help--i'm new

Hi folks. Where do I start? I've bought a few tiki mugs on ebay, but i'm not sure what I've got, if I've been ripped off. What should I look for? I want vintage, how do I spot correctly? Thanks!!!!

Hi there!
Wish I knew how to tell you, I'm no expert by far, there are great books out there collecting Tiki Goodies.
My advice? Collect what you like, Thats the best part, look at flea markets, 2nd hand stores, Vintage Stores, and everywhere, you never know where you'll find Tiki Treasure!!!
Heck My wife and I have found Mai Kia mugs and a "The Tikis" mug in WV. (we find lots of cool stuff there)
Good luck in your hunt!!!
Rustbelt

I would suggest buying the book Tiki Quest. It is helpful in identifying what you've purchased. Also purchasing The Book of Tiki is well-spent money. Also I would just check out thrift stores everywhere. We tend to not find too many tiki mugs in Chicago but when we visit my parents (Terre Haute, IN) we seem to be able to find tiki mugs. Good Luck!!

Thanks guys. Appreciate the help! At least I still have everything I bought as a kid from the Safari shop in Ocean City MD (I was born in 57, so it was good timing)!

Welcome aboard TikiTerry!There are plenty of new tiki mugs and other various pieces of merchandise as well as vintage. The best advice is to collect what you like.
Paruse the forms here at Tiki Central and don't be afraid to ask questions. The TC ohana is a wealth of information. Here's a helpful link if you want to view various mugs and such.
http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/index.php
Aloha,
:tiki:

Welcome to the addiction we call Tiki! I hope you have no plans for retirement, as you deferred comp will now be tied up in tiki.

Thanks everybody--thought I'd put the money I saved quitting smoking to good use--something completely fun and personal.
Great tips, much appreciated.

I am also new and am having a great time taking in all that is tiki.

I would suggest buying the book Tiki Quest. It is helpful in identifying what you've purchased. Also purchasing The Book of Tiki is well-spent money.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of owning these two books if you're into collecting...especially Tiki Quest to help identify mugs.

:drink:

On 2004-01-23 12:57, newtotiki wrote:
I am also new and am having a great time taking in all that is tiki.

aloha newtotiki,

are you aware of the other Calgarian board members? They are Slacks Ferret and coconutz. You can use the search engine here to find their posts...

em.

I did see the others, it really is a small world. thanks for the heads up.

The Book of Tiki is a great purchase. Reading it reminds me of pawing through old Sears Christmas catalogs and pining for toys gone by...except that some of these (i.e. Kahiki) are achingly recent, like the perfume of a woman who just walked by.
Also, Tiki Road Trip vies with it for great bedtime wishbook reading; I've even got a spare copy I keep in the car along with Roadfood, Roadside America and a zillion DeLorme atlases.
I recently ordered Tiki Quest to complete what I think of as the Tiki trilogy. I too am new to collecting mugs and am trying to figure out the whole new or repro thing. I don't have any litmus tests for that but I do have some data I'll share when I get the time.

Hello Newtotiki,

Nice to see another tiki fan from Calgary. I think there's 4 of us in here now! That might be enough for a tiki crawl? :)

Now if only there were good tiki bars here...

If you're lacking bars to crawl to, you can always crawl to each others houses.
:drink: