Thrift shopped out and discouraged

[daystar217]

So I went thrift hunting today for ponies and a few other toys I'm accruing for my little girls, and I came home very disappointed. I found lots and lots of G3's (which I didn't buy) but not a single g1. I went to Goodwill, Donna's thrift store, some scary gas station converted into a junk shop, and two different flea market malls filled with about 50 different vendors all selling tons of junk. And I mean I dug through boxes and boxes of toys. I found dozens of cabbage patch dolls and lots of other 80's toys, so why is my area so difficult to find second hand ponies? It made me wonder if I should have bought the g3's in hopes of trading them for g1's in the arena. Thoughts?

[Epona]

My area thrift stores rarely have G1`s. When I go thrifting I expect to find G3, G3.5, G4 and tons of McDonalds. In the last 5 years Ive only found a couple of G1s at thrift stores. And never in yard sales.
I went thrifting today and only found 1 G4 pinkie pie and a McDs. The toy section had been picked over.

[Aliyahbetd]

I've been visiting my two local thrift stores once or twice a week for the past year now, and I've only found g1s twice (but one f the two I found is one of my absolute favorites ). They seem to be quite rare.

Don't give up! I'm sure you will find something super cool

[Koudoawaia]

I've never found G1s in any thrift store I've ever been in =/

[Shy Violet]

They don't come up very often. I've had pretty good luck this year but haven't found one in at least 2 months. And I check 6 thrift stores several times a week. Anytime I'm nearby one I check and twice a week I go check them all. Don't be discouraged, you are going to have to check quite often to find anything.

[Taxel]

Honestly, its 2016. The 80s have been over for close to 30 years. Most people who wanted to toss out/donate their 30 year old toys already have. With the popularity of eBay/Craigslist/etc and the growing knowledge random people have about collectors, most people aren't just going to give away piles of really old toys anymore. A lot of people won't pass on the opportunity to make money reselling something by giving it away, especially with all those ridiculous not-at-all-researched clickbait sites screaming about how 80s-90s toys/kid stuff is worth $83849234203 each.

Plus there's the people who buy from thrift stores and resell as a means to pay bills. If you know what to look for it can be really lucrative, not just with ponies.

[Princess Lala]

After five years of looking (I go twice a week) in my thrift store, ive onpy seen like 2 G1s in the wild. Lots of G4 Mcdonalds ponies and G3s though.

[Mermaid]

*remembers 1996-2000* ahhhhh the days of popping into a goodwill and leaving behind common g1s! Haha I very seldomly find g1s now. I found a tailless peachy at a flea market covered in ink and I paid $3 for her just for the novelty!

[daystar217]

So, if you were me, would you buy those G3's when they come up? Is it possible to trade several G3's for a G1, or is that not something people are interested in doing?

[Ponyfan]

My area is terrible for finding old toys. The thrift   stores usually don't have ponies, Barbies etc.. or if they do they are in bad shape. I did find some G1s at an antique store probably 10 years ago but the store wanted way too much for them in their condition. I remember they wanted $6 for a Bouncy that had a lot of flocking loss.

I've even tried Savers and only found McDonald's Happy Meal Equestrian Girls and ponies. I was going to buy some old Beanie Babies from Savers and discovered a dead bug inside the bag with the toys, so I left  those behind too.

Ponyfan

[EnaRocketQueen]

My thrift stores never have any ponies of any generation. I keep looking in hope for G4s but there are hardly any toys at all

[slyons]

So, if you were me, would you buy those G3's when they come up? Is it possible to trade several G3's for a G1, or is that not something people are interested in doing?

Well, it really all depends if the person you are trading with is looking for g3's 
I am actually in the middle of such a transaction, my g3's for g1's....they are considerably less than what I'm purchasing so I have to cover the difference with monies...
So it is possible!  I never leave a pony behind, but that's a personal preference...

[wyndeboo]

Don't give up hope. I've been collecting for nine years and have only found g1 ponies in the wild 5 times. Just keep looking they'll pop up eventually.

[Luxrayx]

Just keep trying... I've never, ever found a pony in a thrift store, so if I found G3s I would've been ecstatic

[joce]

It's rare I find them, I'm just super surprised and happy when I do lol!

  Now I may pay more than I would in the past because it is so rare I come across them.

 I'll pick up rare G3s to trade though so far they just sit taking up room!!

I had plans for pony hunting this summer to and it never happened