Every eBay Seller's Dream...

Dead link.

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Care to explain what the item was and what it sold for?

quote:

Originally posted by JeffS:
Dead link.

Network Error
Unable to request URL from host http://www.freep.com:80: Operation timed out

Care to explain what the item was and what it sold for?

The link works fine for me. Here try this one.

MIKE WENDLAND: Pile of vintage toys rakes in cash on eBay


In case the link still doesn't work - here ya go!

A Thumbelina doll bought for $5.99 from the 1964 Sears catalogue sold for $519.99.

A $2.19 GI Joe action figure from 1965 sold for $302.

A Captain Action Superman outfit from 1966 that originally cost $3.89 went for $736.56.

A Creepy Crawlers Thing-Maker set was listed for $6.66 in the 1965 catalogue. It was snapped up for $1,285.99.

But if you think that's crazy, consider the top price getter: A Barbie's Dream Kitchen accessory for the Barbie doll that consisted of cardboard punch-outs of kitchen appliances and furniture. It created a virtual feeding frenzy when the Sands listed it.

"In 1965 it cost $4.97," said Sands. "We put it up on eBay and there was a bidding war from the minute we listed it. In the last 20 seconds of the auction it went from $900 to $1,575. It was crazy."

The now middle-aged children are understandably delighted with the eBay results, said Sands. As they've watched the auctions unfold, one of the daughters recalled a cryptic promise her mom had given her years ago.

"She said her mom once said something to the effect that one day, the kids would see what treasures the mom had left for them," said Sands. "Now they know. It was down in the basement all along. This is going to be quite a Christmas present for them."

So far, the toys have brought in about $30,000 in eBay sales, with buyers from across the country and as far away as Australia.

But before you start rummaging around your basement and think you've hit the eBay big-time with the discards from your own kids, you'd better listen to Melissa.

"The collectors on eBay are not afraid to spend extreme amounts when it comes to mint in-package items," said Sands. "Had this stuff been loose and played with it would have been interesting but not anything like what we've seen."

Though most of the more valuable toys have sold, the Sands still have a few items from the collection up for auction. What's left can be seen on their eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/Sands-o-Time-Estates-Antiques. Make sure you enter that address with the capitalization just as you see.

Never Removed From Box--NRFB--Know that term well. (Once a collector of Barbies). Oh, that I could go back in time and keep my older sister's first Barbie--i.e., the first one ever issued. Yeah, to have a vintage mint Barbie.... My dream. I could see why the toys went so high. But still...I would be tempted to take them out and play with them! But then that's it, you've lowered the value. Kind of like when you drive your brand new car off the dealer's lot for the first time. But you're right, wish they were in my basement!

What I found interesting about the entire article was the original price of the toys. Back then, (when I was a kid) most toys appeared to be under $5.00 each. Now, most toys are $20.00 to $50.00 each and up! Man, the big companies / business really have the people's number down. They test limits and if the people don't fuss too much they go with it. This holds true with everything. Retail, politics, policy, laws and so forth and so on. Okay, I'm rambling.

Gotta go.

PS - I was a tad different as a girl on the Barbie front. I preferred, P.J. and Skipper to Barbie. I loved my, P.J. doll. With her purple bathing suit and rainbow beads around her straight hanging pigtails. Oh, and Mrs. Beasley too.

$5 in 1962 adjusted for inflation is $31 in 2005.

Apparently the toys always cost the same!