(13 December 2013) There has been a big increase in the interest for Mandela-related items on www.bobshop.co.za after the news of Nelson Mandela's death was made public early on 6 December 2013.
"It is only to be expected that now, when the inevitable laws of nature have taken the first democratically elected South African president from our midst, people want to have at least a small token as a reminder of the great man", says Bob Shop CEO Jaco Jonker, adding:
"We have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of searches for key words such as Mandela, Mandela coins, Mandela R5. Those are currently the top three searches on the site, with the term Mandela signed not far behind".
In the six days following the passing away of South African icon, the sales of Mandela-related items on the site have increased by more than 65% percent. By far the most popular are the so-called Mandela R5 circulation coins, especially the 2008 birthday coin, as well as silver and gold medallions, followed by a variety of autographed objects.
"Visitors to Bob Shop are not only buying more Mandela-related items; they also seem to be prepared to pay more for them", says Bob Shop CEO.
Between 6 and 12 December, twenty-five items attained prices of over R10,000. About half of them were won on auctions, while the rest were sold at a fixed price. The most expensive were a 2007 Gold Protea Mandela and De Klerk Nobel Peace Prize Winners Set, sold for R47,000, and a 2004 Gold Proof 1oz $500 Mandela Sierra Leone Coin, won on auction for R32,000.
A soccer shirt signed by Nelson Mandela and Lucas Radebe found a buyer for R12,500, while a photograph signed and dated by the former president went for R22,100.
A Mandela for president poster from 1994 elections, though unsigned, fetched as much as R1000 on auction.
bobshop is also experiencing a steady increase of the number of Mandela-related items on offer by sellers on the site. There are currently about 200 Mandela memorabilia items and over 1700 Mandela coins listed. Fifty or so of them have the price tag in the vicinity of, or well over R100,000.
"When someone of such stature passes away, it is only natural that the increased demand for collectibles and memorabilia associated with that personage drives the prices up," says Jaco Jonker.