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If you have kids, you likely also have some of their old toys tucked away in an attic or closet. Some of these toys are worth saving, some are worth selling, and some are worth nothing. Read on to learn what to do with this nostalgia-filled “S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): My Kids’ Old Toys” and find out what to do with all those old Lego bricks, American Girl dolls, Thomas the Tank Engine trains, and Pokémon cards filling up your attic.
Parents Can’t Let Go
Why do we hold on to old toys? About 90 percent of the time, parents hold onto the toy for nostalgic reasons. That parent may remember purchasing the toy with their eight-year-old child one day after school as a special treat for having a tear-free day at school, or the toy was a gift from a now-passed relative. Perhaps you even have books with special handwritten notes or inscriptions inside or a custom-ordered plate or stepstool with your child’s name. Some old toys are handmade and especially hard to part with. I have two lovely old dollhouses in my attic that my grandfather made for me that I will probably never part with (although my daughter did redecorate one of them as a house for One Direction). We also have a heavy handmade wooden train set made by another grandfather in the attic that collects dust and was barely ever played with—most children preferred to use the train cars as wall-puncturing projectiles rather than ground-bound vehicles.
For the other 10 percent of the time, the grown child holds on to the toy. Yes, this is a small percentage. Why do folks not hold onto their own childhood toys? Usually, because they move on with their lives into adulthood, and while they may get nostalgic seeing their old teddy bear or toy car occasionally, they have no desire to re-home said object into their grown-up abode. Life moves on, as do the spaces we desire to inhabit and the objects we surround ourselves with. Finally, once those children start having their own children, their homes will begin filling with a whole new round of toys as well.
Keep, Sell, or Donate Old Toys?
All of that said, some of our kids’ old toys are worth saving or selling. The ones worth saving are heavy in sentiment and nostalgia, and the ones worth selling today are simply those with value on the current secondary market. For the remainder of your kids’ old toys, those can be donated or disposed of. However, it can sometimes be hard to find a place that takes old toys; our local Goodwill truck has a “no toy” donation policy. It is worth checking with your town’s recycling center if they can take and recycle large hard plastic items. Don’t forget book donation bins for old books, and perhaps join some local “Everything is Free” online community boards.
For now, let’s take a look at the most common categories in S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): My Kids’ Old Toys:
Dolls
Depending on the brand, it is worth researching the value of your kids’ old dolls. Old-fashioned dolls such as Madame Alexander generally have little value. Despite the initial hefty investment you likely made, American Girl Dolls also do not have great resale value, even the early ones made by Pleasant Company. If you want to pass these on to grandchildren, sending old dolls to the American Girl Doll Hospital is quite fun, though. The company will return the doll to you, spruced up with a fresh hairdo and decked out in a cute hospital gown. Always research old Barbie gear, as even a single vintage Barbie accessory, such as a purse or belt, can fetch hundreds of dollars on the resale market.
Cars and Trains
Old cars and trains can be eyeballed pretty quickly. Most of the Matchbox and Hot Wheels lying around have little value unless they are some of the notorious Hot Wheels Redlines made between 1968 and 1972—check for their signature red circles on the sides of the tires. How about Thomas the Tank Engine trains? As much as you likely paid for them at Toys ‘R’ Us or Target, you won’t make your money back on the secondary market. However, you can sell these old trains in “lots” for a couple hundred dollars. The one Thomas item that sells well these days is the old Peg Perego Ride-On car, but most folks didn’t save it since it was so big. At the end of the day, Lionel trains would have been a better investment than Thomas.
Trading Cards
Trading cards are a vast category in themselves. Due to market saturation, many of the old baseball, football, and basketball cards made in the 1980s and 1990s have little value. These old cards were sold as “collectible,” so everyone saved them, and tons were made. Moving up several years to the late 1990s, kids started collecting Pokémon cards, which are still being made today and can be quite valuable. Don’t chuck your kids’ old binders of Pokémon cards until you’ve given them a proper look-through!
Lego Bricks and Playmobil
If you are still holding on to your kids’ old Lego bricks and Playmobil, I bet you are storing them in colossal plastic bins and don’t know if the sets are complete. Am I right? For these tiny old plastic parts and pieces, you can sell them by the pound on the secondary market for a bit of cash. You must weigh the burden of shipping them, though, and if you find it’s not worth it, you can always sell them on a local marketplace at a lower price for pickup. Keep an eye out for the rare and valuable Mr. Gold, though.
Baby Toys or Stuffies
Do you want to know which of your S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff) My Kids’ Old Toys may surprise you in value? Believe it or not, some of their old baby toys, lovies, and stuffed animals may have significant resale value on the secondary market. Keep an eye out for higher-end brands such as Gund, Jellycat, Aurora, and Squishmallow. The Jellycat Fergus the Frog routinely fetches nearly $1,000 on the secondary market. That’s hoppy news, for sure!
Have other piles and stacks of items you don’t know what to do with? Check out Amy Moyer’s other S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff) topics.
Amy Moyer is the proprietor of Antmuffin: Art, Antiques & Collectibles. She holds a B.A. in Visual Art from Brown University and lives in Boston.
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