When did MLP prices get so high?!

[Pheasant]

Hey pony peeps! I'm still around, just a little frazzled by all the holiday stress. Hope everyone is doing well.

Now that I have more (regular) income, I'm tentatively starting to look into rebuilding my collection. Still got a handful of my childhood ponies left, but most of them have been long gone. While I understand that they went to great homes and am grateful for the income they brought,  I -really- regret downsizing the way I did.

The bulk of my collecting was done from 2007-2011, at a time when G3s were still abundant in secondhand shops (along with the occasional G1.) Nowadays I'm lucky if I can find a G4 while thrifting, let alone the older gens. I thought, "Well, you can find anything on the *internet these days! I can get some of my old ponies back!"

* Internet being eBay, MLPTP, the Arena, and Craigslist

...If I'm willing to shell out at least $10-$15 for a common G1. Even G3 prices are starting to creep up; and I haven't even looked at G2.
 
Am I just looking in the wrong places? Are these oddly high prices? Or has inflation hit the secondhand toy market and I wasn't paying attention? I don't ever remember first-release Seaponies being $30-$40 each, if not more. (Granted, I was also in my tweens / early teens at the time.) It seems like other collectors' markets, like Care Bears and video games, have skyrocketed too (although I suspect Covid has a lot to do with the latter.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I was really looking forward to adding to my collection, but if it's going to cost me a few hundred dollars to do it... it may just be a pipe dream.

[Ponybookworm]

Be prepared for the slow, long haul. When I got back into it I rushed in & it cost me (metaphorically & literally) too much. Take your time, hunt for bargains & good sellers/traders, get what you can afford, when you can afford it. Learn what's rare & what's more common, & set a budget (maximum amount of x on Ponies). Use half that for common items, then save the other half for when a rare item comes up, which isn't often, but when it does it won't be cheap. It took me fifteen years to get my collection where it is now. FIFTEEN YEARS!!!

Happy hunting!!!

[Leave a Whisper]

Yeah I've noticed that. They may go down after the holidays too.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

You're looking at times that prices are always high, wait a few weeks for the post-holiday slump to set in and you may see prices lowered.
I think toy collecting in general is becoming more trendy and people are getting smarter/feeling as if their old childhood stashes are worth money, so there's more price checking going on.
I've always found the best way to go about accumulating horse is to buy ebay lots, or even Goodwill Auction ones sometimes. I sell the ones I don't need to recoup costs and then restore from there. Not perfect for everyone, but is fun for me.
Finding IRL is also a good thing but you just need to find a good shop and frequent it...I have a savers-esque thrift store I rely on, and I've really bulked up my G3 and G4 collections from it. Frequency is the key, and it helps to find a store that gets shipments from other places.
I would say to try Mercari as well, I've heard more people are looking there. Facebook is also worth a look but it gives me hives personally.

[starrynights]

I tend to get my rares from lots. It takes lots of patience to find ponies for a good price but it's worth it

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yes prices took a swift jump about 5 years ago and haven't come down since then, really.

[Bathtub]

 

[Leave a Whisper]

It's insane. Since when are Princess Pristina and Lavender Lace worth $100.00?  I don't know if I will ever be able to replace my childhood Starglow considering she is now worth over a quarter of my rent.

in 1998 we complained that Mimic cost fifty dollars    Now Star Hopper is 40.00? 

I realized this was happening when i started replacing my collection this year. I had a sinking feeling that it was permanent. I think I wrote a post at one time about how prices were appreciating and I didn't see them depreciating. I believe this happened because of the end of Friendship is Magic.

I actually predict that the G1s will come back as active/new characters (like Applejack did), eventually. Maybe I'll make a post about how creepy this prediction is, and its not even "supernatural."

What?! Maybe that's the result of a hopeful idiot. They shouldn't be anywhere near that.

[Bathtub]

 

[Leave a Whisper]

It's insane. Since when are Princess Pristina and Lavender Lace worth $100.00?  I don't know if I will ever be able to replace my childhood Starglow considering she is now worth over a quarter of my rent.

in 1998 we complained that Mimic cost fifty dollars    Now Star Hopper is 40.00? 

I realized this was happening when i started replacing my collection this year. I had a sinking feeling that it was permanent. I think I wrote a post at one time about how prices were appreciating and I didn't see them depreciating. I believe this happened because of the end of Friendship is Magic.

I actually predict that the G1s will come back as active/new characters (like Applejack did), eventually. Maybe I'll make a post about how creepy this prediction is, and its not even "supernatural."

What?! Maybe that's the result of a hopeful idiot. They shouldn't be anywhere near that.

Have I ever called you an idiot? That is very inappropriate and shows how ugly you really are. I reported your post. That was disgusting and has no place on these sweet, fun boards. This is about pony collecting. Take your hostility (and issues with someone whose real name you don't even know) to your therapist. You need one.

Did I call you an idiot? No. You're getting bent out of shape for no reason. I called sellers who automatically think old toys =high prices and who don't bother to do their research hopeful idiots and was agreeing with others that those toys should not be anywhere near that high a price.


Perhaps take the time to actually read the post and its context before you bite people's heads off prematurely please.

[Bathtub]

 

[DarkUnicornMoon]

I'm in a similar postion, I'm having  to rebuild my collection, some that I've sold previously because I wasn't in a good financial situation and others have been in the odd box that's vanished during moving from place to place (always seem to lose something) 

I've noticed you really have to scour places like ebay for good deals. Etsy has a few things on it as well.

I do feel that some sellers are chancers...trying to get way more, the only way to stop that is to not pay silly prices. I have really been strict with myself, the g3s are also going for silly prices in some cases. And often you can tell when it's not a collector selling, some people think that because something isn't g4 it's worth big money.  these people tire me out and fry my brain.

Although technically people can charge what they want and maybe if they don't get the money they ask they'll slowly put their prices down. And it is the wrong season to be searching  just keep checking

[Wardah]

And often you can tell when it's not a collector selling, some people think that because something isn't g4 it's worth big money.  these people tire me out and fry my brain.

Even with G4s this happens. These people think anything that's not currently on Walmart or Target shelves must be worth big money to some collector or desperate parent. It's really a pain when trying to fill collection gaps, pony or otherwise.

[alaskaallie]

I'm confused as well- I bought happyglow, brightglow, and dazzleglow for around $20 each about three years ago (I remember that as they were the first ones I had spent real money on!). I didn't get starglow because I don't love the dancing butterflies pose- now they are going for 3-5 times that on ebay, I guess I will never complete that collection!

[DarkUnicornMoon]

I'm confused as well- I bought happyglow, brightglow, and dazzleglow for around $20 each about three years ago (I remember that as they were the first ones I had spent real money on!). I didn't get starglow because I don't love the dancing butterflies pose- now they are going for 3-5 times that on ebay, I guess I will never complete that collection!

I haven't even started on that collection yet  last time I proper looked they were £20-£30 about two or three years ago, I looked in the last few weeks and they're £100-£150 like Mimic 

Post Merge: December 26, 2020, 07:42:34 AM

And often you can tell when it's not a collector selling, some people think that because something isn't g4 it's worth big money.  these people tire me out and fry my brain.

Even with G4s this happens. These people think anything that's not currently on Walmart or Target shelves must be worth big money to some collector or desperate parent. It's really a pain when trying to fill collection gaps, pony or otherwise.

I have noticed a few pricey g4s