This weekend's flea market adventure didn't go quite as I'd planned. This time, I drove to a nearby city about an hour away because the last time I'd been there a flea market vendor had said she'd bring her vintage ponies for me this weekend.  Before the flea market, I drove and drove and drove to find a garage sale that had been advertised on Craigslist -- I had seen a MOC Raphael Ninja Turtle figure from the 80s, worth at least $65. What ponies I could buy if I resold it, thought I! Sadly, it was not there when my mom and I finally arrived. That was a bummer. But, there was this cute little deer:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Next, we drove and drove and went to a church rummage sale. Thing was, I hadn't realized the rummage sale had started two days before, so the toys were picked over. There was one G3 brush indicating that ponies formerly had been there . . . I was getting depressed.

After lunch, we finally headed to the flea market. I found the vendor from before and hopefully asked about the ponies. "Oh, yes!" she said. "It's a unicorn, named Powder. Now where did I put her . . . " A Powder, I thought. Not too bad, as long as it's not too expensive. But the vendor searched and searched and couldn't find her. She'd left the ponies at home. 

We wandered around the flea market some more, but it's not a market known for its used items. We were headed out when I saw a fakie. "Might as well buy it," I decided. Then in the next row there were toys . . . I found a booth with G3s for sale. They weren't any I was looking for or that were rare, but I found a Crumpet fakie in a bin.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


She was highly priced for a fakie ($2), and I tried to bargain with the seller to bring her price down. "No," she said, "the kids come begging for them anyway, whether they're Hasbro or not." Sigh . . . eventually I bought her anyway.

So, having only found fakies when I'd hoped for some ponies, we wandered a little further and saw a guy with a few bins of toys. I rummaged through them when I saw hooves. I began pulling stuff out -- Honeysuckle, Lily, Royal Blue, bags of pony accessories. Mom found a Sunlight on the other side. The only problem was, they were super expensive!

I'm not the bargaining type, but by this time I was rather desperate. I talked the seller down from $56 to a much lower number, but I had to leave most of the ponies behind and buy only Royal Blue, who I've wanted, and the price was a little higher than I would have liked. But at least I found something!

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

She's very pretty and near mint, with lovely tinsel and hair; she just has a strange stain on her back that I hope comes off, but it's not noticeable. Her symbol is silver now instead of pink, but it suits her.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

There were more accessories than I thought there were; obscuring some of them were other random toys. Royal Blue's comb is there, and the TV, which I've been wanting. The sea pony brush was pretty cool to find, and there were other combs and Paradise Estate pieces. The most surprising find was Firefly's sticker; I don't have any stickers still on their backing! It probably made up for the extra I had to pay. Then there was a Twilight barrette, which I think is pretty cool.

This past week I had an unusual and cool Craigslist find. Someone advertised a MOC Fifi. I thought it might be a scam, but the seller didn't sound shady in her communication, and the price was low enough that I figured I'd risk it. It was worth the risk -- she came and looks lovely! The seller said her mom had saved this one, believing it would be a collectible someday. Go mom.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


On a slightly unrelated note, I finally was able to find a Little Pretty I've been looking for for about 8 months on Ebay -- Cherry Blossom! I love her to pieces.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

So I was wondering if Megan (from MLP) is about the same size as Lady LovelyLocks and can wear the same dresses. I would love to dress up my Megan. And what about the shoes? Or, if there's another doll line with clothes Megan's size, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for your help.  

The entertaining "mankiest pony" thread inspired me to start a thread showcasing your best ponies. Do you have a pony who looks like she just came out of the box? Smells new, looks like no one ever played with her? (The older the pony, the more impressive this will be. ) Or just a pony who cleaned up super-nice or came to you in remarkably good condition? I'd love to see some pictures.

I'm just feeling a little leery of a message I received on Ebay regarding the ponies I have up right now. (You can see my listings here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/7682thomas/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
). It reminds me of the messages people were getting a while back from technopon-e (http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,348234.0.html), but this one doesn't mention any sick child with cancer or anything -- just a kid with an upcoming birthday, pretty common. The person has only 8 feedbacks, but they're all very good; seven are as a seller (of non-pony items), one is as a buyer. Just wanted to run it by you guys:

"hey there -

looking to get a few of the G1 ponies for my daughters' birthday. Was thinking 3 for $35? PARASOL, and any other near mint ones. COuld you let me know if you could do this and if we could do the transaction right away. Her birthday is next week.

thanks"

The ponies aren't up for best offer, which is why I find it kind of weird, I guess. The ones I had listed at the time (Skydancer sold just now to someone else) as near mint were Parasol, Skydancer, Starglow, and Rosy Love. The two last ones are in very good condition and worth more than $10 . . . but I'm not sure those are the ponies she means. I have other nice ones up, they're just not near mint. Argh, I don't know.  I need to clarify which ponies she's asking about, but even then I don't know quite what I'd do next. Do you guys have any opinions? I'm probably overthinking this.

This past Saturday I went to one of my favorite flea markets and had some pony luck. I'd seen a Craigslist ad from a vendor who said he was selling some vintage ponies, and we went to his booth first, hopeful but skeptical, since so many people call fakies or G3 ponies vintage. I was so pleased with who I found!

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

These little guys were laid out on the table in little baggies along with some G4 McDonalds and current ponies (mostly McDonalds) and a G3.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Have to clean them up, but they're in good condition. I hope that braid easily comes out of Sniffles/Snookum's hair.

