If you are looking to get the best value for your old Star Wars toys, you need to find the top stores that buy toy collections. If you rush out to the first location that offers to buy your toys, you run the risk of losing out. Unfortunately, even finding a venue that will offer top dollar for your toys may leave you waiting for your money.
No one likes their home cluttered with old, less valuable items. If you think your old toys have outlived their purpose, then you need to find them new homes. Selling your old toys to stores that buy old Star Wars toys like Wheeljack’s Labs is the way to go. Over the last 20 years, we have built a sterling reputation buying toys like Star Wars and others like ThunderCats, Transformers, and many more.
This blog will help you understand the selling process and the various channels you can sell your old toys.
Before you find one of the stores that buy Star Wars toys
The best way to get the most money for your old toys is to be prepared for the sales process.
The benefits of being the original owner.
The ownership status of the toys affects the preparations. For instance, it is easier to sort and prepare the toys for sale if you are the original owner. Otherwise, you may struggle with the sorting, especially in separating the toys according to their manufacturers or knowing which toy has what accessory.
If you are not the original owner, please send us an email, and we will show you how to proceed.
Preparing your Star Wars toys
You cannot get a top dollar for every toy in your collection. The reason is simple – stores that buy Star Wars toys are only interested in certain figure models and brands. So, sort the toys according to the brand. The demand is often higher for the more popular brands compared to the unknown brands. For instance, Star Wars toys will sell faster than C3PO or Han Solo toys. Sorting is a straightforward process if you are the original owner of the complete collection.
Find out the worth of your Star Wars Toys
Having an idea of what your Star Wars Toys are worth before approaching stores that buy old Star War toys is important. There are diverse ways to go about this, but we recommend checking out comparable toy models on eBay. Your focus should be on the recently completed listings and not the active ones. This is because the toys under the completed listings have already sold for the prices quoted. These prices will give you an idea of how much you can get from the sales of your toy collection.
It is easy for the highest sold price to tempt you, but this is counterproductive. Rather, you should consider the changes in pricing. You will see toys selling for $20 and $30 and others selling for $120. Why is this so? The discrepancies are often due to differences in quality, presence/absence of accessories and packaging, the physical condition of the toys, and more. All these factors affect what stores that buy Star Wars toys pay for your collection.
The recommendations above will not give you the exact price of a toy. However, they offer a general idea of what these stores should pay for your collection.
Mint condition toys sell for more.
You are more likely to get top dollar for your toys if they are spotless and in good condition. Contrarily, if mice, pests, or bugs damage your toys, stores that buy these collections will pay you less. Another factor that contributes to the valuation of a clean toy includes storage in a box. Toys in a box are less likely to be damaged. However, even if the boxes are unopened for several years, dust will be coating these toys.
Toy collectors also look out for the color accuracy of these toys. Toys from a smoking home often suffer discoloration, which usually decreases the value of the collection. The exposure of your collection to sunlight is another thing to watch out for. Prolonged exposure often leads to discoloration and a breakdown of the plastic. Also worthy of mention are high heat and low humidity – high heat changes distort the plastic properties, leaving you with sticky or brittle toys.
Are your toys faded or discolored? Not to worry, we have a special guide you can follow to fix these issues.
The Stores That Buy Star Wars Toys
Now that you are ready to sell your toy collection to a reputable store that buys vintage Star Wars Toys, you can save yourself the stress and sell to us. However, there are other ways to turn your vintage toys into money. You only need to find out the worth of your collection and choose the best channel to sell it through, after considering how much time and effort you are willing to put into the entire sales process.
Find below a list of channels and stores that buy old Star Wars toys, alongside the pros and cons of each:
Local Auction Service
Local auction services are available locally and easy to use. Once you arrive at the local auction service, you will file your auction then wait for your Star Wars toys to sell.
However, you will have to deal with the very slow turnaround time and the high fees that come with their services. Also, the sales price is solely determined by the type of buyers you must deal with. In the end, you may not get the best deals except you have a very large collection or working with a specialist.
Pawnshops
Pawnshops offer quick and convenient ways of selling your toys for their ease of use and local availability. To sell your Star Wars toys, you need to drive up to the pawnshop then talk to the staff. After you agree on a price, you will receive your money within that same visit.
Unfortunately, sellers hardly get full value for their toys because the owners of pawnshops must make profits at all costs. They see the toy owners as a captive audience who will accept whatever they offer as the buying price.
Local Toy Dealers
The benefits of local toy dealers are numerous. Selling your toys to a local toy dealer is quick and easy because they are available locally. The entire process is free, and you even get to verify the dealer with the Better Business Bureau before dealing with them.
These locations do not come without their downsides. For instance, you cannot get the full value when you sell to them. Like the pawnshop owners, local toy dealers see toy owners as a captive audience who desperately needs money for their toys. They know you do not want to spend time and effort repacking the already unboxed toys, so they toss in very low percentages.
Online Auctions
eBay and other online auctions are other options if you want to deal with stores that buy your Kenner Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader toys. The client base on these platforms is large, so you will get competitive prices.
That said, the process is challenging, slow, time-consuming, and expensive. You will have to pay very high fees. Then, people may even defraud you and waste your time by posing as buyers. These sites require you to accept returns and send orders as soon as possible, forcing you to visit the post office every day.
Online Swap Pages
Online Swap Pages like Craigslist and Facebook also offer a large client base and reasonable prices. Unlike online auctions, they are easy to use and free.
However, they are not perfect either; toy sellers must contend with the slow and inefficient sales process. There is no customer support, so you must deal with issues like fraud and privacy on your own. Speaking of fraud, these sites are rampant with fraudulent buyers, so take precautions, especially when setting up meetups. Worse yet, you may end up spending a good amount of your time dealing with tire-kickers instead of actual buyers.
When you live in a rural area, you will find limited options for selling your Star Wars on these sites. While you may want to save money by setting up meet-up sales, you are unlikely to find buyers in your area.
Online Toy Dealers
This is the best way to go if you are looking for stores that buy old Star Wars Toys. A reputable online toy dealer like Wheeljack’s Lab buys all brands of toys, including GI Joe, He-Man, Transformers, and even Star Wars Toys. If you are at all concerned about the online dealer, you may verify their status at the Better Business Bureau.
They make the process faster and easier – you can complete the entire sales process in less than a week. You also get to sell your toys without paying any fee. You might be lucky in some cases where the dealer would pay for your shipping.
The only downside is that you may not get the full value for your collection.
Sell Your Toys to Wheeljack’s Lab – the best of the stores that buy old Star Wars Toys
Whether you are a first-timer or a regular, the process of selling your old toys can be very demanding. You will have to sort, clean, stage, light, name, pack, and finally find stores that buy toys. Fortunately, you can avoid all the stress by working with us. At Wheeljack’s Lab, we make the process easier for you while ensuring you get the best value for your collection.
Over the last 20 years, we have helped toy owners like you find new homes for their prized collections. We are a family-run business that has been around for three generations, so we are here to stay. You can always count on our excellent communication, prompt payment, and transparency at every step of the way. We offer same-day quotes and prepaid shipping. Alternatively, we can show up physically to pick up your toy collection.
Do you have old and used Star Wars 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 Star Wars 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 debating on where to sell your Star Wars toys?
When you are looking for the stores that buy old and used toys like Kenner’s Star Wars, you can find no better store than Wheeljack’s Lab. If you are not yet convinced, just look at a small sampling of the Star Wars toys that we have bought and sold:
