Do you know how to find the best place to sell your He-Man toys? While several options exist, especially now that several online options are available, not every place will give you the same value. While you may get a great price in some options, those same options come with risks and time investments that you may not expect. Luckily, you do not need to look for this place on your own.
At Wheeljack’s Lab, we are in the business of buying vintage toys and action figures. Transformers, He-Man, GI Joe, ThunderCats, and more. With over 20 years of experience, we have seen it all and know what it takes to sell any kind of toy collection. If you want to sell your vintage toys for cash, we are here to help. Read on to learn how to determine the general value of your collection, and how to find the best places to sell He-Man toys.
Before searching for the best place to sell He-Man toys
Before finding a place to sell your He-Man toys, you will want to take a few steps to prepare. Doing your homework will help you get a better price for your collection.
Ownership and identification
It is a lot easier to organize and identify the He-Man toys in your collection if you are the original owner of the collection. This is every truer if you have an enormous collection with multiple versions of the same characters. Even if you are not the original owner of the toys, there are steps that you can take to easily evaluate the collection. So, do not feel dissuaded if you do not know much about the He-Man toys.
If you are not familiar enough with the toys to identify what lines they belong to, please get in touch with us via email and we can help you out with more detailed advice.
Organize your He-Man toy collection.
The first thing you will want to do before deciding on a place to sell your He-Man toys is organizing them based on the brand and toy line. If you are the original owner of your collection, that should be straightforward. Brands are usually easy to distinguish, although sometimes it may be a little tricky to tell certain lines apart. Vintage toys can be fragile, so be careful as you are going through your collection and sorting it out. Once you have identified each item, you can move on to valuing them.
Assessing your He-Man collection’s value
Once you have identified each of the He-Man toys in your collection, you can estimate the value of each of them. The best way to do this is by heading to eBay and searching for sold listings for each toy. Do not look at active listings, because the asking prices are not going to give you the real picture. Sold listings will show what buyers are willing to pay for the toys you are selling.
You will still see a range of prices for each toy. This is because the condition is critical when it comes to the value of vintage toys. Collectors will pay more for toys that are in pristine condition. Key factors are whether the toy has all its accessories, the presence of the original box, or the cleanliness of the toy. A toy in a clean, unopened box will fetch the highest price, while one that is damaged or missing parts will not be worth much. While it may be difficult to make a direct comparison between your toys and the listings you are referencing, you will be able to get a general idea of the value of the toys in your collection.
Condition and cleanliness
Depending on the toy storage location and method, they may be dirty or damaged. While minor wear and tear on toys is not a dealbreaker, it will be difficult to find a buyer for toys that have been damaged by rodents, insects, or pets, so take note of any serious issues as you are going through your collection.
Cleanliness and general condition, as we have mentioned, are significant factors in the value of a collection. If your toy storage was in an open box in an attic or basement, it will be quite dusty. For instance, cigarette smoke can discolor and stain the plastic. Sunlight also discolors plastic or even causes plastic deterioration over time. High heat and humidity can also damage plastic toys. There are some things you can do to improve discoloration—check out this article to learn more.
Finding the best place to sell He-Man toys.
It is not hard to find a place to sell vintage toys, but the variety of options means you will have to figure out what option is right for you. When you are deciding on a place to sell your He-Man toys, you will want to consider a few distinct factors: how much effort you are willing to put into selling your toys and how quickly you want to get the collection out of your home and the cash in your pocket. If you put in a lot of work selling each toy separately on your own, you can get a higher value, but it is very time-consuming and may end up not being worth the effort. Here is an overview of the various places to sell vintage toys.
Local Auction Service
Pros:
The benefit of choosing a local auction house to sell your vintage He-Man toys is that it is simple to use. All you need to do is drive over and set up the auction at the local location. Since they are in driving range, you do not need to pack or ship your toys.
Cons:
Unfortunately, when you use an action house to sell your He-Man toys you are dependent on their schedule and the whims of the buyers. They will also take their time in processing your sale. So, you will be stuck waiting for your money. These places will also charge high fees for their services. Additionally, you may not get a great sale price, since it is dependent on whoever shows up for that auction. Meanwhile, if you are not working with a toy specialist, you are likely to receive less than the full value of your He-Man toy collection.
