Collectible Toys for Christmas

Christmas is a great time for children to receive toys. But for the adult, you can reach that inner child by shopping for collectible toys from your childhood years. The hunt for that special toy that was your favorite as a child can be very exciting to the collector. Some of the best places to purchase collectible toys are at toy shows, auctions, EBay, and flea markets. Even yard sales can reveal rewarding finds for the collector if he/she is persistent enough. Out of all of these, toy shows are by far the best way to purchase your antique and collectible toys. At toy shows, you can talk to knowledgeable dealers who know what they are selling and you get to see, touch, and examine the collectible toys before purchasing.

Serious collectors who regularly attend toy shows and such selling events know the importance of showing up early in hopes of finding their specific, collectible toys. These collectors are willing to pay the additional entrance fee, which can range anywhere from $5 - $15 more than regular show admission, so that someone else doesn't beat them to their find!

There are many types of collectible toys that are offered for sale, specifically at toy shows. Dealers will have many tables filled with tempting items such as Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Barbie, comic books, Winross, NASCAR, G.I. Joe, Star Wars items, Pez, and board games. Some of the most popular items seem to be old, metal cars and trucks made by Hubley and Marx, and old Hess trucks from the 1960's through the early 70's. Train items, specifically Lionel, are also big collectible toys that seem to move quickly from dealers' tables.

Who would have ever thought that items your parents paid $1 - $2 for all those years ago would now be worth anywhere from $50 to thousands! What you will pay for your favorite collectible toy really depends on the current economy. When things in the market are down, collectible toy prices will also be down - this is the best time to buy. Barbie is a great example of the market fluctuation prices. Back about eight or nine years ago, the 1988 Holiday Barbie (which retailed at that time for $19.99) was selling anywhere from $600 and up. Now you can pick up a 1988 Holiday Barbie for $200. The 1988 Holiday Barbie was the first in a 10-year holiday series by Mattel.

Different exhibitors hold toy shows monthly all over the United States. There are toy shows for just about any type of collectible toy you can imagine. Toy Shop is a monthly publication that deals specifically with collectible toys and they have a listing of all of the toy shows, with the types of collectible toys that will be sold.

Once you attend a toy show, you can get a heads up on upcoming shows there are well. Dealers and exhibitors will have on hand flyers for upcoming shows that they are wanting to promote.

Collectible toys as a Christmas gift will offer a ton of sentimental value to that special someone on your list. Now I need to go and find out where that next toy show is….