The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Rosette on July 20, 2013, 02:01:07 PM
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The Brag Arena is always chock full of incredible thrifty finds. There is nothing like the thrill of buying ponies for spare change at garage sales and thrift stores. Like all fishing/hunting tales, the best catches are the ones worth repeating and memorializing. Bought Mimic? Not much story there. Bought Mimic for a quarter? Wowza!! :)
Any day I have like that is sure to end up as a post with lots of photos and virtual ticker tape parading! All the hard work, the filthy stores, the wasted gasoline, the fruitless digging is forgotten in the thrill of the find. So, what I want is to hear your not-so-great realities! Because we all know thrift shops and antique malls are not paved in rare ponies. More often than not, even the filthiest fakie is overpriced.
I'll go first dispelling the myths. :D
Today was fairly typical in the hunt. I loaded two reluctant kids into the rental car in a new city. I wore down my fuel and cell phone battery navigating between thrift shops for about five hours. (With emergency potty stops, diaper changes, and snack times for my children.). I drove all over creation and while I found some ponies, they are all in rough condition and need massive work (if not baited in the end) and also averaged at least $2.00 each. I found two G1: a mangy SS Surprise and Daddy Apple Delight. Both have rough hair, possibly permanent marks, and hair cuts/trims. I found five g3s, equally bad shape, and a G3.5. Today was a huge victory because I found anything MLP at all--better still with g1. :)
I'm tired, cranky, dirty, and won't ever recoup what I paid today until some long hours and pony spa miracles have occurred. Maybe never. (Especially if I counted mileage and gas costs.). But I saved ponies today and will fix them up as well as I can.
This is not a glamorous way to go about collecting ponies. ;)
Have any thrift store romanticism to dispell? :)
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I've hit at least 13 yard sales in the last weeks and have found zero ponies. I go to the thrift store every other week, I find lots of great stuff - some I can make money on more to buy ponies - but no ponies. Except once. I've lived in Cincinnati for 4 years and have found 1 G1 and mostly G3s.
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I have yet to find anything in my town. I do not even go to rummage sales anymore. I have yet to have any luck with my town. :(
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There's some kind of sudden G3 drought here in Halifax! D: It used to be easy as pie to find them back in 2011. I've been really getting back into them the past few months, and it's a pain to find them locally now. It makes me sad :C It seems there may be a pony sniper about, because three yard sales this summer advertised My Little Pony toys, I arrived on time at all 3 and they were already gone, every time :yikes: the last one I went to a couple of weekends ago, the lady running it said someone bought all of her ponies already, and they'd been waiting outside her home at 7:20 am (the sale started at 8!). I should put up another wanted ad on Kijiji or something (not that it's ever brought me any luck in the past). Oh well, I DID find a pretty nice condition Cinnamon Breeze and a mint Royal Rose about a month ago for 50 cents each, so I can't complain TOO much I guess! I hope your pony luck improves, that sounds like a pretty rough excursion for the gotten spoils Dx
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I have been having quite a bit of pony luck as of late. I got Wigwam at a yard sale for 50 cents, and lots of G1s today for $2 each. I got Dream Castle with box, lullabye nursery, and Megan's Place too for great deals!
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Yeah there's a pony drought here in Brissy, too. I got three ponyville and a whole bunch of accessories at my local endeavour's a couple of weekends ago for $6... but that's the only thing I've found in aages... and it was expensive as hell, but I bought it anyway, there was a Magic Marigold PV in there and I'm told she's rare.
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I LOVE thrifting for ponies (and transformers)... But my luck as also been low as of late...
It's just that OCCASIONAL find that drives me on....
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in the 5 years I've lived here I have gotten lucky twice and found ponies, and only at one flea market. I have never found one at a thrift store but I keep looking anyway. I went to visit my dad in another state and looked at every (EVERY) thrift store in his town (9-10 places) including antique shops and found zero ponies lol (my poor dad) so if you concider I hit at least one place a week and maybe a few yard sales and have found ponies 2 times in the last year... if may seem like a lost cause but its still fun.
I do get frustrated some times when not even a fakie turns up lol (fakies are the road to real ponies! where there are fakies you will find them LOL)
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
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I found Mimic at a Salvation Army along with about 20 other ponies. Best day of my life xD Since then (that was about 3 or 4 years ago) I have found 0 g1s at that Salvation Army... Or really any Salvation Army in my area xD I actually went there today... I found a new bathing suit and some great shirts... But no ponies of course :P
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I hit up 20+ yard sales today and found only a copy of Pinkie Pie's Party for the Nintendo DS, which I couldn't convince myself I was interested in. Checked the only local thrift store that takes toys, and found a G3 Minty and G4 Celestia, but both from McDonald's, and models I already had. So yeah, not a very romantic experience, but hey, lots of time in the sun!
