Toys can take you back to your childhood days. Your parents probably still remember your shrieks of joy as you played with a toy. You must have always fancied yourself to be a warrior or a hero while making your friend a villain. Over the years, toys have been a central part of our lives, able to whisk us away to a fantasy world full of fun and excitement.
These days, collecting vintage toys is not an atypical hobby. Keeping this trend and interest in mind, collector-oriented retail shops are thriving in cities and towns. Enthusiasts can add on as many vintage toys to their collection as they can. We grow old and our areas of interest move to other stuff like clothes, shoes, or even art, but whenever passing by a toy shop, it’s inevitable to get that nostalgic feeling. For all those who have been looking to grow their collection of vintage toys, here are a few tips to consider to keep your collection’s value high.
1. Set aside a budget
First and foremost, before going out to look for vintage toys, it’s wise to set a budget. Once you will go on collecting vintage toys, you will be expecting to find something different from what you already have. It may cost you a lot. Your hobby of collecting vintage toys can become an impulsive and addictive habit. You don’t want to overspending on vintage toys and lose track of other priorities. So, it is important to allocate your budget accordingly.
2. Save up, then spend wisely
A simple DIY jar can be a great way to set aside a certain amount of money each month for spending on vintage toys. By doing this, you will able to make use of your money effectively and efficiently. Other than this, you can also limit your spending on things other than your areas of interest. So, perhaps you can cut down spending on clothes, shoes or other hobbies?
3. Analyze your collection
If you try to buy everything and too quickly, then ultimately your collection will become clumsy and you’ll overspend without knowing what you’ve bought. The best route is to hone in on your collection. For instance, you could choose an era for your vintage toy collection. You can simply start buying the toys from your favorite movie or series. Analyzing your collection will make things go easy and will allow it to grow organically and keep you interested. Focusing on a particular area at a time can be of great help. For instance, one can pick a specific movie and start collecting toys accordingly. Once you have collected all the toys from that particular movie, you will feel a sense of fulfillment and gratification. When you will be done with this era you can move on to another.
4. Outline and prioritize, then go after it
Collectors may have a hard time identifying what they want. They end up putting questions on social networking sites asking, “I am thinking to buy this vintage toy.” Or “which one do you think would be the best and rare?” Instead of inquiring on social platforms and asking for other people’s advice, you can watch videos and browse for toys on hobby websites. You can simply head out, discover and peruse the shops that specialize in vintage toys. You can’t let others influence you to buy a particular toy when you don’t want it. Prioritizing plays a vital role when you are growing your collection. Another alternative can be making a checklist: You can prioritize what you are looking for and desire to have you in your collection. This way, everything will be clear in your head and you will be able to save money accordingly, by not spending it on other things.
5. Widen your search
Limiting the collection will always be an obstacle in the way of its growth. So, you need to explore and come up with novel sources from which you can collect vintage toys because buying vintage toys from a particular shop or website will not do any your collection any justice. A particular shop might have an ultimate collection in itself but you need to do research and explore new things. Exploring should always be the key element.
6. Patience is a virtue
Rushing is not always the way. You can wait for auctions to come up so that they can invest your money in the right manner. It’s very hard to find vintage toys and one should explore it with enthusiasm and zeal. The collection takes time, so you need to have patience and try to go with the flow. You can’t just end up buying toys just because they are available. If you are eagerly waiting for a specific toy, then by all means – exercise patience! The best way is to save money and keep it stashed, so that you can spend it on the vintage toys that are soon going to launch in the market.
7. Get bargains at auctions – but don’t overpay
People tend to look for individuals who would come and buy things in the auction. It gives everyone opportunities to prioritize their needs. Generally, if you do go to an auction where toys are sold you, will find a lot of people giving away vintage toys. By all means, do grab the deal if you think it’s worth it. It helps to have done research beforehand to avoid paying a premium for an item you can get for less somewhere else.
8. Consider ‘new’ and ‘open box’ vintage toys
When you visit a collector shop in search of vintage toys, you’ll likely come across two types: As new, sealed in original packaging and usually in mint condition; and out-of-the-box. Whether to spend on either the original toy or the open box variety depends on your budget. Here is a pro tip if you do decide to go with a new or mint vintage toy: Double-check that it’s authentic and not a fake or repackaged to look brand new.
9. Cost vs. space consideration
It may be possible that you will end up buying a vintage toy just because it’s a little bit cheaper but you need to ensure whether there is any need to buy it or not. You might not desire to have that toy and soon you will end up trading it or selling it. Even if you keep it, the vintage toy will inevitably take up space in your collection. Space is the biggest concern with collectors – as in, running out of it. You can’t always put your vintage toys in boxes. You should have an area to display and assemble toys. Presentation matters, of course, so one alternative can be to build or buy glass cabinets and display your collection at a place where it will be protected from dust. If you have a large collection, you may have to pare it down to pieces you want to display or rotate.
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