We’ve all heard stories about a toy you may have had as a child being auctioned or sold for an insanely large amount of money. How do you know if those toys from your youth may be worth a king’s ransom? Here are some words of advice when it comes to buying and selling old toys.
The Value of Vintage Toys
While some toys are marketed as “collectibles,” these are not always what collectors are looking to purchase. Vintage toy value is based primarily on sentimentality and rarity. Vintage toys are loosely defined as the original production of an item that is no longer being manufactured, and which is older than 20 years.
Unused vintage toys in their original, unopened packaging fetch the largest selling prices. While these “mint condition” toys are the most lucrative, there is a market for used toys as well. Despite having been played with, some collectors will accept them as along as they are still in good condition. The most in-demand toys are those that represent pop culture fads. As a result, they may be hard to find as time has gone by.
Vintage Toy Demand
Trey Hunt has an extensive amount of experience purchasing and selling vintage toys. As the owner of the Metro Detroit store WARP 9 Comics & Collectibles, he knows placing value on vintage toys can be a tricky, because there are always different variables to consider. How much something is worth is often dependent on what collectors are searching for (and willing to spend) at any given time.
Trey noted that selling prices also vary based upon the condition of a toy and its completeness. For example, does it have all of its accessories and parts that the toy originally came with? “If you have any toys from the mid-1980s or earlier, whether or not they are in pristine condition, there is probably a collector looking to buy them,” Hunt said. “Some may only fetch you a few bucks, but others can turn out to be very valuable.”
Collectibles
According to Hunt, Mego action figures are popular toys from the ’70s decade that are prized by collectors today because of their rarity. For example, a mint condition Mego Batman action figure was auctioned off for $15,000 just a few years ago.
The Mego Corp. produced 8-inch scale action figures that set the industry standard during the ’70s with “World’s Greatest Superheroes,” “Star Trek,” and “Planet of the Apes” themed toys. Mego fell into bankruptcy in 1982 due in part to the success of competing 3.75-inch scale “G.I. Jor” and “Star Wars” toys that became popular in the 1980s.
Hunt noted that the value of 1980s era 3.75-inch action figures in good shape with all their accessories could be $8 to $12 each, but that there are some very valuable Star Wars ones out there—including the original Kenner mail away promotions, true double extending light saber figures, and a variant of the Snaggletooth character—that can be worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Other popular items his customers are looking for include original die cast Transformers toys from the 1980s and Barbie items from the 1960s and 1970s. “When it comes to Barbie, the doll’s clothing, shoes, and accessories can be worth money on their own,” Hunt added.
Risks of Collectibles
Knowing the most valuable vintage toys are those that are in unopened packaging, should people just start buying and storing toys as a retirement investment to sell off in 20 years? That is a bad idea according to Chad MacDonald, author of the blog The Good, The Chad & The Ugly. For many years, MacDonald was an avid toy collector and reseller who tried get rich by buying and selling toys. Unfortunately, not only did he not make much of a profit in his endeavors, but he found collecting toys can become very addictive. He didn’t want to miss out on anything that could be bought now and might eventually result in a big pay day down the road.
As the boxes of toys he accumulated began to stack up, they overwhelmed his home and started to interfere with his personal life. “Once, I was unable to stop myself from buying action figures when I was on my way to a date,” MacDonald recounted about his compulsion to buy toys. “I showed up to meet her with a bag full of plastic superheroes and not enough money for the movie tickets. Not only didn’t I anticipate how painfully awkward that would be, but how disrespectful and hurtful that was for her. It was showing her that action figures were more important than she was.”
“In life, as with a collection, you should hold on to the most valuable parts, the memories that mean something to you personally,” MacDonald advised. “Your toy collection is not, nor should it ever be, more important than your family, friends, and loved ones. If that is the case, you are no longer collecting, but obsessing.”
Why Play Matters
MacDonald, a father now himself, encourages parents to have their kids rip toys out of their boxes and have fun with them now. Don’t hold onto them hoping they will be worth money some day in the future. Playing with toys creates cherished memories that will be often worth more than gold. These experiences provide a child with the building blocks for developing creativity, imagination, and socialization skills. It will give kids a sense of self that will stick with them throughout life. After all, toys are created to be played with!
MacDonald’s story isn’t meant to dissuade people from reselling used toys. If people never let go of things, everyone’s homes would look like a scene from an episode of the TV show Hoarders. The point is not to count on stockpiling toys as a way to get rich. Nobody has a crystal ball to help them guarantee their collection will be worth any money in the future.
How to Sell Vintage Toys
If you are looking into selling unwanted toys, the first step is to get a valuation, which will determine whether an item might be worth a big price tag or if it might just garner you a dollar or two. Both Hunter and MacDonald recommend checking eBay’s sold listing. You’ll to get a valuation based on what collectors are actually spending on a particular toy. Don’t check out what people are asking for, but rather what prices toys are actually being sold for. Combining an eBay search with toy listings on Amazon and Etsy can provide a credible way to come up with a realistic valuation for your particular toy.
If it looks like you have a toy that might be worth some money, consider putting it up for sale on eBay or another online auction site. If you don’t want to deal with the complexities of finding a buyer, completing a transaction, and shipping the item, you can also sell the toy to a retailer. A retailer like WARP 9 already has a customer base of people looking to buy these types of things. You’ll make less money than selling it yourself because the store needs to make a reasonable profit when they resell it, but this way saves you a lot of hassle.
Yard Sales and Charities
Often times a toy won’t be worth enough to make it worthwhile to sell it on eBay or through a resale shop. However, you can still make a few bucks and give the toy a new home to a family who will want to get some good use out of it. Try selling it at a garage sale, on Craigslist, or through a mom-to-mom sale. Of course you could always consider donating toys to charity, which will help others and makes you feel good, too. Sometimes a toy will also be priceless and well worth just holding on to.
Toy Nostalgia
My wife’s favorite toy as a child was a Care Bear that she took everywhere with her. For me it was a sturdy, metallic Jeep Transformer named Hound. We’ve passed on both of these toys to our son and daughter who cherish them. Our children are in awe to be playing with the same things mom and dad played with at their age. We’d never sell these toys!
So whether you are looking into selling some old toys or keeping a few around as family heirlooms, it really appears that how much an old toy may truly be worth is based upon the memories people have attached to it.
