Do you remember Toy Story? Of course you do! And Toy Story 2 etc ... Well that is about the last time I had to worry about such things as toys, and I don’t mind admitting that having never grown up (didn’t they tell you where the fountain of youth is yet?) I still enjoy good old fashioned toys.
I remember at the time having to buy Buzz Lightyear for a present and I must have rang every Toys R Us shop within 200 miles of my home before finding the local store which had about 5 left. For those unaware, this was purely down to the unbelievable demand of the product which had literally been falling off the shelves. I have never jumped in my car so quickly to ensure that I got that toy on that day and in time to be delivered as requested by that impatient recipient!
Even though I sped down the motorway at neck breaking speed I remained uncertain that they would indeed hold Buzz Lightyear for me as some unscrupulous individual may have time to get there before me and make some sort of private deal with my Toy Story toy! The disappointment would have been unimaginable.
Of course when we got to Toys R Us we found the staff to be both courteous, smiley and most obligingly sympathetic to my cause. Buzz Lightyear, the unexpected Toy Story legend still resides today in his original box with the initial "J" on the bottom of his foot, but he’s in otherwise perfect condition and worth a whole lot more than the amount we paid for him. Good old Buzz.
So, what is a toy, an investment or a play thing?
I was fairly lucky as a child and my Grandmother was a major shareholder in a quite famous store called "Blacklers". If you Google it you’ll probably still find pictures somewhere on the net of the grand old place at Liverpool in the UK. Anyway I digress, as a store owner they were given freebies on occasion by people trying to sell "this and that" to them. One of which, until a few years ago I still had. A small Dinky toy truck which was completely unique with proper rubber wheels and the logos presumably of a salesman’s company "Slumberland" hand painted on the side. Well, this little Dinky hadn’t cost me a penny and I do wish it hadn’t taken such a beating over the years, but in the 1990’s when an antique fair came to my town it took a value of £50 (around $70+) even in its roughed up condition.
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So, my advice to those of you who are not into collecting such things and feel that
toys are
toys and should be enjoyed as such, is to perhaps, without losing its purpose, consider being a little careful with such things. Tips from me are to use the
toy as intended, but store the box or packaging away, it appears that
original toys with original boxes fetch a substantially larger amount of money than
good toys unaccompanied by their packaging, which lose the interest of those purist collectors.
There are names that are more prevelant than others and I think Dinky Toys do fall into that category, but all toys that are good quality are likely to be worth that little extra in the years to come.
A final tip, more relevant than ever in this day and age, is that when somebody gets bored with their
toys and has moved on to the next and latest craze, salvage the
toy and put it back in its original box and then simply go put it away safely in the attic or something. BUT, remember to take out any batteries which over time could not only leak and destroy the toy, but potentially also become hazardous to little people who may be building their latest den in your attic and decide they still want to play with it!
Above all, remember the value of
toys is the smile that they bring, and that’s why to me
toys are ... just
toys!