INTERVIEW TOMORROW!!!! So I'm dying my hair bright pink because I've gotta make sure they're cool with all of me and not just a sanitized corporate version society seems to demand for interviews.

Oh, that's such a lovely Aurora! The stripes on her face are soooo nice.

Is she in the second release of a set?

I'm a professional toy show and convention dealer! So, here's my couple decades experience for advice:

Want top dollar? Put every accessory with the correct item and sell ponies as close to complete as possible, but individually. This will take absolutely forever to get done, but will net the most income.

Play sets are a nightmare to ship, especially ones like Paradise Estate. Shipping can easily go over $50 for things like Dream Castle due to the oversized box. Try to sell those in person at pony meets or shows, or even listing on Facebook or Craigslist for local pickup only.

Want things gone faster? Group in lots of around 10-20 ponies of similar types, ie: babies, sets, color, species. Or, find a dealer who would be willing to buy it all for a steep discount, but it's all gone at once. I know a person or two who would be willing to buy if you're interested in going this route.

I'm also in Ohio and will be vending a number of shows this year! They're already booked for the March shows, but I can highly recommend getting a booth at the Columbus Toy Show and Great Ohio Toy Show (in Xenia) for this fall. The Marysville Toy Show in April might have some spaces left? I'm missing out on the Western Ohio Toy Show because it's the weekend before I leave for Seaquestria Fest in Ocean City, MD and need to dedicate more time to making art for the convention that close to the deadline. Western Ohio Toy Show is new and that will be their second show, first at that location. The one they held in Springfield last December was decent and had really good advertising; I'd vend if timing worked out.

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM. And, if you vend any of those shows, please let me know! I'll absolutely come say hi and dig through what you've got

I have also been going back to fully analog whenever possible. I just got a cd player from 2002 and the sound quality on it is sooooo much better than the modern ones I've tried! Luckily, I flat out refused to get rid of any of my CDs, so I still have all of them. They're in a giant CD binder from the 90s. I have all the cases in a storage box because I'm not about to get rid of them, even if the CDs and insert pamphlets are in the binder.

I do still buy physical CDs when the music really speaks to me. My last purchase was After the storm by Ofdrykkja. Took a while to get here, but well worth the wait.

As for DVDs, I don't own a player or television. I pretty much sail the high seas for all shows. I do still have all of my DVDs from years ago and I buy any MLP DVD or VHS I don't already own. Whenever I get my hoarded out storage room cleaned up, I plan on buying a TV, VCR, and DVD player from an estate sale so I can get quality ones from the 90s or early 00s and not the current crap in stores that breaks after a few years. I don't want a smart tv, I just want something that turns on and plays whatever I put on it. My television has no business connecting to the internet.

I'm going so analog that I've started wearing a wristwatch again and carrying a physical planner instead of using Google Calendar. Screw corporations; they don't need my data or to know when I'll be somewhere. And the watch thing is so I don't have to pull out my phone to check the time and then get sucked into whatever notifications have popped up.

Oh, maaaan. Working in a thrift shop would kill my paychecks. I'd be bringing home new treasures and not money! You've made some pretty good finds though.

Anybody in the Chicago area willing to pick up and ship a lot of ponies to me? I'd be happy to pay and/or trade a pony or two from the lot!

I'll get you pics tomorrow, but I've got Valentine's Pinkie Pie and two birth stone ponies, but I can't remember which two exactly.