Pawnshop
Pros:
Like an auction house, a local pawn shop makes it easy to sell your collection. You do not have to pack your toys up for shipping, just drop them off. Additionally, they will pay you right away when you sell your He-Man toys to them.
Cons:
On the downside, you will not get full value for your collection. Since they are not experts, they will give you a low quote so that they can be sure to get a decent profit when they resell the toys. These locations know that their customers desire quick cash, so they will pressure you to accept the lowballed price that they offer.
Local Toy Dealer
Pros:
Another available place to sell your He-Man toys is a local toy shop. If you have a shop with a good report from the Better Business Bureau, you will not need to worry about your sale. They will pay you quickly, without additional fees. Overall, you will get a better rate than you would at a general pawn shop.
Cons:
When you sell your He-Man toys to a local toy dealer, you still will not be able to get close to the full value of your collection. Since they are a reseller, they have got overhead costs to consider. So, they will offer you low prices that will ensure that they can profit from the toy. Especially if you drive up with boxes full of toys, they will pressure you to take their low prices since they know you are not likely to pack your toys back up and leave without a sale. They will also have to do the work of boxing everything up after they go through it.
Online Auctions like eBay
Pros:
Selling online through a site like eBay gives you access to a large potential customer base. Selling directly to collectors also gets you better prices. If you have evaluated your toys with eBay listings, you will have a promising idea of what to expect for your auctions.
Cons:
Of course, you will have to consider whether the additional value you can get out of your collection is worth the time you have to put in. You must prepare photographs, write descriptions, and monitor listings for each of your toys. You cannot be sure of the outcome of any auction, and then you will have to deal with shipping. There are also fees to consider since sites like eBay ask for about 10% of the sale in fees. Finally, you must accept returns to sell on these sites.
Online Swap Pages Facebook and Craigslist
Pros:
The alternative to auction websites is listing your toys for sale on Craigslist, the Facebook Marketplace, or other comparable sites. You get many of the same benefits, a large audience, and the potential for competitive prices. It is also simple to use these sites and unlike eBay, you will not pay additional fees.
Cons:
On the other hand, you will still have all the downsides of doing it all yourself. Additionally, there is more risk of fraud with no access to customer support. Worse, you will open yourself up to privacy issues since you may either arrange meet-ups or directly share personal information. It can also take a long time to find buyers, especially if your forum is a subset of larger site. You may have to deal with people who just want to look with no intention of buying, which is a waste of your time.
Online Toy Dealer
Pros:
Finally, you can work with an online toy dealer. Unlike the other online options, this is fast and convenient. Online toy dealers, like Wheeljack’s Lab, will quickly give you a quote for your toys. You will receive your payment within a week of setting up your sale with us. Even better, dealers like us will offer to pay for your shipping costs, which leaves even more money in your pockets.
If you have any concerns at all, you may check with the Better Business Bureau to verify that the dealer is in good standings.
Cons:
Since an online dealer will be reselling their purchases, you will not get the full value of your collection. However, you will often get a better quote than you would from a local place.
Wheeljack’s Lab the Best Place to Sell Vintage He-Man Toys
If you have read through this article, you know that selling vintage toys can be a very time-consuming process, between organizing and cleaning everything and then managing the sales. If you have a vintage He-Man collection that you would like to sell, we can help. Get in touch with us by calling 888-946-2895 or sending us an email.
Wheeljack’s Lab is a well-known vintage toy buyer that has been doing business for over 20 years, and we have many years ahead. We provide same-day quotes for toys, fast communication and payment, and prepaid shipping. We will even work with you to pick up your collection if that is necessary.
We work hard to provide the best customer service whether we are buying or selling. We would love to work with you to find new homes for your vintage toys.
Do you have old and used He-Man toys?
If you have a collection of old and used toys, you can turn those toys into cash. There is no reason to let those old toys collect dust. Contact us today to sell your He-Man toy collection.
Our professional, friendly, and expert staff have decades of experience as collectible toy buyers. If you are ready to sell your collection today, fill out the form below or call us at 888-946-2895.
About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!
Still not convinced to sell your He-Man toys with Wheeljack’s Lab
If you are not already convinced that Wheeljack’s Lab is the quintessential place to sell your He-Man toys to, just look at only a small sample of the toys that we have sold and bought:
