Black santa would never have been mentioned on paperwork. 1st one was given not bought. next 30 that probably came with roughly this paperwork, mention would have been avoided. a generic mention like misc dispensers as heat was already on. number went from 300 to 30 in a matter of a week.
Envelope says trip 5 in 1998 in pen on opposite side. problem with that is ormos was a dust pan factory by then. so it must be some random notation i made about god knows what. my last trip to Ormoz was in 1996. so ignore that notation on other side of envelope, especially since receipt clearly states 1994. God knows why I do some things.
If you are circling any of the Black Santas at $350 or less. I suggest you get that done .
Sweden
I arrived in Sweden, Booked my car & Found a hotel. My stay was in Stockholm, a very interesting & nice place. Next morning I went to Toysrus. Here's something you may not know, most of the bigger cities in Western Europe, Australia & Sweden have Toysrus. Even Linz/Traun had one. Toysrus is a good place to find Pez dispensers & ask about who the distributor is. In worst case scenarios it is printed on the back of the cards & you can hire a taxi, point at the address & follow him.
After gaining/confirming the distributor address, also realizing the Pez Pal Mariner was not available at Toysrus. I set off for the distributor, he informed me this Pez dispensers was only available on the Ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. As this trip was only about the Pez Pal Mariner I didn't buy anything from the distributor. Besides they really didn't have much, it was a pretty small operation.
Photos of the Ferry Boat I booked passage on with Silja Ferry Lines in Sweden.
I arrived at Silja Ferry lines & was allowed to board the ferry & go to the gift shop on board the ship. There I met this really wonderful lady who ran things named Tuula. She said we have about 60 or so Pez Pal Mariner available but you have to be on board as a passenger & at sea before I can sell you any. I told her I really needed a lot of them so she checked & said she had 2 pallets of pez pal mariner at the other port. Off I went to buy a ticket. I booked a round trip, in a Tax deductible high end room. It was a room with an exterior window, so a view of the whole trip. This room even had a shower & a TV. Until this trip the idea of being on a large boat out in the middle of a big body of water left me a little uneasy. After this trip I realized it was more like being in a small city that happened to be a boat.
We left port & the first group of Pez dispensers was delivered to the room, where I began tearing them down to just pez dispensers & pez body parts. So they could be bagged for my luggage. I planned to carry half the pez in my luggage & airfreight the rest. Once we arrived in Helsinki, I met with Tuula & used my credit card to pay for the pallets of Pez Pal Mariners that were being loaded. She & I had to call the US credit card company to clear the purchase as it was about $10,000.00. Once all the paperwork was done she had ships personnel, dolly cart it all up to my room. I got a lot of puzzled looks because even though this was one of the good rooms/cabins, the 2 pallets of pez pretty much filled the room. I spent the entire night in the cabin tearing down half of the Pez dispensers into my luggage & down packing the other pez cases. If you down pack pez playworlds correctly 3 cases become 2 cases easy. After down packing, pez cases had to be taped together into 8 cases per for airfreight. When completed I had 3 duffel bags full of loose Pez dispensers & 6 or 8 large packs of pez for airfreight. In the morning we arrived back at Stockholm & I had not even left the boat. Aside from meals, a shower, looking out the window & packing Pez dispensers. I had no time left, including no time for sleep. I left a really good tip for the destroyed cabin & left with the small army of guys with dollies.
Once we arrived at my car, I gave the guys there tip & off they went. I found a cab driver & we discussed the airport & what I needed to accomplish. He decided Cathe (I think it was) was the freight airline I needed. He also decided we needed a total of 2 cabs plus my car to carry all the pez to the airport. Once the 3 cars were loaded he led the way to the airport, where he helped arrange everything with the freight company. He had been very helpful & got a really good tip. After they left & the freight was completed I was left with my pez luggage & one night remaining before my flight.
I booked a room in a hotel near the airport & got a well deserved nights sleep. The trip home was easy peasy. The freight arrived no problem, thanks to my broker in Grand Rapids. The trip was a big success. Then a year later the Pez Pal Mariners showed up in Hungary for liquidation into Russia. Oh well it had been a pretty cool adventure. Bragging rights, great scenery & a boat ride.
Pez Corporate Fraud, Pez Color War, Restitution.
