We had a friend from the west coast visited us this past week. While Laurie had to work, I took the friend to two antique malls. Our friend had been a dealer, but is inactive, he will pick up items for friends.. In one of the antique malls he found a checkers game from cereal company. (I forget what company.) I normally don’t do antique malls as I rarely find anything. This time I found a bag of Marx birds. I looked the price and found no price I complained out loud and suddenly heard a voice from next booth, it was the dealer for the booth. He came over and gave a price. I felt it was fair and purchased the item
Later we took our friend out to a local diner. He ordered a grill cheese sandwich with tomato which he said was half the price he had seen in New York City. Laurie and I ordered a chef special which included soup, salad bar, main course, one vegetable and small desert. We like going to diners as we feel get a better value than a fast food places.
For those interested on my health progress, I have finished my rehab. I looked forward to it three days a week. I have started to work out at a local gym. I am keeping my weight down. I am at a weight I was in college.
When I was at one of the antique malls, I noticed that there were a number of empty spaces. When this antique mall opened there was a waiting list to get in as a dealer I talked to one of the dealers and he told me that business was off and he was reducing his presence from two booth to one. The other antique mall had all of its spaces taken.
Laurie and I did the Hart Toy Show in Maryland, The ride to the show is nice and we can stop back at some food places in the Amish country we like. We arrived at the show an half hour after it opened and we could see it was already done. The crowd was sparse and several dealers were missing. Worse the quality of material was down I got a few items for resale and Laurie got a ceramic dinosaur for her collection. We to talk to people and friends we know, which made the trip worthwhile. One of the people we talked to was Jim McGough of CTS. We caught with Jim on how he was doing and remembering the good old days. After about two hours, we left to head home.
Speaking of the good old days, if you want to hear about the early days of the hobby get the latest issue of Playset Magazine There is a great article on the beginnings when you could buy Untouchable playsets for $25.00 mint sealed. It was a fun time for those who were apart of it. A time that will never come again.
Ref. your last paragraph: Yes, the article on recollections of people in the early days of the Marx plastic figure & playset revival (early 1980s) was quite interesting. Since I myself missed that first wave, I find it quite interesting to read about it today. “A time that will never come again”? Undoubtedly you’re right. But prices are already declining. You can see it at the shows. It is reflected in people like me, at age 63. A few years ago, I was still in the buying/acquisition stage for toy soldiers. Today, my buying has declined substantially, and my thoughts turn to ultimately selling, not increasing, my collection. I’m not there yet, but when it happens, I see no one on the horizon who will take my place as a buyer. Translation: I think demand, and hence prices, will continue to drop.
Don
I agree prices are going down on most items. There are many factors age of the people interested in it, reissues, other interests etc. I buy very little for myself these days. I got my number one want the Speedwell armor car on fire years over ten years ago. Most items I get are from junk boxes I buy. I will buy some of the new items but I do not have time for looking or playing with them.
Perhaps if the prices keep going down people that otherwise didn’t want to spend the outrageous prices will start purchasing. Eventually, as time erases us from the hobby and the memories of the toys we so loved erodes over time, a new generation could step up and relive those days of yesteryear. Maybe the purchasers will be the sons or grandsons of current collectors who have reached the stage in their life where they have become nostalgic. Or maybe not.
ED B
I agree on your thoughts, I would add to that we are getting people who are buying from the internet. I am getting people on EBay that have not ever been to a show because of time or there are no shows in their area.
Its too bad I didn’t get back into collecting until the late 80’s, prices were already ridiculous by then. As far as future collectors, I don’t know, Once these figures reach 100 years old, they won’t just be vintage figures.
Ed
I was lucky when I got in. I got in early as we went to flea markets and farmers markets after I learned to drive. (My parents did not drive. My mother due to her eye sight, My father felt he did not have to drive.) I got pick some things cheap and got to the auctions from the Marx warehouse It was fun.
True, E-Bay has taken a bite out of the show traffic, on the other hand as you mention E-Bay has opened up the hobby to almost every spot on the globe. It’s a mixed bag, it’s less expensive to sell on E-Bay, no travel, no room expense, but then you miss out on the friendships you develop and the searching for deals. To me anyway, shows make the hobby more fun. I still enjoy going to the shows I attend, and until that time where it is no longer fun for me I will continue to go to the shows.
Moving from Indiana to Florida in 1974 put me out of the loop. I collected railroad antiques (keys, locks, lanterns etc…). I did about 8-10 RR shows a year and about 1980 I almost had a heart attack when I found a grocery bag full of Marx civil war stuff at a train show for $10. They had been my favorite toy as a kid. Later at another train show I bought a copy of TOY SHOP a large newspaper like magazine and saw an ad for PFPC which also stunned me. “You mean there are other people who like Marx playsets?”. I subscribed asap, I think my first issue was number 7 or 8 and I quickly got the back issues and am still at it. Due to the winter months I would say the Northeast through the midwest group of states had by far the majority of playset sales in the 50s-70s. Florida was not as populated in those years and the economy was not robust so there is a lot less to find down here. I used to hit a couple of flea markets that “snowbirds”(people who came down for the winter months from up north) would set up at and got a lot of boxed playsets for $20-30 each in my early years (late 80s early 90s).