Check sold prices, not asking prices
Anyone can ask any price. What a toy is worth is what someone recently paid for the same version in the same condition. On eBay you can filter a search on sold items. Compare like with like: loose with loose, boxed with boxed, complete with complete.
What decides the price
- The exact version. Many toys were made for years in several versions, colours and countries. A first release, a short run or a version sold in only one country can be worth many times the common one.
- Completeness. For action figures, the weapons and accessories are often worth as much as the figure. A figure with everything it came with sells for clearly more than the figure alone.
- The box. An original box or card lifts the price, and unopened packaging lifts it most. A box in good condition matters: crushed corners, tears and price stickers count against it.
- Condition. Paint wear, sun fading, yellowed plastic, loose joints, missing hair or chewed parts lower the price. For plush, the original tag and clean fur matter.
- Does it work? For electronic toys such as Furby, Tamagotchi or talking toys: a working toy is worth clearly more than one that does not, and battery corrosion counts heavily.
- Demand. Interest follows nostalgia, films and series. A brand that is popular again can rise quickly, and fall again.
The year on the toy is not always the year it was made
The year stamped on the foot or back of a toy, next to the brand, is usually the copyright year of the design. The same toy may have been made years later. Packaging, colour details and the country of manufacture often tell more about the real version.
Signs of a reproduction
Some popular toys are reissued or copied. Fresh, bright plastic on a toy that should be forty years old, a missing or blurred copyright stamp, unusual colours or a stamp with a later year can point to a reissue or a copy. Reissues are worth much less than originals.
What we look at
When you send us photographs, we look at the same things: the exact version, what is included and missing, the box, the condition and what comparable pieces sold for. You get one offer for each piece, or one price for the whole lot. Rare pieces we price by hand within one working day.