Pony Collecting Questions

[lmcdonald17]

I haven't collected ponies since I was a kid, so I was wondering where would be a good place to start. I have two ponies already as I think I have already stated in a previous post. They are Gusty and Streaky, and I think I need to restore and clean them really soon! I am also a college student who works a 6 hour job at a warehouse, so I tend to be very busy! Any ideas or advice on good places to start?

[Ponybookworm]

Because of where I live, most of my collecting is done online due to scarcity of offline places to get Ponies. Here is a great starting point for that. Nella has some amazing Ponies. On eBay, at first you want to go for lots sold locally enough to not require international postage.

DO NOT start bigger than your budget lets you!!! And check who the good sellers are; getting scammed is not pleasant, especially if money is tight.

Most importantly, get what you like; it's YOUR collection. You don't have to own every variant of fifty Ponies, or every single Pony from whatever generation if you don't want to. I got my G2 Castle the way it was because I didn't want Princess Sweetberry. It's missing a part & a couple of accessories but I'm sure those or something like them will turn up

[lmcdonald17]

Thank you!

Do you know where Nella's pony site is?

I have heard of scams involving people claiming they had a certain pony somebody wanted, and I do not want that to happen to me.

E-bay tends to be pretty trustworthy most of the time. Right?

[invaderhorizongreen]

Ebay is usually good, and i have gotten some of mine from goodwill auctions.  Some members here are more than happy to trade as well.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Welcome to collecting! I'm going to give you a bit of an overload of information that is largely American-centric.

To preface, I started getting actively into collecting older generations in 2014 but had been collecting G4 in 2011 as they come out, and I'm assuming by your icon you want to start with some of the older gens! Some of my advice might be a bit outdated but I'll try to stay current. ; I'm a bit of a completionist so my advice might have that edge; definitely don't go all out or break the bank, but this is how I accumulated ponies I wanted.

Ebay: Definitely the site I use the most to get ponies, especially early on! Right now, unfortunately, the G1 that are for sale tend to be quite high-priced because of an influx of collectors around the time the pandemic started. Earlier G1 tend to be on the cheaper side. G3 are all over the place price-wise. My advice for eBay as a beginning collector is to buy "lots" of ponies. This is a good way to find ponies for cheaper prices per unit and give you some experience cleaning them up. This is the best way to get G3 especially right now-and especially G4 if you have an interest in that gen! You will sometimes find G1 or G2 sneakily hidden in these lots. If you have the ability to sell ponies on, that can help recoup costs from lots, but might be a whole other can of beans.

As an example, I wanted to buy G1 Locket. I kept an eye on newly listed BiN (buy it now) listings as well as soon ending auctions. I found her hidden in a lot with a few other G4 ponies. Price per unit I paid single-digits for her.

For eBay, I suggest keeping an eye on recently listed BiNs as well as auctions to get good prices. It can help to check "recently sold" listings for the pony you want to buy if you aren't sure if a price is worthwhile or not.

This advice can apply to sites like Mercari as well where users list their own items for sale.

Goodwill Auctions: Used to be my secret sauce! I find this is good for G4 lots primarily right now-used to be better for G3 and earlier. Anything with "Vintage" in the name gets jacked up in price. Still worth a look but be warned-shipping can be pricey as these lots are often very heavy. Good if you have a bit more money saved up and are really looking for a good deal per unit but try not to get caught up in auction-fever.

MLPArena/Facebook/Personal Sales: I have the most experience with MLPArena sales out of these. Only used Facebook once, and have done personal sales a few times! These are done through Paypal mostly (in the case of an exchange of money). Thankfully, the forums have a feedback system so you can check if you are unsure of the safety. Make sure the money goes through goods and services so you are protected in case anything goes awry. Some people will ask for friends and family transactions to avoid fees (as these fees are passed on to you instead of on the seller/taken out of the total you send to the seller). This does not give buyer or seller protection, so be warned if you send via this method you are taking a risk! I will often send through G&S but use a fee calculator (if you google it, should come up!) and find out how much to send over which gives the seller the full amount they need. Sellers should specify if they expect you to do this, in most cases.

