Many people may own incredibly valuable toys without even realizing it. These toys stored away in an attic, basement, or garage from years ago may hold a high value. Have you ever wondered why some toys are worth thousands while others are worth just a few dollars? There are many things that factor into the value of toys. Some vintage toys rise in value significantly over the years while others do not. Similarly, two toys exactly the same may be worth different amounts.
Toy collectors, buyers, and sellers alike do what they can to master this skill of seeing what items are high in value. They are able to differentiate between toys to get the most value. They search the internet and toy markets to find the exact valuable toy they desire for their collection. Likewise, those buying and selling toys search around to see just how they can get the highest value for their old toys. Follow along in our blog with us as we go through the different factors of why some toys are worth thousands.
Join Us in Seeing Why Some Toys Are Worth Thousands
Continue following along in our blog with us as we dive into the factors that make toys incredibly valuable. These factors include rarity, condition, market demand, early editions and prototypes, grading, release date, nostalgia, material, and brand name. Every single one of these plays a role in the value of a toy. Join us as we dive into each factor.
Rarity
First up on our blog of seeing why some toys are worth thousands, we have the factor of rarity. Rarity plays a big role in the value of toys. Limited production toys and those discontinued all fall under this category. Also, any other hard to find toys fall under this category. Since rare toys are hard to find, many of these sky rocket in value. These scarce, limited production toys often cause the demand to go up as well as the collector value. The fewer the amount of the produced toy, the more collectors desire these items. Rare limited edition toys are therefore highly sought after. Some limited edition toys such as certain Funko-Pops, Hot-Wheels, LEGO sets, Star Wars action figures, special edition Barbies, and others may rise up in value to thousands of dollars.
Some collectibles that flopped commercially also rise in value even years and decades after. Sometimes when these toys initially flop at their release, they become highly sought after and popular years later. Many of these manufacturers stop production after they see the lack of success from the toy line. This keeps the amount of toys released scarce and with the unique toy line many collectors admire these initially flopped toys.
Condition
Next up we have the condition of the toy. This factor plays the biggest role in why some toys are worth thousands. Even if someone owns the rarest toy or collectible, it won’t hold high value at all if it’s in terrible condition. Toys remaining in their factory sealed, unopened packaging automatically hold higher value. However, some loose toys also hold a high value if they remain in good condition. Toys easily show damage and wear over time. This includes any yellowing on bubble packaging, water damage, paint chipping, bending, breaking, fading, dust, and missing parts. Sunlight, heat, and oxygen also affect the condition of the toy greatly. The clear plastic on bubble packaging often turns yellow and brittle from heat and sunlight exposure.
Along with this, even if toys are just left on a shelf, they often collect dust which causes damage over time. High build up of dust erodes any adhesive stickers and can even scratch paint on items over time. Even if a toy remains in close to perfect condition, any fading, paint chips, or water damage affects the overall value immensely. Therefore, toys in excellent condition, without damage, in their original sealed packaging, show the highest value and can sky rocket to thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars depending on the item.
Market Demand
The next undeniable factor for why some toys are worth thousands is the market demand. Without demand from toy buyers, these items will not hold the high value even if it remains in perfect condition. Demand from buyers can drive up the value of a toy in very short amounts of time. Along with this, however, a lack of demand for a toy keeps these prices low no matter the rarity or condition of the item. Toys from pop culture moments, movies, television shows, and games may offer a strong demand when the corresponding media released with it.
Toy buyers often look for certain items at the same time so when the demand for a specific toy goes up, the price goes up as well. For example, the late 1990s saw a “Beanie Baby craze” where the demand for Beanie Babies went up. Toy collectors looked for certain ones and some even sold for thousands of dollars. This happens with different items at different times. Also, with the resurgence of some franchises, many old toys become popular again and rise in value with new media releases.
Early Editions and Prototypes
Another factor to consider are early editions and prototypes. This factor goes along with the rarity factor as they represent limited availability. However, these often feature special characteristics and give buyers a peek into the design process. Especially with prototypes, some of these unique designed toys that didn’t reach full production rise up to thousands of dollars. With these early editions and prototypes, they also give a glimpse into the history of the toy’s design as well as the process of what the toy goes through to get to it’s release appearance. Many collectors and toy buyers appreciate the early and incomplete look on these toys. They search out items that were not yet carried through to completion to add to their collection. Collectors search out these unique items which makes their value increase also due to the rarity of the items.
Grading
Grading also adds to why some toys are worth thousands. Toy grading services provide a professional assessment on the condition of toys. They give a standardized grade on high quality, mint toys to help buyers and sellers know a more specific evaluation on the condition of the items. Some toy grading companies include the CGA (Collectible Grading Authority), CAS (Collector Archive Services), and CGC (Certified Guaranty Company). These companies have provided good, trustworthy services to help buyers and sellers feel confident in the toy’s condition. Along with this, buyers often look for items with specific grades from services they trust to add to their collection as an investment. Many people pay up to thousands of dollars for items they desire for their collection, with a lot of graded items seeing these prices.
