Thrift shopped out and discouraged

[FantasticFirefly]

It's one of those things. There are thousands of members here, so when someone finds something awesome locally they post about it, they don't post about taking the time to hunt multiple times weekly and coming up empty handed for a year. Makes great finds look commonplace, when they are anything but.

Another thing, some places throw away (lead concerns) or do other things with vintage toys (sell them online- makes $$). So you would only be picking through newer stuff, or the odd toy they missed from the 90's or before. It pays to become friendly with the staff, they'll let you know then if you are wasting time in that shop "Oh, Joe works here and he buys every single one for his grandkids". I still hunt at some of those places because sometimes pieces are missed (stuff not easily recognizable as belonging to MLP by non serious collectors) but I never waste gas to go there, I'll wander in from another parking lot if we are shopping nearby.

[zombienixon]

I once went to every thrift store in the county and saw nothing but fakies, and one or two pieces of G4 merchandise. Also,  they stopped making G1s here about a quarter of a century ago. You can't really expect them to be plentiful anymore.

[apanda0622]

I would not feel so discouraged not being able to find G1s.  I have been thrifting for years and G1's are very hard to come across, although I have been lucky a few times.  You just have to be persistent in going to thrift stores regularly.  I go thrifting several times a week after work and on weekends and sometimes I find vintage toys and sometimes nothing.  It really just comes down to luck.  If you happen to be at the thrift store when they put it out.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

It really just comes down to luck.  If you happen to be at the thrift store when they put it out.

Pretty  much this.  Also remember that it's been way more than 20 years since people discarded G1's as "useless plastic taking up space in the toyroom en masse".  Most people know there is some kind of collectible market for them.  I haven't bought more than 1-3 G1's at a time, when I do sometimes find them at a thrift store.  It's been such a long time since I was able to buy multiple bags of them... going on 20 years now...

so just keep looking!   

[banditpony]

I used to pony hunt a lot. It's rare for them to pop up, but they do. (In my area I've had way more luck at flea markets).

But there is absolutely competition. There are people who go everyday to thrift stores and flea markets with intent to flip. Sometimes they know if certain stores put out items at a certain time, or they even have friends who will hold items. Some stores won't even put out g1 ponies (like goodwill 9_9; With the exception of the outlets).

[LadyMoondancer]

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.

Yes, this.   There were tons of G1 ponies in thrift shops in the 90s, because that was when their original owners were outgrowing them en masse. It's just going to be really difficult to find them "in the wild" now because they're 30 years old.

Regarding trading G3s for G1s:  Personally I think it's more efficient to save the money you would have spend on G3s and just buy a G1 online.  It's hard to move G3s and most of them are not worth much.  If you see a more valuable G3 then yeah, totally pick it up. 

[invaderhorizongreen]

I am looking for a lot of gen 3 ponies, and I very rarely even see them at my local thrift.

[Aliyahbetd]

Wow, some of the replies here make my two g1s in one year look relatively lucky lol (though one was a grungy blossom and I was tempted to leave her).

[plushroo]

It's still  possible, just more difficult than it was say 10 years ago.  I live in a very small town with only one second hand shop (mostly sells clothes and little knick knacks), but I've managed to find a couple of G1's there. A Peachy and a Cotton Candy in a sweet dreams outfit. It was completely unexpected given the small population here and slim  chance anyone here still had ponies from the 80's. I still go there from time to time to get small items and check out the few toys they have. Some thrift stores don't have vintage toys like they used to because of the lead laws so it makes toy hunting more challenging.

[vira]

i almost never find ponies in garage sales or thrift stores besides g4; maybe theres a lot of other collectors in my area! the last time i found a g1 was tap dancer at a garage sale four or five years ago :'-)

what i have had some luck with is vintage toy stores! there are a couple in my area, and their prices, while not thrift-store low, are often reasonable!

ive found peachys for three dollars, good condition BBEs for five, and a vintage toy store is where i got my cha cha the llama for like 15 dollars! :'-O

id also recommend seeing if your town or any of the surrounding ones has a garage sale website or facebook page; i see g1 ponies on them semi regularly!

[Taffeta]

I agree with what's already been said. Time has passed and now MLP is no longer junk but something people see a value in. In the UK I've noticed a shift from second hand sales like carboot sales and charity shops to the toy fair which is more of a collector experience. Last toy fair I saw a lot of G1 ponies. They were not at junk prices, although I admit that the prices on the rarer ones I saw were probably about right for what they were.

I have found 2 g1 ponies at carbootsales this year. Applejack and Baby Cuddles. Also Seastar's float, but no Seastar. And originally the seller wanted £5 for that on its own, but I talked him down. AJ and Cuddles were 50p each, though, so it does still happen. It's just rare.

I don't buy G3 or G4 unless I like/want them, because they take up space I don't have and are hard to get rid of. I've seen G2 a few times this year - there was one BIG lot of them at a carboot I went to and someone else got there just after me and and was all excited about them so I guessed she was a ponyperson (maybe someone here?) I left her to get on with it, though, since they were all the oldest G2 and I know we have them all at home.

I was genuinely surprised at the rise in pony numbers at the toy fair this year. From one or two to about six stalls with them, some labelled and priced and named clearly as who they were.

I think that's the future. Second hand sales in general are a bonus if you find them, but there's no point in expecting a 30 year old toy to drop into your lap the way they did in the late 1990s.

[buttonso]

I think everyone else pretty much covered it. I've had a fairly high rate of G1 "in the wild" finds and I still come away empty handed MUCH more often than not. And the ones I do find are usually in pretty sad shape, so there's also that. (Restoring is fun though!)

i do see G3s a lot but buying them made me fall for the dang things, so proceed with caution. You may end up wanting to keep them. 

[josiekat]

Its not really a surprise that G1's aren't in thrift stores. They were in thrift shops about 10 years ago. Now its time for G3's to show up there.


Sending you a PM daystar!

[shelvesofwhimsy]

After thrifting quite a bit, I've only found 1 G1 Baby Snippy in a thrift store!

That being said I have found lots of ponies at toy shows, collectibles shops and more. But its geared towards toys. I think you just have to thrift knowing you probably wont find anything, but you might get lucky someday. Its really just luck.

[Tak]

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.

This saddens me.
I'm discouraged by thrift stores. Everywhere, actually.