Unlike Bubble Man/boy my sales of Black Santa did not influence Scott McWhinnie to mass produce Black Santa. Out of 30 to 40 Pez One of the only dispensers Scott did not duplicate. No Comment.
Asked if Black Santa was produced as a Misfit, my answer follows.
nooo, noooo. no way never. a real bug up the Austrian ass about a Santa that is Black. very serious on that. Marcos/Slovenia thought it was a great idea which as per his job he created for submission as possible. he got shot down very hard. thats why when josh n i thought he was agenious about it we became fast friends. he felt vindicated after being ridiculed n scorned.
Marcos Creations.
Black Santa Pez dispensers. red hat ones and white hat ones.
To me the Black Santa is the most powerful Pez Dispenser to have ever been produced and never released.
Well that's a Hell of a statement, back it up.
No other Pez dispenser can claim to have shut down 2 factories in Europe besides making a farmer from Michigan an internationally Wanted Man by an International Corporation.
Black Santa and Bubble boy gave birth I hope one day "The Legend Of Pez Outlaw".
To my knowledge there are 3 versions of the Black Santa.
There was the 1st run of say 30 to 60 pieces intended as an idea for a new line by the color guy in Ormoz.
Sample pieces were sent to corporate offices as was the practice.
After being rejected these sample pieces made there way to Johan Patek and David Welch by executives seeking money.
Executive/management types sending care packages of 20 to 50 pez to Johan and Dave was a very common practice.
I found this out when one gave me a package of pez and said you can send me money later.
At any rate thats how the 1st version found it's way out of Pez Austria.
The second version is a bit of a hodgepodge and I'm foggy as to why when or how.
The third version was a complete run of 300 made as a suprise for me by the management in Ormoz.
This was done for 2 reasons.
1. They really liked me before Austria put the fear of God into them.
2. After receiving as a gift one of the 1st version Black Santas Joshua and I were like children who'd received this years hot toy for Christmas.
Our reaction delighted the people in charge in Ormoz, remember they thought that a Black Santa was a very cool idea for production along side of the White guy Santa. We had validated there initial joy that had been crushed by the USA and Austria.
After Josh and I sold our Black Santas to collectors a shit storm hit Slovenia, the likes of which they'd never seen before.
I personally saw it happen, I saw the looks on there faces and the fear in there hearts was plain to see.
First Austria bought the Ormoz injection molding facility and then put another level of Austrians above the management that already existed.
There anger over Black Santa was not salved by buying Ormoz, eventually they shut down pez production and packaging in all of Slovenia, moving all of it up to Hungary so that they could keep a better eye on everything.
The crazy part was that my connections for getting pez was even better in Hungary because in Hungary they unlike Slovenia had no problem coloring between the lines or ignoring the lines completely.
My Kind Of Town.
Ormoz became a dustpan factory because of Black Santa Pez Dispenser.
Kolinska became a soup catsup and mayonnaise factory because of Black Santa.
Let me say it for you, all of this fallout to Slovenia was really because of Pez Outlaws activities in Slovenia. You say Potato, I say Potato.
But I got ahead of myself.
The Black Santa you see me holding in the picture below is from the 300 in the third group that were made as a surprise/giftish(.23 cents ea) for me before all that horrible stuff happened.
Before news of me selling the Black Santa had traveled very far I received news from Ormoz that they'd made 300 Black Santas for me.
In the time it took for me to go and get them.
It may have been a month or 2 remember I had irons in the fire up in Hungary and McHookers probably happened in this interval also.
To my surprise while in route to pick up the 300 Black Santas I received news that the storm had begun and that I could only have 30 of the 300 and at that they were putting themselves at great risk.
I believe that some of the 300 - my 30 = 270 went to the plastic chipper.
After Ormoz shut down is when Ivan came on the scene and I do believe he found a few of the 300 Black Santas rescued from the chipper by folks that just couldn't let it happen.
I think of the Black Santas Ivan found and sold as "the Rescues of the 300".
 |
| 1 of the 300. I haven't held this pez dispenser in about 24yrs. kinda cool when you think about it. I traveled to Ormoz Slovenia and got this black Santa 24yrs ago and now it's come back to me for a visit on Thanksgiving. |
"Midnight Specials"
Midnight Specials is not intended as a derogatory term, to the contrary it's kinda a magical name for product created by a worker on pez equipment without authorization.
