Get Smart Shoe Phone Sold for $39,000.00 On EBay

The prop that people remember most from the 1960's hit series Get Smart was Maxwell Smart's shoe phone. Many decades ahead of its time, and similar to a modern cell phone, the shoe phone was a rotary dial telephone, concealed in a slip on man's shoe. Smart used the phone to communicate with CONTROL headquarters, and the design flaws of the phone led to many a laugh for viewers of the shoe. The ringtone for the shoe was a loud bell, and Max would have to deal with curious folk who would politely tell him, "Excuse me, your shoe is ringing." Max tried to be inconspicuous when removing his shoe to place a call, but a man holding a shoe to his ear is something most people would notice! Add to all this the fact that each call required a dime, and Max didn't always have change, and you have a recipe for serious comedy.

Who would pay $39,000 for a 47 year old shoe? You might be surprised. The item was placed on EBay with a "Buy It Now" option, and sold within a couple of days. There is fierce competition for memorabilia from Get Smart among collectors. This shoe phone, like many other props from the show, was purchased from Ellis Props in Hollywood, California when the company liquidated its assets in the late 1990s. It is not the only shoe phone in existence, as there were others made for the show to serve in certain situations. Had this prop been the only one of its kind left, the selling price would have undoubtedly been much more.

Seeing a vintage prop bring this kind of money should give one pause for thought. Though most people do not have access to television and movie props, they do have easy access to various collectible items that are manufactured to entice fans of certain current television series and movies. Lunch boxes, posters, key chains, books, t-shirts, photos, magazines, dolls and more, plus anything with an autograph are all easy enough to obtain from EBay or even places such as Target and Walmart. The astute fan should consider the possibility that items that can be purchased relatively cheaply today may be worth quite a bit of money in the future. The tricky part is deciding just what items may be the most collectible. It's a bit of a gamble, sort of like playing the stock market, but, like buying and trading stocks, there is a lot of money to be made in vintage collectibles. What you buy today for $25 could easily be worth 10 times that much in ten or fifteen years. It's almost a sure thing that the talented person who originally built the prototype for the Get Smart shoe phone had no clue that his creation would one day sell for nearly $40,000.00! With a little thought and planning, you can build up a collection of items from your favorite show or movie that you could easily turn into a good sum of money later in life. You'd get the enjoyment of searching for and collecting the items, enjoying ownership for a time, then when the price is right - Sell!

Vintage collectibles can be a fun and easy way to build a nest egg. Young people would do well to consider this option for their future.