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I used to have a friend that was OBSESSED with finding ponies in the thrift store. :/ She got jealous of all my G1 ponies ( that I bought off eBay). I tried to tell her how impossible it was to find ponies in the thrift store. This was all when I lived in Chicago and we both would go thrifting everyday. We found lots of eighties treasures besides G1 ponies: one time we found all the Rainbow Bright color kids, another time we found a bunch of vintage Littlest Pet Shop STILL IN THE PACKAGES, and then there was the time I found 4 huge bags of vintage Strawberry Shortcake( sold on eBay for $$$). The only key to finding stuff is GOING EVERY DAY. But more often it would be like the OP's story ...you would spend all your time/energy/money and you would find nothing. It's better to shop on eBay/etsy/arena and have the ponies come too you! BUT sometimes you do get lucky. I went in a Value Village by my work. I was looking at dresses and moseyed by the toys and a bag caught my eye. 2 baby G1 ponies!!! Score!!!!
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I would be totally thrilled to find Daddy Apple Delight at a thrift store, in any condition! Then again, I love my boys. :)
I rarely have pony luck at thrift stores, though I find plenty of other 80's stuff. I have created a My Pretty Pony army though. :blink:
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I'm lucky I'm not exclusively a pony collector cause I often find non pony stuff I like. It's very rare for me to go yard sailing or thrifting and find nothing at all but it still happens sometimes.
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I've had some luck on kijiji picking up some ponies that included big brother with hat and scarf.
But mostly I check out the value village but have little luck. Mostly bad shape g3 and a bit pricy.
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
:like: very much!
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I would be totally thrilled to find Daddy Apple Delight at a thrift store, in any condition! Then again, I love my boys. :)
I rarely have pony luck at thrift stores, though I find plenty of other 80's stuff. I have created a My Pretty Pony army though. :blink:
Ha! Yes, lots of My Pretty Pony figures need our hair intervention help! :)
I share your all-consuming love for Big Brothers. I wish I'd found more than one pony in that store but the one was miraculous itself. And nothing is more satisfying for me than taking them to the pony spa for some fixing up. :)
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I have a My Pretty Pony that needs serious help. I found her at a thrift store and they gave her to me for free because they were just going to throw her in the trash. She has a cracked open place on her back seam right below her hairline...I don't know what to do with her but I don't want her to go to the junk pile!
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All I ever find are G3's. I don't collect them at all so it's always a disappointment. I've found the occasional G1 at a flea market or Savers, but very rarely.
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naaaah thriftstores are mostly lousy but when its warm outside i find ponies and other supercool 80s toys at fleamarkets every weekend :)
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I have a pony hunt team including my self, my boy friend, two best friends and four to five vendors at the local flea market.
And even with this large network I still come up empty most weeks the best this team usealy dose is a few McD ponies. On a rare occasion I do find ponies at one of the four goodwill's within driving distance. My best find was a SS Magic star in a bag with some G3s for four dollars, my boyfriend's best find was a bag of 12 ponies (mostly McD ponies but I did get some hard to find G3 babies!)
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
:like: very much!
I like too but that's a good way to end up skint! Lol. When I've been drinking its not my car keys you need to keep from me, it's anything I can get on eBay with!! Haha
I've never ever found a pony at a charity shop and once someone at a car boot sale tried to sell me a mold ridden Cherries Jubilee for a fiver!
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
:like: very much!
I like too but that's a good way to end up skint! Lol. When I've been drinking its not my car keys you need to keep from me, it's anything I can get on eBay with!! Haha!
I think if I'm lucky, I'll win one or two auctions I bid on. The days I win ten tend to involve a drink. ;). Either before or after. :D
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I always look for ponies when I'm at the thrift store anyway, dropping off items or looking for books. But I don't go to the thrift store SOLELY to look for ponies because I'm so often disappointed - it's not worth the time and transportation fee unless I have other reasons to be there.
I have found a couple G1s, also a FashionStar Filly, a bag of seven She-Ra's, a really nice Stormer (from Jem) and a sea pony float, but considering how many times I've been there, that's about a 1 in 25 chance of finding treasure.
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I have a My Pretty Pony that needs serious help. I found her at a thrift store and they gave her to me for free because they were just going to throw her in the trash. She has a cracked open place on her back seam right below her hairline...I don't know what to do with her but I don't want her to go to the junk pile!
She can come live with me. :biggrin:
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
:like: very much!
I like too but that's a good way to end up skint! Lol. When I've been drinking its not my car keys you need to keep from me, it's anything I can get on eBay with!! Haha!