Most odd color variations are Midnight Specials and some even go so far as to complete the picture by having a buddy card them.
Midnight Specials are created solely to feed the insatiable appetite of collectors willing to pay top dollar for unique items.
I reference this term in this story because I feel that some/probably all of the Black Santas That I refer to as being in category 2 are Midnight Specials.
Legit by any standard of analysis but that's there origin.
The term "Midnight Specials" is a very colorful and expressive term for your color variations. It's like owning who you are and reclaiming a once derogatory term and embracing it with pride as many other groups have done.
Category 1 Black Santas, uniform to one another and intended as a concept/test piece.
Cat 2s always struck me with how rich and shiny the black plastic is that was used for the head.
Category 2 Black Santas, a hodgepodge that runs the gambit in beard, hat and stem color combos.
Category 3 Black Santas, "The 300" very uniform, again all identical, I've always noted the odd clear layer on the surface of the face.
Almost 24yrs ago I introduced the Black Santa to US collectors.
When I released the Pez Corp rejected prototype Black Santa, I an unknown became the most wanted and Hated person on planet Earth by PEZ Corporation.
 |
| Category 1 |
Black Santa is probably the most historic Pez Dispenser ever made by Pez without corporate approval. Reason being Pez Corporation was scared to death of him. Black Santa was very taboo, way to controversial to exist or do as a Pez Dispenser. For these historical reasons I believe my Black Santa's are the rarest and most desirable Pez that exist. There were 3 different versions of my Black Santas. I know the politically correct answer to rarest is Make-A-Face. I disagree. Black Santa is rarest Pez as it was never meant to exist. Like Bubble boy, it was an in house rejection. Unlike Bubble Boy he was never mass produced. Make-A-Face was mass produced. Even Owl MMM was produced in larger numbers than Black Santa.
Pez Outlaw shot to the most wanted & hated pez dealer after smuggling approximately 30 Black Santa Pez Dispensers into the USA.
Black Santa was reviled by everyone in Austria at first sight.
Pez Corporation didn't just reject Black Santa, they thought of it as something obscene.
Ormoz had there license to produce Pez revoked because of Black Santa and literally became a dust pan factory.
I became the most wanted person walking the earth by Pez USA because of Black Santa.
To validate these statements note that everything that I ever created was copied by Pez USA. EXCEPT Black Santa.
ALL all of the Black Santas that I ever sold were created in the full light of day as proposed project initially then as a present approved by Ormoz management. Which they got the Hammer for.
So many people got really hurt by Black Santa so forgive me I get a little wound up about him.
I'm just a story teller, you want facts about pez that's John Laspina and David Welch s department. I will always yield to there knowledge.
I'm very serious about that thing of me just being a story teller. I don't want anyone to view anything I say as more important than words of a story teller. The only real facts I know are the stories of Pez Outlaw. nothing else.
I used my tax returns in 1994 to finance my first trip to Slovenia, the date of 8,7,1994 which in US translates to 7-8-94 (they flip first 2 numbers) I believe by happy coincidence matches the timing of the trip when i got the 30 black santa's. making it my second or 3rd trip to slovenia.
 |
| already sold |
Black santa would never have been mentioned on paperwork. 1st one was given not bought. next 30 that probably came with roughly this paperwork, mention would have been avoided. a generic mention like misc dispensers as heat was already on. number went from 300 to 30 in a matter of a week.
Envelope says trip 5 in 1998 in pen on opposite side. problem with that is ormos was a dust pan factory by then. so it must be some random notation i made about god knows what. my last trip to Ormoz was in 1996. so ignore that notation on other side of envelope, especially since receipt clearly states 1994. God knows why I do some things.
If you are circling any of the Black Santas at $350 or less. I suggest you get that done .
Face-plant Merlin
Coming soon to facebook "The Survivors".
All will be signed Pez Outlaw.
told my middle man I needed more Merlins n like Blue Dumbo next visit there sat 1,000 -1,200. smelled real fresh too. Made in factory in Gyor so? Did a tight pack because it was a bunch of them I never did tight packs before or after because pez need to breath.
Anyway sitting in my seat waiting to change planes in France or Germany I see the baggage guys moving baggage. I recognize my bags as they get to them n watch them toss them like Hay bales onto the tarmac from the hold of the plane. Tarmac Face-plant Merlins fared very poorly from that one.
You want to know a sight that will really break your heart. I sat looking out the
window of the plane to see my duffel bags tossed from the hatch down
onto the tarmac. At least an eight or ten foot drop. Now that will
break your heart.
Sweden
The
trip to Sweden was one of the neatest trips I went on buying pez.
Gary Doss informed me that the Pez Pal Mariner had been released
& was available only in Sweden. Gary sent me a photo image of
the back of the Pez Playworld card. From that information I planned
the trip.
 |
Mariner with body parts approx $10.00
|
I arrived in Sweden, Booked my car & Found a hotel. My stay was in Stockholm, a very interesting & nice place. Next morning I went to Toysrus. Here's something you may not know, most of the bigger cities in Western Europe, Australia & Sweden have Toysrus. Even Linz/Traun had one. Toysrus is a good place to find Pez dispensers & ask about who the distributor is. In worst case scenarios it is printed on the back of the cards & you can hire a taxi, point at the address & follow him.
After gaining/confirming the distributor address, also realizing the Pez Pal Mariner was not available at Toysrus. I set off for the distributor, he informed me this Pez dispensers was only available on the Ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. As this trip was only about the Pez Pal Mariner I didn't buy anything from the distributor. Besides they really didn't have much, it was a pretty small operation.
Photos of the Ferry Boat I booked passage on with Silja Ferry Lines in Sweden.
I arrived at Silja Ferry lines & was allowed to board the ferry & go to the gift shop on board the ship. There I met this really wonderful lady who ran things named Tuula. She said we have about 60 or so Pez Pal Mariner available but you have to be on board as a passenger & at sea before I can sell you any. I told her I really needed a lot of them so she checked & said she had 2 pallets of pez pal mariner at the other port. Off I went to buy a ticket. I booked a round trip, in a Tax deductible high end room. It was a room with an exterior window, so a view of the whole trip. This room even had a shower & a TV. Until this trip the idea of being on a large boat out in the middle of a big body of water left me a little uneasy. After this trip I realized it was more like being in a small city that happened to be a boat.
We left port & the first group of Pez dispensers was delivered to the room, where I began tearing them down to just pez dispensers & pez body parts. So they could be bagged for my luggage. I planned to carry half the pez in my luggage & airfreight the rest. Once we arrived in Helsinki, I met with Tuula & used my credit card to pay for the pallets of Pez Pal Mariners that were being loaded. She & I had to call the US credit card company to clear the purchase as it was about $10,000.00. Once all the paperwork was done she had ships personnel, dolly cart it all up to my room. I got a lot of puzzled looks because even though this was one of the good rooms/cabins, the 2 pallets of pez pretty much filled the room. I spent the entire night in the cabin tearing down half of the Pez dispensers into my luggage & down packing the other pez cases. If you down pack pez playworlds correctly 3 cases become 2 cases easy. After down packing, pez cases had to be taped together into 8 cases per for airfreight. When completed I had 3 duffel bags full of loose Pez dispensers & 6 or 8 large packs of pez for airfreight. In the morning we arrived back at Stockholm & I had not even left the boat. Aside from meals, a shower, looking out the window & packing Pez dispensers. I had no time left, including no time for sleep. I left a really good tip for the destroyed cabin & left with the small army of guys with dollies.
Once we arrived at my car, I gave the guys there tip & off they went. I found a cab driver & we discussed the airport & what I needed to accomplish. He decided Cathe (I think it was) was the freight airline I needed. He also decided we needed a total of 2 cabs plus my car to carry all the pez to the airport. Once the 3 cars were loaded he led the way to the airport, where he helped arrange everything with the freight company. He had been very helpful & got a really good tip. After they left & the freight was completed I was left with my pez luggage & one night remaining before my flight.
I booked a room in a hotel near the airport & got a well deserved nights sleep. The trip home was easy peasy. The freight arrived no problem, thanks to my broker in Grand Rapids. The trip was a big success. Then a year later the Pez Pal Mariners showed up in Hungary for liquidation into Russia. Oh well it had been a pretty cool adventure. Bragging rights, great scenery & a boat ride.
After Pez Outlaw, I intend to retire.
Pez Corporate Fraud, Pez Color War, Restitution.
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