I probably should have kept my mouth shut...

[LadyMoondancer]

I've always heard over 20 years is vintage, over 50 years is antique.  Though obviously from this conversation it's a fluid term.  I never thought about G2s in that context before, but . . . yeah, by that definition they are vintage.

For me, I have a hard time thinking of anything from 2000 or after as 'old'.  It can't be old!  I remember celebrating the changing of the millennium, it wasn't that long ago!   Except . . . it was.  It was 18 years ago.  That's like a difference between 1982 and 1964!   And to be honest, when I was a kid I would've considered a toy from 1964 to be ancient.  (Not 'vintage' because I didn't know what that meant as a kid, lol.)

[Sunset]

I meeeean, she was wrong but personally I wouldn't be trying to torque off anyone offering a pony for $2.    What if she gets actual vintage G1s and prices them the same way, ha ha.

I wasn't deliberately trying to be rude.  More a case of momentarily saying exactly what I was thinking.  I was undecided whether I wanted the pony at any price as these days I try to be choosy about g3s cause they are so easy to come by and I have limited room since I collect almost all gens.

I doubt I'll see this seller again as this is the open air type of flea market that advertises "have your garage sale here".  I didn't recognize her as a regular seller and the booth she had yesterday was occupied by someone new today when I went back.  Because of the way this flea market is set up I do kind of expect garage sale prices.  Last week I picked up a few g3s and 2 g1s for $1 each.  I don't think I've ever paid more than $3 for a pony there.  And that was a secret surprise pony with saddle and key and unfazed hair.

[achab1984]

I would of just walked away.. I have see lots of over prices ponies in the past. I just laugh or walk away.

[Ponyfan]

This happens a lot with Barbies as well. Some people will see the 1966 stamped on Barbie’s back or waist and assume that was the year the doll was made when really it’s the copyright date of the mold so a doll that was made in 2000 might still have the 1966 date.

It’s hard for me think of how long ago I graduated from high school or that Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears  G1 ponies and Rainbow Brite are all over 30 years old.

I’ve always thought that vintage was acceptable for things that are 30-40 years old although I’ve seen that term used for items that are 20 years old or less. I think a lot of people use vintage to mean old/classic especially for toy lines that are still around like ponies and Barbie’s.

Ponyfan

[tulagirl]

This happens a lot with Barbies as well. Some people will see the 1966 stamped on Barbie’s back or waist and assume that was the year the doll was made when really it’s the copyright date of the mold so a doll that was made in 2000 might still have the 1966 date.

It’s hard for me think of how long ago I graduated from high school or that Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears  G1 ponies and Rainbow Brite are all over 30 years old.

I’ve always thought that vintage was acceptable for things that are 30-40 years old although I’ve seen that term used for items that are 20 years old or less. I think a lot of people use vintage to mean old/classic especially for toy lines that are still around like ponies and Barbie’s.

Ponyfan

This is so true.  I collect Mod Barbie and i can't tell you how many seller will tell me a 90s Barbie is Mod because of dating or clothing style.  The same happens with ponies.  I collect mainly G1 and my friend often brings g3.5 to me because it is MLP.  I don't even try to explain the differences to her lol.  For collectors there are huge differences, but to others they have no idea.

People are going to do their own thing when it comes to what they think. It's just part of how the world works. Vintage antique all of that is going to be different for different people. Just like mint is really different than a pony that is just in perfect condition.

[Taffeta]

It's kind of the same as the assumption that any G1 pony is as good as any other. So someone sees Ice Crystal sell for £100 and starts asking that for Peachy. Not that there's really a logic behind why most expensive ponies are expensive, mostly they're odd ones in sets that are no rarer than the others in the set but somehow have gained more interest and just become more expensive...O.o. So I guess non-collectors can be forgiven.

[Snapdragon]

Well, to be fair, if some rando came up to my stall and said 'oh I like these ponies!' I would be hard-pressed to think of an explanation between G1-G3 versus the in-store G4s on the spot in fewer than three seconds. 'Vintage' isn't technically correct, no, but it's probably a shorthand that's more easily understood by the average layperson than 'well this particular line started in 2003, however this specific pony came from the 2006 set of etc etc.' I might have said something more like 'these are the older ponies - but not from the 80s', but even that might be over-explaining the issue. She was probably using the shortest term she could think of for "here's why it's more than 25 cents, which is what most people expect for toys at a flea market."

I also know that I'm not the best at curbing my tongue when I'm annoyed, so I could just have equally been the person saying 'it's vintage' as the person saying 'that's not vintage', LOL!

[NightGliderSA]

This happens a lot with Barbies as well. Some people will see the 1966 stamped on Barbie’s back or waist and assume that was the year the doll was made when really it’s the copyright date of the mold so a doll that was made in 2000 might still have the 1966 date.

It’s hard for me think of how long ago I graduated from high school or that Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears  G1 ponies and Rainbow Brite are all over 30 years old.

I’ve always thought that vintage was acceptable for things that are 30-40 years old although I’ve seen that term used for items that are 20 years old or less. I think a lot of people use vintage to mean old/classic especially for toy lines that are still around like ponies and Barbie’s.

Ponyfan

This is so true.  I collect Mod Barbie and i can't tell you how many seller will tell me a 90s Barbie is Mod because of dating or clothing style.  The same happens with ponies.  I collect mainly G1 and my friend often brings g3.5 to me because it is MLP.  I don't even try to explain the differences to her lol.  For collectors there are huge differences, but to others they have no idea.

People are going to do their own thing when it comes to what they think. It's just part of how the world works. Vintage antique all of that is going to be different for different people. Just like mint is really different than a pony that is just in perfect condition.

This is so true: the difference between collectors and non-collectors. Where we can see the difference between real and fakie pony in a second, it looks the same to all other 'normal' people. I have a friend, bless her cotton socks, who looks for and finds and even buys 'My Little Ponies' for me. Fakies every one, but I don't have the heart to tell her because it is just so nice that she always remembers to look. And who knows, maybe one day she will actually find one?

Back to the topic in hand: for many people 'old' and 'vintage' seem to mean the same thing. The general understanding of the English language is not what it once was and, which has already been mentioned, the word appears to be shifting in it's meaning in any event. Which happens. In addition 'vintage' items have a perceived value to them, so it is one of those words which are used by people who want to sell items for a higher price. Just like 'rare' and 'nirvana'.

[Strawberry Swirl]

Just a very quick take on fake MLP being indistinguishable to the real thing for non collectors-  it could be possible that to some My Little Pony means colorful horse toy with picture on sides, not necissarily the BRAND itself. Sort of like how people sometimes say “jell-o” to mean gelatin or “q-tip” to mean cotton swab.

[PrincessNikki]

Oh gosh. There's a woman i cannot stand at the local flea market who has 80s toys....thousands of them displayed out in the open but they are all so highpriced there's no point of even entering the shop. I'm talking like G1s in bait condition selling for 24 dollars. All her G3s are 8 dollars or more and also in bait condition in bags labeled "vintage". It makes me blood boil. It takes everything in me not to call her out and just walk away...I want to save those ponies so badly....


So I took a trip over to another city's flea market, and I saw a stand with G2s and G3s, and I was gushing over them. The guy who was selling them knew the differences between G1, G2s, ect and he says "I can tell you're a collector! We rarely get any G1s in. " and then he sold all the ponies to me for 50 cents each. It was awesome!

[LadyMoondancer]

Not that there's really a logic behind why most expensive ponies are expensive, mostly they're odd ones in sets that are no rarer than the others in the set but somehow have gained more interest and just become more expensive...O.o. So I guess non-collectors can be forgiven.

LOL, you reminded me of this time I was showing my sister my collection and she picked Mimic off the shelf.

Me:  Ah, now that is a very expensive pony.

Sister:  Because she's a unicorn?

Me:  Well no, there are lots of cheap unicorns.

Sister:  Oh, so it's because she has gem eyes?

Me:  No . . .

Sister:  Because she has multi-colored hair?

Me:  *sweating*

[Taffeta]

With a few exceptions, the general rule in our house seems to be...

Does Naynie have it or want it for her collection?

If the answer is yes, it's probably the rarest of the set and almost certainly expensive.

When I think of dealers, I still think of the guy at the toy fair who had all these common G1 ponies on a table - Moonstone, Sunlight etc - and they were all about £3 ($5) each (this was about ten years ago). Under the table was a box of baitish ponies in rougher condition. I picked up one of these and asked him how much. He looked at it, said, 30p. I paid 30p and walked away. 30p is about 50 cents in $US terms.

That pony was this pony.

Spoiler

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It just goes to show that our logic in pricing and such is completely unpenetrable to the outside world.

[Aurora]

I love that Sugarberry. I remember seeing one like her in an ebay auction, and trying so hard to figure out what was different....