Looking for some extra cash for the holiday season? Have a look in the attic , back of the closet or in an old trunk your favourite toy you saved could be the answer to your money woes. (probably not but you never know)
Here are a few examples of classic toys that are worth a lot more now than when they first went on sale.
The Original Lite-Brite Is Now A $300 Buy
Debuting in 1967, the Original Lite-Brite sold for just $10. Now you can get a 3000% return on that investment! It was a simpler time in 1967 and children didn’t need an iPad to be amused.
The $20,000 Barbie In A Swim Suit
f you have the holy grail of Barbies, you could afford to buy a new car with the sale of the unique doll. A first edition Barbie with the classic black-and-white striped swimsuit is now worth up to $20,000 at auction. Not bad for a doll that cost just $3 when it debuted in 1959.
The ‘Adam Bomb’ Garbage Pail Kids Card Is Worth $4,000
If you were lucky enough to get your hands on an “Adam Bomb” card and you’ve kept it for all these years, it’s now worth around $4,000. Even less rare cards can still bring in upward of $700 each. If the cards are in their original packaging, they can be worth even more money.
The Cabbage Patch Kid ‘Adoption’ Fee Has Gone Way Up
In 1984 you could purchase a Cabbage Patch Kid for an “adoption fee” of $40. The dolls started as hand-stitched “sculptures” by Xavier Roberts in 1976 but debuted in a newer form eight years later. If you held onto one of the original 1984 dolls, you could sell it today for upwards of $1,000 in mint condition. The doll was recently re-released but not with quite the same fanfare it received more than 30 years prior.
The 1978 Telescopic Light Saber Darth Vader Is Worth $6,000
In 1978 you could purchase Star Wars toys for $2.49 each. One of those toys is considered a must-have for any serious collector. The telescopic lightsaber Darth Vader toy is worth $6,000 on today’s toy collector market. Only a few hundred of the toys were created by Kenner because the extended lightsaber was considered undesirable amongst buyers.
The $25,000 Luke Skywalker Toy You Need To Own Right Now
We couldn’t possibly talk about Darth Vader without mentioning Luke Skywalker. A mint-condition, still-in-the-box Luke Skywalker toy sold for $25,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2015
Teddy Ruxpin Now Sells For $400
In 1985 you could pick up a Teddy Ruxpin doll for $69.99. The stuffed animal with a built-in cassette recorder was an immediate smash hit among children. The doll remembers who you are, tells stories and even moves his eyes to give a more lifelike appearance.
The Mail Order My Little Pony And A $900 Price Tag
The My Little Pony known as Rapunzel is pink in color and has an incredibly long mane of yellow and gold hair with pink tinsel. You had to mail order this pony then patiently wait for it to arrive. If you went through all of that hassle you are now in possession of a My Little Pony that could fetch up to $900
G.I. Joe Still Matters
G.I. Joe will always find a way to stay relevant. Even if that means making a movie with The Rock and Channing Tatum as the lead actors. The movie franchise was okay, but it’s the toys that are timeless.
And now the Crown Jewel of toys
Meet The $72,000 Hot Wheels Van
When Mattel realized the pink rear-loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb van wouldn’t work on its race tracks, the toy was quickly discontinued. The design is incredibly unique for Hot Wheels, featuring a surfboard sticking out of the back of the toy. To date, only two of these incredibly rare toys have been discovered. Most recently, one of the vans sold for a mind-boggling $72,000 at auction, proving definitively that some people never outgrow their love of childhood memories.
