Are you familiar with the places that buy your old and used toys like GI Joe? For that matter, have you considered that your old and used toys may be a reliable source of cash? Selling your toys can easily get you a profit if you find the best places. However, the wrong places can turn into a nightmare.
We have been collecting toys for more than 20 years, so we realize that if you are here, you have got a collection of toys that you would like to sell for cash. So, we can use our experience to show you how to make the right choice for you when it comes to selling your toys. We can help you figure out how much your vintage toys are worth and point you to where you can sell them.
Things to do before looking for places that buy your GI Joe toys
If you want to get more money once you find the place that will buy your old GI Joe toys like Cobra Commander and his flunkies, there are a few things that you will want to learn first.
Who was the owner of the GI Joe toys?
Right away you will want to separate toys that were not yours, to begin with. If you are not the original owner, there is a lot of information (and possibly pieces!) that you might be missing about them, which can make it harder to accurately price them for sale. We encourage you to send us an email so that we can help give you advice on these secondhand toys.
Dividing into smaller matched sets, which you bought initially, simplifies the process a lot. It is difficult to sell massive collections with several types of action figures, which is further complicated if you are not the first owner of these toys. Please drop us an email if you are a second-hand owner so that we can give you the proper advice.
How to organize your toy collection
Next, you will want to sort your toys into smaller sets. You will want to sort your toys by series, like separating your GI Joe toys, by manufacturer, like separating Hasbro toys, and anything else that helps you categorize your toys. This step is much easier if the toys were always in your possession since you might already know all the information you need here. It is tougher to sell huge toy collections with a variety of distinct brands, so sorting your collection into smaller groups like this is very helpful.
What condition are your GI Joe toys in?
Depending on how you have been storing your toys, their prices can range wildly, or even be unsellable. Damage from animals, be they pests or pets, can taint a toy and ruin your chances of selling it. Toys caked with dust or faded by smoke or sun can also have their prices reduced. Excessive heat or moisture can also threaten your toys’ values.
Don’t fret if your toys are slightly discolored because there are ways to counteract some of them, which you can find here.
You will also want to consider how much play the toy has seen, whether any pieces are missing or broken, whether you still have the original package, and if the toy still has a sealed package. Even if your GI Joe toys have a broken seal, having the original package in good condition can boost your sales price, so keep those boxes!
How to price your toys
Now that you have finished categorizing your toys, you can check eBay or other marketplaces’ sold listings, and specifically the sold listings, because that way you can see what people have paid for these toys rather than just what sellers want to get for them.
If you can match what you have to the sold listings, especially if the conditions are similar, you can come up with an estimate of how much you can make by selling your old action figures. You will find that toys listed closer to mint condition tend to sell for more money since collectors want to have their toys in as good a condition as they can. This means that, as you might expect, having your toys in better condition will result in better prices.
Which places buy your GI Joe action figures?
There are many places and a surprising number of places that will buy your vintage GI Joe toys!
So many that it can be difficult to decide where your GI Joe figures should go. Factors you should consider are how long you are willing to spend selling your collection, and what you are willing to put up with to do it. To help you make your decision, we have put together the pros and cons of a variety of places you might be considering for selling your toys.
Local Auction Service
- Pros:
- The sales process is easy.
- They are readily available since they are local.
- Cons:
- It can take a long time to make a sale and get paid.
- The fees are high.
- Your sale price is entirely dependent on who shows up to buy.
- Unless your collection is particularly large and you are working with one of the country’s few specialists, you will not get remarkable results.
Pawnshop
- Pros:
- You will have an easy time using them. There is no work to do. Instead, all that you need to do is show up with your toys then talk to the clerk.
- You do not need to travel far to do business with them because they are local.
- Cons:
- You will not get your toys’ full value.
- Their quotes are likely to be particularly low since they know you are there specifically looking to make a sale.
- There are very few experts working at pawn shops, so they will try to quote a price that is so low they cannot lose, without considering the actual value of your toy.
Local Toy Dealer
- Pros:
- Minimal time investment for you.
- These dealers will quickly pay you. They aim to finish the transaction during your initial visit.
- Can check them out with the Better Business Bureau.
- They will not charge you any fees for using their services.
- It is local.
- Cons:
- Like pawn shops, they know you are there to make a sale, and they will not offer a high percentage.
- If you show up with a lot of toys, they will quote you even lower prices because they know you will want to save the hassle of boxing them back up.
eBay or Other Online Auction Sites
- Pros:
- Lots of users looking to buy.
- The best prices you can get.
- Cons:
- Takes a long time.
- Takes a lot of effort.
- These sites charge exorbitantly high fees. Expect to have at least ten percent of your sale to go toward those fees.
- You cannot control how the bidding goes.
- You take the chance of encountering fraudulent buyers.
- Difficult to get your listing in front of the right eyes.
- You must accept returns even if the toy receives damage during transit.
- You will have to go to the post office every time you sell a toy.
Online Swap Pages Facebook and Craigslist
- Pros:
- Lots of users looking to buy.
- You can get respectable prices.
- You will not need to pay any fees to sell your toys.
- Easy to use.
- Cons:
- Takes a long time.
- Takes a lot of effort.
- Very real fraud risk
- There is no seller support.
- Success is more limited outside of cities.
- Generally, involves in-person meetups.
- You will have to deal with people who are either trying to get your toys for insultingly low prices or who are not even really looking to buy.
Online Toy Dealer
- Pros:
- The online toy dealer will ensure that you have a minimal time investment.
- These dealers aim to pay you quickly. For instance, Wheeljack’s Lab completes and pays for your GI Joe toys in under a week.
- You can check us out with the Better Business Bureau
- You pay no fees, not even shipping!
- Cons:
- You will not get your toys’ full value.
Out of the places that buy GI Joe toys, Wheeljack’s Lab is the Best
If this is your first time, it can be tough to sort, clean, and categorize your toys for sale. Lucky for you, we have been doing that exact sort of thing for more than two decades and can manage it all for you! Give us a call at 888-946-2895 and we can help you sell your whole collection of vintage action figures.
Our experience and history mean we are well-known in the secondhand toy business. It is our passion, and we guarantee you will get immediate responses and fast payment. If your collection calls for it, we will even come to you to get the toys! If you decide to sell with us, you will get an offer in under 24 hours, and we will make certain that your toys will go to new owners who will love them as much as or even more than you did.
Do you have old and used GI Joe 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 GI Joe 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!
I have a GI Joe from the 60’s in new condition and original box and am very interested in selling it