Thrifting: Hit or miss! I've found a lot of luck with a local thrift store. I go about weekly and I've found G1, G3, G4...a whole lotta stuff! It's not a win every week, and I've found that it depends on the area you're in. The thrift store I go to does not accept local donations, so the mix of stuff from all over is nice. My local Goodwill is a total bust; others will swear by it. This can be time-consuming, but if you have a thrift store with a toy section, go *often*. Frequency is key if you want to see returns on this!

Things of note: I am a completionist who can and will sell ponies online that are duplicates. I live at home and have found it easy enough to sell things during the school year, you may have different results if you're in a dorm. If you're not after the biggest bargain or the thrill of the hunt like I am, you may be better off looking at individual listings and getting a small collection of ponies you really care about!

I have heard of scams involving people claiming they had a certain pony somebody wanted, and I do not want that to happen to me.

E-bay tends to be pretty trustworthy most of the time. Right?

eBay is very trustworthy and very much skewed towards the buyer if something goes wrong. I've bought and sold on there and have not had a problem so far. I might be lucky.
It sounds like the best way to avoid the scam you're talking about is to ask for a picture of the pony with a piece of paper with their username, date, time in the image. Otherwise, reverse image search on Google is very helpful!

[Beth3346]

I had some good luck with Etsy last summer. Sometimes the shipping fees can add up if you buy multiple items, especially if the sellers are in another country. most sellers will combine shipping and send a refund. but you should probably ask before you buy.

[Ponybookworm]

Go to the for sale page on here & Nella is near the top with her sales. She regularly updates, has a lot of buyers & everybody seems pleased with buying from her. The Arena (here) has a feedback system for buying, selling, trading & swapping on here.

[Taffeta]

Some great advice on here already! Definitely echoing what Ponybookworm said about making the collection that suits you, not what other people think is best.

If you're really busy, maybe pick out a few candidates you're interested in and build up slowly. Tailrustedtealeaf's information about ways to find those ponies is really detailed and hopefully useful. It's always worth checking the second hand stuff.

I've never done trading on social media - I've traded a lot on the Arena and that tends to work, and buying from ebay is okay too most of the time. I'm not sure about other avenues.

If you're interested in doing restoration, sometimes you can get ponies for cheaper - but it depends on the restoration you want to do.

Pay attention to currency and shipping. MLP is very global. Sometimes people will sell in different currencies. $US is a staple most people are familiar with but it's increasingly common to get sales in Euros and GBP as well. Shipping can add up if you buy from overseas. You need to figure out whether that's something in your budget. It may be that buying from overseas is something you do only if the pony is one you can't get wherever you're based.

And it's worthwhile watching prices and figuring out the best deal. Some people hike pony prices. Some people don't. Figuring out what's a good price for you and for the pony you want is a good plan. That way when the right one comes up, you can get it

Good luck!

[Artemesia's Garden]

I still tend to use Ebay a lot, but I prefer to buy ponies from Arena members if possible. Usually if someone has a large sale on the arena I try to buy something. My niece has become my enabler and has found a few things in charity shops for me or when she's offered hand-me-downs she accepts them and then passes them on to me. So if you let people know you're interested sometimes good things can come your way.

[Beth3346]

Go to the for sale page on here & Nella is near the top with her sales. She regularly updates, has a lot of buyers & everybody seems pleased with buying from her. The Arena (here) has a feedback system for buying, selling, trading & swapping on here.

Yes Nella is a wonderful seller

[goddessofpeep]

There are some things I wish I knew as a new collector waaaay back in 1997:p

1) Do your research before you buy.  You should spend some time on the ID sites just browsing to see what’s out there and what catches your attention. The MLP wiki is a decent resource, though there are many others:
http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

Ask around for other general info sites. There are lots of other specialized sites out there for different generations, accessories, ponywear, petites, and lots of sub collections.  Make a list of what strikes your fancy, but mostly just have fun discovering what’s out there.

During your research, look around at what is available, and how much things cost. Sold ebay listings and price checks on this site can give you an idea of the general market. Knowing that can help keep you from making the usual new collector overpaying mistakes. 

2)  Figure out what interests you, and how you want to collect.  Are you going for certain complete sets?  Are you happy to pick and choose only the ponies that most interest you?  Are you going to collect accessories?  Are you interested in only mint ponies?  Are you ok with flaws?  Which flaws are ok/not ok? Do you enjoy restoring ponies?  Are you interested in MIB ponies?    What generations do you want to collect? What is your budget?  How much space do you have?

The more of these kinds of questions you answer, the less money you’ll waste on ponies you’re not that into, ponies you’ll have to upgrade later, or ponies that are overpriced. It’s very common for new collectors to buy up any cheap lots they find, and to increase their collection very quickly. You can get good deals if you’re willing to gamble, and you enjoy restoring ponies, but a lot of collectors end up having to upgrade early purchases when they get serious later.

3) There are a lot of experienced collectors here that are happy to help out, so feel free to ask questions.  The pony community has been around for over 20 years, and there’s an incredible amount of knowledge here if the right person spots your question. 

4) Paypal has lots of buyer protection, but only of you mark your payment as goods/services and NOT gift. Other payment options may or may not have buyer protections.  Check thst out before you use them.


I how that advice was helpful to you.  Good luck!

[RoseNoire]

My go-to are thrift stores and flea markets. I love to ramble through toy boxes and various booths in the hope of finding ponies to buy, restore, display customise etc. Although the vast majority won't be in pristine condition, most of them just need a bit of elbow grease and they would look lovely in your shelves. On the plus side, they are cheap and it's always a surprise. Do not expect to find ponies when you visit those places. That way, you enjoy the little walk, you see some random stuff, interact with people, socialise and the enjoyment of finding ponies will be even bigger. ♥

Most of my ponies are from there + childhood collection and the very rare store purchase. I even  found a Nirvana pony that wasn't sold in my country, in a flea market ! And also a MOC ponywear (although very damaged... But it' my first MOC !!♥), a Baby Sapphire in great condition for 0.50€ etc etc... Such great moments appear very rarely, but you will cherish them for the rest of your life.

[toyjunky]

Many great suggestions above, so just adding a couple more here.

Local swap meets are a possible place to look, keep in mind it may also be a bust, but if you go once you will know what kind of stuff is offered. Another possibility is to google "toy and collectible shop" to see if anything pops up in your general area. This is a hit and miss method, but can introduce you to new places. I like to use this method sometimes and then click the website link for the different places to see if any sound promising. My husband and I have actually done this while traveling on vacation just for the fun of it and we have ended up finding some places as we travel that had things we were interested in and brought things home with us (granted we tend to drive verses fly, so more room in the car for random purchases).

[snowflurs]

Most of my experience is with ebay. It's a very good place to find ponies at decent prices, but you definitely have to do research before you buy anything. There's a lot of people on there jacking up prices for common ponies to target unsuspecting newbies. If you want a certain kind of pony, look up the name and generation and scroll through many listings to get a feel of what you might pay for it. "Watch" the ones you would like and give it a day or so. Many sellers will send you discounted offers, so buying a little bit later can save you money.

I've also used Mercari, but that's usually hit or miss. I've had a couple good transactions and a couple scams. Definitely not my first choice for pony purchases.

Buying ponies on mlparena is also a very good option. You can see their ratings and message personally. Most transactions are done through paypal, so always select the payment as one for goods or services to get protection on your purchase.

Goodwill is a good option sometimes. You can find some pretty rare finds there if you're lucky. Most of it is g4 auctions but you might find some older stuff too.

You can also take a look at some smaller online shops. There's multiple shops online that sell ponies from their homes (like Ebay but without the big corporate entity involved). It's a good option for finding rarer ponies at lower prices, but be careful and always be on the lookout for a scam.

My biggest advice before ever making a purchase is to do your research on the price. When I started buying lots and MIB ponies, I just bought the first stuff I found and paid a lot more than I should have. If you do a lot of scrolling (and a bit of waiting), a better price for the same pony is usually pretty easy to find.

Good luck, and have fun collecting!