He also had some Dollar Tree newborn fakies!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


My mom was digging through a box of grab bags at the same booth. Suddenly we saw something small and purple:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


It was Spike! Glad my mom had the courage to look through that rather scary box. When I got home I compared him to my old Spike, and it looks like he's darker, so he's probably the lavender Dream Castle version:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


We stopped by a shop that had advertised G1 ponies on Craigslist some weeks ago; at  the time I didn't have time to get to the flea market. I was pretty sure they were no longer there, since the ones he sent me pictures of I saw listed on Ebay some weeks later. I was right, but there were some G3 ponies and such to look through. There was a Port-o-Bella, but her ear was chewed so I didn't buy her. He also gave me his business card so I can check when he does get any more G1s in.

At one of our regular stops, there was this Lady LovelyLocks puppy:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

There was also a poor beat-up Feed 'N Nuzzle Grand Champion stallion, but the asking price was too much. Sometimes in the past this store has had interesting pricing; I dug out some G3 pony shoes from one of the bins there and when the owner learned they were MLP, she wanted $2 or $3 for them (!), clearly too much. But I got a rare Kitty, Kitty, Kitten there for $2; she sold for $30ish on Ebay. So it's hit or miss. The LLL puppy wasn't expensive.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Next up was one of my favorite stores. There's a ton of toys to look through, including a pony shelf that usually just has G3 and G4 ponies. The owner is super nice and cuts you a deal if you buy more than one item from her. Here there was another LLL puppy, and I believe a Lily Blossom. I'm not sure how to tell whether Lily Blossom is the original release or the newer bag release. The booth had several other G3s and G4s, including a G3 unicorn with a parrot symbol. I like G3 unicorns and kind of wish I'd bought her, since I think she's uncommon, but I have to be careful with my money. Lily Blossom is very cute, so I'm happy. There were also some random Strawberry Shortcake hats and a skirt that is for some 80s toy that I don't know.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

The LLL puppies have different eyes; I have to look into why that's so. And one has a star on her collar while one has a blossom. The smaller-eyed one is from China, the bigger-eyed one is from Mexico.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Our final stop was at a shop where there's a glass case full of ponies. I had been looking at Hippity Hop a lot since I'd been there once or twice in the past and finally bought her. She might be a good deflocking candidate, I think. In the bins there was also a black fakie, which was kind of cool.

I think this pony hunt marked the first time I've personally found G1 ponies "in the wild." It's a good feeling.

Many have been sold, but still some G1 and a few G2 Littlest Pet Shop lots left! Many of these came from a brilliantly taken care of childhood lot I purchased. The little girl kept track of so many of their accessories and was not rough with them.

-Care Center Playset
-Fancy Pony Pairs lot
-Zoo Ponies lot
-Beethoven's Nuzzletime Nursery
-Magic Birthing Mommy

And more! I do combine shipping. I'm selling ponies this week as well, so buy together!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/7682thomas/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

I haven't found anything stupendous at thrift stores or flea markets lately, but while I was in my favorite thrift shop the other day (lots of bags of toys for $3 or less), I found a pony. She was hidden by a giant fakie, but then I cast another glance at the bag and saw the MLP mark on her feet. She has her crown and robe; pretty cool.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


My mom and I went pony hunting the following Saturday, and after a disappointing half-inhabited flea market, we went to a thrift store and found Butterscotch and a fakie. Fun to at least find a pony. And they were each .25, so I can't complain. The cashier reminisced with us about how her daughter loved My Little Ponies back in the day.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


The thrift store we went to next had fakies, a G3.5 Pinkie Pie, and a bubble gum machine with a purple G3 on it. I didn't buy these, not knowing much about them. My mom bought a G2 Lightheart plush in dirty condition. At least she's rescued. I did get some Pokémon plushies for my sister.

I was pretty disappointed that that afternoon there was practically a monsoon -- terrible rain and tornadoes and flooding -- and I couldn't get to the flea market forty minutes away that I knew had G1s. They had been advertised on Craigslist and the seller had sent me a picture -- two Princess Sparkles, the purple pegasus Brush and Grow, and Baby Rainfeather. He also had quite a few newer ponies. And some of the other sellers there have had ponies in the past. But it's probably for the best that I couldn't make it, since I later got a response from him saying that they range from $2 to $8. I'm sure the G1s would have been $8.

And when we got home from thrifting, we found a huge box at the door -- maybe 2 feet by 2 feet. I had purchased a Craigslist lot of Littlest Pet Shops. I'd found it because I'd searched for ponies, which she was also selling, but she had mostly buildings, and I have most of them already. I hadn't realized how extensive and amazing the LPS lot was. They had many of their accessories and there was lots more than the kind of fuzzy and hard to see pictures had shown. There were even Polly Pocket houses in the lot and a My Pretty Dollhouse that my mom had been wanting. And, surprisingly, there were these:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Nice surprise. I think this is the Happy Hoofs Inn, maybe.

The lot had some LPS I've wanted for a while -- these guys were my best friends' characters. The polar bear was Dr. Polar, who prescribed terrible medicine. The cheetah was Cheater, the dumb boyfriend of the most obnoxious of the cats. And I would stare at the catalogues when I was younger, wanting the Prize Winning Pups, like the husky in the picture. That complete set was there, and the Splashtime Puppies, but the other dogs have pink nail polish or something. I hope it comes off. The lot as a whole was very good, though.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


To finish up, last month, a nice Craigslist dealer in another state let me purchase these over a distance:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I've wanted a nice Cherry Treats for so long, and Baby Splasher is so cute. They weren't expensive, either.

I bought a lot of Littlest Pet Shops, but found that it had other 90s toys (I assume) mixed in with the LPS. Out of the toys, these were the ones I couldn't identify. Anyone have a clue? I want to say the little fairy person (#12) is a Fairy Winkle? And the swan and pond might be, too. The little dog house might be a Precious Places piece, since I think it's marked F-P like the other Precious Places accessories in the lot. 

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login