How much my item worth?
This is the question I get answered most often from individuals who reach out to me. Most times it is someone who has found something at a yard sale, flea market, or inherited a collection. The short answer is it depends!
The value of any collectible is generally determined by the following key factors:
Rarity - are there many of these around?
Demand - how many collectors want it? Just because it is rare doesn't mean it is in demand.
Age - truly vintage items with genuine age are generally more desirable.
Condition - this one is obvious, the better the condition, the more desirable it is all other factors remaining the same.
Desirability - they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is also the same for cigarette packaging.
Competition - this is not exactly the same as demand. For example there may not be many collectors who really want this, but if two or three determined bidders at any given auction just happen to come across the same item that is desirable to them it could result in a bidding war that ends up in the price sky-rocketing. I call this the trigger-happy phenomenon that comes with any auction where there is competition between two or more bidders.
Market conditions - a new fad, or social media buzz could swing the value of an item significantly. An economic depression or rising costs of living might also affect the price a collector is willing to pay for an item. There are many more market conditions that may also play a role!
A general rule of thumb.........
Most of the items I see are classed in what I call the 'modern' period. For American items I generally use 'modern' to describe items that are post 1955 - when the tax stamp in it's early form was abolished. The few exceptions the modern period packages are worth a few dollars each, maybe US$ 10 - 20 for the rarer ones, maybe US$ 20 - $30 for an exceptional item on a good day. Whole cartons maybe US$50-100. Of course this depends on the brand, some people buy them to smoke them and may pay more.
Anything like labels, empty boxes in the 'modern' period are worth even less. Now of course there are exceptions to this. But in over 20 years of collecting, I can't remember many items from the 1960s and beyond that I would want to pay more than US$50 for.
Without being an expert you can tell the more modern items because the packages have things like bar codes on them, surgeons warnings, and for the really modern stuff the graphic health warnings. So if you see any of these things on cigarette packaging it is likely they are not worth a lot.
Of course, if you think you have something that comes from the earlier period, then do contact me and I would be happy to help!