I think if I'm lucky, I'll win one or two auctions I bid on. The days I win ten tend to involve a drink. ;). Either before or after. :D
I find myself oddly reassured that its more than just me negotiating ebay with a friendly jug glass of margarita to keep me company.
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We like to go to estate sales and sometimes I find a couple of pony combs only, as if to say "Ponies were here -- but none for you!!" At one I found flutter pony Hollywood's comb. It was nice to find but I still wonder if we had gotten there earlier whether Hollywood would have been there and what if she still had wings!
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Oh my gosh song you are a brave lady tacking all that in the name of ponies!
Personally I always seem to have a similarly poor experience [minus the company of kiddies, usually just accompanied by a cranky puppy who does not like to go to car boot sales very much]. However, I usually end up spending money on random junk which I dont need but am unable to resist :P
Yes, I'm thinking eBay and a cocktail is a better leisure activity. :)
:like: very much!
I like too but that's a good way to end up skint! Lol. When I've been drinking its not my car keys you need to keep from me, it's anything I can get on eBay with!! Haha!
I think if I'm lucky, I'll win one or two auctions I bid on. The days I win ten tend to involve a drink. ;). Either before or after. :D
I find myself oddly reassured that its more than just me negotiating ebay with a friendly jug glass of margarita to keep me company.
After a couple of bottles of Merlot I've been known to do things like BIN on things like MIP Bay Breeze... :whistle:
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I get the overwhelming majority of my second-hand ponies from ebay. The only time I found them in person was at a church tag sale. They were all in good shape, with the exception of some haircuts, but the best was a Bee Bop. I'm rehairing her now, but I've more or less decided that my main theme collection is music, so she fits right in. :biggrin: I've had more luck with Barbies. I got a bag of accessories and clothes once, and I have a fair few that popped up in Goodwill or a tag sale.
But I like going to Goodwill even if I don't find anything, so. :socks:
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I have had a LOT of luck over my 6-ish years of collecting.. but that's because I live in a town with around 13 thrift stores. I used to hit at least a few almost every day. I don't go as often now, so my finds are fewer. Sometimes I do think about all the gas and time I have wasted over the years... because often, I don't find anything. I don't just collect ponies though, so that helps. I also rarely go out of my way to go thrifting. I love on one side of town and work on the other, so I just hit the line of them on the way home. There really have been some times where I have found nothing for a while though.. I used to get really disappointed about it. I don't so much any more though. Thrifting is the only kind of non-grocery shopping I really get to do, so it's fun for me. I'd totally rather find toys that way than Ebay..it just seems like more of an accomplishment,
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I hit two stores today and found nothing in one, but a plushie in another. I left her, though, since I didn't really connect with her.
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i think going to flea markets and thrift stores kinda keep me in check... cant always just use the credit card. :redface:
:wine: Ebay and a bottle of wine = "you can afford it if you drink more wine.... keep going.... bidding closes in an hour.... bottle almost empty...Charge it!" :drunk: then :awake: the next morning you have a hangover and realized you way overpaid for a pony you dont need (but the wine told you that it was the most important pony ever!) :yikes:
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I went thrifting on Saturday, all I could find though was some G3s, fakies, and an overpriced G4 :c
I did get lucky with finding two G1s (Sugarberry and Princess Tiffany) at a flea market a while back~
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Yeah I can see how the pony hunting can seem glamed up by brags, And I am not bashing brags at all.
But I have been thrifting twice this week and came home with only one G1 brush. I am really happy about the brush. I am just frustrated with the pony no shows.
the previous week I did find 8 G1 ponies
all pretty common, I was still excited.
And before that Its been pretty dull.
maybe one pony a couple months.
And there are more and more people that think they are collector gold because they hear people collect them. So ether the price goes wayyy up or they just sell em on ebay for a high crazy price.
And non pony collectors buy G1 ponies to put them on ebay for a high price I am sure.
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Haha, it makes me sad how many people say they're disappoint since when they go thrifting all they find are 'a bunch of G3s'. I LOVE G3's, I get SO excited whenever I find them! XD Sadly I seemed to have cleaned out our main vendor at the local flea market who carries any MLPs, so I'm hesitant to return for awhile. I've never ever found a pony at an actual thrift shop though, not even a fakie!
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My first time thrifting, I found seven G1s, so nothing has quite lived up to that since. Usually I find gross (like, unidentifiable sticky brown goo on the plastic) McD ponies, or big bunches of fakies. There was a gallon bag of fakies + 1 G3.5 ponyville pony at the YWCA for weeks; I think they expected me to buy it.
I do still love to thrift hunt, though; I've found a mint Snippy (who I deminted! ): ) a cute little Baby Tiddlywinks, and a few G3s and G4s. Never any G2s in Missoula though!