Another benefit to grading and why some toys are worth thousands goes into the packaging through the grading process. Grading not only means the toys get assessed by professionals but they also return back to the owner in sealed acrylic packaging. For buyers, sellers, and toy collectors, these acrylic cases prove to keep the toy in it’s good condition. The acrylic allows the toy to be seen entirely as well as keeping it away from dust and water damage. The cases also provide some UV protection, keeping any bubble packaging from yellowing fast over time and causing colors to fade. One reason people pay thousands for some graded toys lies in the fact of the items keeping their condition rather than sitting on the shelf open to damage.
Release Date
The release date also plays a big role in the value of toys. Yes, the condition plays a huge role, however, if the toy remains in good condition and it released at an early date, the toy’s value often goes way up. If the toy re-released at a later date, buyers often search out those original toys for the quality and nostalgia. Also, if an item released for a certain franchise people might search out toys for a specific time period they represent. Demand also plays a role to the date of a toy. Collectors may look for toys from a certain time period at the same time, thus increasing the demand and prices.
The early releases of toy lines prove to often rise in value, especially those from decades ago. Those toys that released in short run toy lines or limited edition lines see great value today since most of the toys fail to stand the test of time. Old toys often go through decades of wear and damage so it remains harder and harder for people to find these old toys in good condition today. When collectors find these old toys in good condition, they often hold high value from the rarity, nostalgia, quality, and more.
Nostalgia
Do you ever remember a toy from your childhood and just wish you saw it again and played with it like in the past? Nostalgia stands as one of the main reasons some toys are worth thousands for this reason. Certain toys people remember from their childhood hold high value from the demand of those toys. Nostalgia causes emotional connections to items and memories from the past. When people remember a television show, movie, or time they played with a toy, these memories attach onto the items. The memories come flooding back when someone sees the toy again and remembers the days of the past. This stands as one reason people often pay premium prices for those cherished toys.
Along with this, the nostalgia allows people to remember some toys better than others. People played with certain toys as a child and remember the quality of the items, standing the test of time, and invest in those they loved. People see those toys as better and more desirable which drives up the prices. They also don’t compare prices as much for nostalgic items since they simply see a toy they want and pay even thousands for that item.
Material
The material of an item sometimes changes over time with new toys releasing. For example, the material of hot wheels changed over time with the metal changing to a plastic base and paint change as well. Though these changes don’t always affect the overall quality of an item, collectors pay high prices for the original products. Also, some action figures rereleased in later years appearing the same or similar but to collectors these new items hold less value than the older original items. The quality also does change over time for many items that rerelease. Some come out in cheaper materials to mass produce more or simply when new materials are used more often, they begin mass producing with those rather than the materials used in years past.
Rarity also plays a factor here with people searching out limited edition or old toys of a certain material no longer in production. Some action figures and dolls may appear a certain way because of the material used. For example, the painting plays an impact as well as the material of the clothing and accessories. Some older toys use materials to include special features for the items. For example, the original rocket launching Boba Fett now holds an extremely high value. Due to the later released ones no longer holding the ability to launch the rockets, the original figures rise significantly in value compared to the others.
Well Known Brands
Last up on our blog of seeing why some toys are worth thousands, we have the factor of well known brands. Some brands hold an impact on the value of items. This stands strong since lesser-known brands often don’t rise to popularity for many reasons. Well known brands stand the test of time due to their reliability and quality of the items produced. Companies such as Hasbro, Kenner, and Mattel released many toys throughout the past decades that gain greatly in value. These toys hit popularity at the time of their release and caused nostalgia for many people.
Toy buyers, sellers, and collectors alike don’t desire to purchase items known to fall apart. They desire to invest in good quality toys from the past, which rise up to very high prices. Thus, the brand name holds a significant impact on those that remain in good quality. Along with this, many people appreciate brands of their favorite franchise releases. For instance, the brands associated with Star Wars, He-Man, Barbie, and Marvel showed popularity at their release. These loved toys from the companies still remain popular today, making them rise higher in value than other lesser-known brands.
Do You Have Old And Used Toys?
If you have a collection of old and used toys, you can turn those toys into cash. There is no reason to let those old toys collect dust. Contact us today to sell your toy collection that may be worth thousands.
About the Author
Chris Ingledue is the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. His vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day he works in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year; scouring the internet – like we did the Sears Catalog of yesteryear – for the next great treasure, awaiting the arrival of the postman as if he was Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. For Chris, every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!