KerryAndGabe.com

We received a huge variety of donations with the over 50 families that donated to our National MS Society yard sale. Some donations were quite interesting. Perhaps the most interesting set of donations that we received were three Emmaljunga products - a Ringo stroller, a Kimi stroller, and a bassinet with stand. All of them were products from the late 80s and early 90s. It took a bit of research to find out what models that I had (and approximately what years that they were from). I found that there are quite a few people who are very excited about these strollers, which surprised me considering the age of them.

I got in touch with a variety of collectors - some who were using the strollers for their babies, some who just liked to collect them. Apparently, Emmaljunga is a very high end brand. I have no idea how much that they cost new considering that I have been able to find very little information about prices (nothing on new strollers). I saw one on ebay that was about 3 years old or so that was going for over $700. The two that I’m selling are still worth $60-150, and they are more than 15 years old! Emmaljunga no longer allows sales to the United States.

I posted a few photos onto the stroller board, and I got several responses about them, identifying the models and years. From this, I learned that the stroller pictured in this blog post is a fairly rare Ringo model from the early 90s. Just by posting a few quick photos, I had one person in Washington state who was very interested in purchasing the stroller and having it shipped to her. I had not even tried to market or sell them yet! I was thrilled that someone was interested in the stroller. Unfortunately, the stroller is huge and shipping it is a bit of a pain. Gabe painstakingly took it apart and packed it very nicely into a very large box. We are hoping that the shipping doesn’t cut too much into the profits for the National MS Society (since I agreed on a price that included shipping).

I asked Gabe to take some more photos of the stroller before he dismantled it, and as he did he learned that the stroller is really quite neat. It has many different ways that it can be configured (and the wheels had mechanisms that allowed it to pop off easily). He took several photos of the various configurations. It rolls very, very nicely, too. One of the enthusiasts on the board was talking about her Ringo and how she can go off-roading over tree stumps and uneven terrain with her stroller and the baby never feels a bump. I guess there’s something to be said for fancy strollers!

Overall, it has been an interesting journey. I have been intrigued by the stroller culture, amazed at how excited people have been getting, and have a bit of appreciation for the merchandise. Will our next baby be strolling around in an Emmaljunga stroller? Probably not! But he or she will probably be drooling if we encounter one on our walks!

Posted by kerry on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 10:06am.
Categories: life.