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Shopping Advice
From Our Writers

From Doug Kelly, writer of “Toys From the Attic”
on Tinplate Toys

My experience has been that finding antique toys—truly vintage
stuff—in antique shops and co-ops/malls is hit and miss. Really more
miss than hit, because the vast majority of toys for sale in these places
were made in the 1980s and 1990s, and even in the last 10 to 15 years.
That’s not antique, it’s not vintage, and these newer items for the most
part are common-as-dirt and should be priced at just a few dollars.
Usually, these pieces are easily identifiable as new-ish, just look for clues
like the words “Made in China” or things like the EU logo underneath
the toy (or inside a battery compartment).
But be extra careful with cast iron and tinplate toys—many newer
cast-iron pieces have no identifying marks on them, and often they’re
artificially “aged” to look old. One good clue: soft, clean, and supple
tires on a cast iron toy car usually means a newer product (although
these occasionally are put on vintage pieces due to the originals having
crumbled away). And there’s a tinplate friction-powered toy car that’s
become infamous among collectors … made in the 1980s in India by
Amar Toys, it’s called the Minister Delux (with the last “e” missing).
It’s based on Pontiac tin toy cars that were made in Japan in the 1950s,
and it does have a vintage look to it (the box does too). But it’s a repro,
or actually, it’s more accurate to call it a re-creation of original Japanese
tinplate toys. All of which would be fine were it not for the fact that it’s
often passed off as a 1950s original, with a price tag to match … I’ve
seen sellers trying to get $100 to $200 for these things while they claim
it was made when Ike was in the White House. It’s a $20 to $30 toy
with zero collector interest—as it was when it hit the market in the
1980s—so buyer beware if one crosses your path in that antique mall
you’re enjoying on a Saturday morning.

From Jessica Kosinski, writer of “Antiques Peek
and “What’s Selling on eBay” on Action Figures

There are three basic reasons to collect action figures, which are for
use, display, or potential investment value. Use is easy because you can
buy any action figures and play with them, but display or potential
investment is more difficult, as well as usually more expensive.
For best display or investment value, figures usually need to be
sealed in original packages. There is also a grading system to measure
the conditions of IB, IP, or OC (in box, in package, or on card) action
figures. Besides packaging and condition, top priorities should be
choosing sizes, subjects, and general compositions you like. For example,
you might prefer action figures with or without bendable joints.
Certain franchises have highly collectible action figures, especially
Star Wars, Marvel, and Transformers. Often, the earliest of those are
among the most valuable, such as certain early Star Wars figures
produced by Kenner. Rarity of particular figures is important as well.
Most were produced in limited runs. Some are incredibly rare today,
such as the British Palitoy jawa from Star Wars with a vinyl cape, as
opposed to the more common cloth cape. Only a handful still exist.

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