I wanted to make a general post about something I've noticed while researching older Diddl items, because I keep seeing comments saying that “Diddl prices are going down” or that there isn't really a collector market anymore. I think that seriously oversimplifies how collectibles work.
Collectors generally aren't just looking for “something with Diddl on it.” They're looking for specific characters, designs, colors, variants, production periods, discontinued pieces, unusual packaging, complete sets, condition, and items that are genuinely harder to find.
Two things can both be Diddl stationery and have completely different levels of scarcity, desirability and value. Finding something similar doesn't automatically establish the value of a different variant. You have to identify the exact item first.
I actually learned this firsthand while researching some of my own older Diddl items. After exhausting the usual searches and struggling to find appropriate comparisons for one particular item, I contacted Diddl Studio directly. I received a response from them specifically describing my item as rare.
That doesn't mean every old Diddl item is rare or valuable. It does demonstrate why it's a mistake to dismiss something simply because other Diddl merchandise is inexpensive. Even within Diddl itself, there are items and variants that are significantly less common than others. And scarcity, completeness, condition and collector demand can absolutely affect value.
With Diddl being produced and promoted again, there's also an important distinction between readily available new merchandise and surviving pieces from the original production era. Renewed interest doesn't magically make every old sheet of stationery valuable, but it can bring new and returning collectors into the hobby, some of whom will naturally start searching for older designs and variants that can no longer be purchased new.
That's really the point: collectors research variants, not just logos. A €50 sale for one Diddl set doesn't automatically make every Diddl set worth €50 any more than one common version of any other collectible establishes the value of every variation ever produced.
And if anyone here has older Diddl pieces they can't identify, I'm genuinely happy to help research them. 😊 I research antiques and collectibles of all kinds, from century-old cash registers and porcelain vases to historical artifacts, Cobalt porcelain dining services and, apparently now, the wonderfully enormous rabbit hole that is Diddl. 😂
If you've got an unusual Diddl item, variant, package or complete set and can't figure out exactly what it is, feel free to show me. I can't promise that something is rare or valuable before researching it, but I can help look for the exact item, period catalogs, comparable examples and other evidence instead of dismissing it because something vaguely similar happens to exist.
And who knows? Some people who have assumed for years that their old Diddl collection isn't worth much might discover they have a variant that's considerably more interesting than they realized.
I've attached my more specific items. The photo album is named RARE feom the diddl studio ITSELF. The Keychain is DISCONTINUED and the stationary is also uncommon as I have yet to find and EXACT match. Thank you all!