Collectible toys are for everyone. Some parents spend hundreds of dollars on branded children’s clothing, but what’s better? Toys that hold their value and fascinate adults.
Many of us have random items scattered around the house that aren’t being used and have the potential to be incredibly valuable. Could you be sitting on a gold mine and not know it? Read on to discover what collectible toys are still worth holding onto or which ones can make you money.
Furby
Value: Up to $1,000
According to Good Housekeeping, an early version of Furby in the unopened box can fetch up to $900.
The furry, talking toy was launched in 1998, much to the annoyance of many parents. Furbies weren’t exactly cheap back then either. Demand pushed the price of this “It” toy up to around $100, according to AOL.com. Tiger Electronics relaunched the toy in 2012, reviving interest in Furbies.
Boomboxes of the 1980s
Value: Up to $1,600
Today’s kids might not even know what a boombox is unless they’re hipsters whose fondness for vintage items has boosted the value of things like 1980s boomboxes. The boombox trend of the ’80s paved the way for portable cassettes and CD players by personalizing music consumption.
According to appraisal experts, a Retro Boombox Ghetto Blaster can sell for as much as $1,600 today. Of course, no one needs a boombox since the invention of smartphones that do almost everything already. But there was a time when the streets from New York to Tokyo were lined with young people lugging around these heavy gadgets and pumping them up to their favorite songs.
Tamagotchi
Value: Up to $4,000
You’ll be surprised that interest in Tamas (short for Tamagotchi) remains high. The egg-shaped digital pet was launched in Japan in 1996 and in the US in 1997. The Tamagotchi sold for $15 to $18, and today the original Tamas cost a lot more.
An original Badai red and white Tamagotchi made circa 1996 or 1997 is listed on eBay as of April 2022 for $4,000. Other original Tamas on the e-commerce site are also offered at exorbitant prices. An authentic white and green Tamagotchi retails for $2,000, and an ultra-rare white Tama sells for $1,629.99.
Game Boy
Value: Up to $8,000
Collectors are more interested in old Game Boys that are boxed or released in a limited edition. For example, a Nintendo Game Boy Color Pokemon Center Hong Kong Limited Edition Pikachu sells for about $8,000 in its original, unopened packaging.
This adds to its insane monetary value. Launched in 1989, the Game Boy quickly became the must-have toy worldwide. According to the National Museum of American History, it combined aspects of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) with other handheld games.
How to Choose Which Toys to Collect
Look for toys that have an established community already engaged with toy collecting. There are more toy collectors in the world than you might think at first glance, and many of them have built communities around particular lines of toys. These include old Star Wars and Star Trek toys, Barbie Dolls, G.I Joe, Transformers, and He-Man toys. Other toys to watch out for include:
- Marionettes
- The Simpsons figures
- Skylanders
- Original Minecraft toys
- Fisher-Price Imaginest figures
- Playmobil buses, airplanes, and campers
- Walt Disney games
- Old wooden toys
- Vintage Barbies
The toy lines for these franchises are rare enough to make looking for toys at a good deal a challenge but not rare enough that an amateur wouldn’t be able to amass a sizable collection.
Buying and Selling Collectible Toys
Do you need your toy collection appraised? Not everything old is also a collectible antique with a corresponding value, and it’s our job to recognize this. Call LAWSON & CO at 317-745-6404 to determine how much your toy collection is worth.
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