US price of a standard pony in the 80's?

[kissthethunder]

I remember very clearly being at an Ames store (out of business now) and I had ten dollars from my grandmother. I bought baby pineapple and baby sea princess, and both were 3.99 I believe. Adults? I have no idea

[hathorcat]

If I remember rightly there was a thing made at the time G3 launched about the toys being cheaper or the same price as the originals. Surprisingly price tags dont turn up on all the MOC/MIBs I have seen or owned but the bulk of those that do have them put things anywhere from $4.99-5.99 depending on store and stage in the release for regular and early cards through to $9.99 to $12.99 for the middle year boxed ponies and then on up to $14.99 for the later release box ponies.

Personally even at the lower end of $4.99 this puts ponies in the 80s in the expensive bracket - yes "inflation" puts that at $10 but in reality the price point in context of "life" is even higher. They were very much a special purchase rather than the pocket money price of G4s. Hence why I completely understand the size and quality difference

[shabbychicdee]

Try £6-7 per pony in the UK in the 80s crazy expensive and that's why I had such a small collection at the time

yes same here in new zealand they were that much and i only had 9 before i became too old for toys
the crazy thing was the price dropped a little by the time the sosofts and big bro's came out they were down to $9
but the baby box set eg glory and blossom i can remember being $20nzd ($16usd) which was alot of money back then

Post Merge: August 23, 2012, 05:12:11 PM

If I remember rightly there was a thing made at the time G3 launched about the toys being cheaper or the same price as the originals. Surprisingly price tags dont turn up on all the MOC/MIBs I have seen or owned but the bulk of those that do have them put things anywhere from $4.99-5.99 depending on store and stage in the release for regular and early cards through to $9.99 to $12.99 for the middle year boxed ponies and then on up to $14.99 for the later release box ponies.

Personally even at the lower end of $4.99 this puts ponies in the 80s in the expensive bracket - yes "inflation" puts that at $10 but in reality the price point in context of "life" is even higher. They were very much a special purchase rather than the pocket money price of G4s. Hence why I completely understand the size and quality difference

over here i remember seeing when the g3 came out i thought it funny the singles were the same price as the 80s singles and when the g4 singles came out they were in fact cheaper then the early g1's, i know they don't come close to size and quality its just funny seeing something i can afford to collect all of in this day and age

[Sugar]

I remember buying Tootsie at a toy store here in Canada for $4.99 (plus the ubiquitous taxes).  We used to cross-border shop in New York a lot, and I seem to remember getting ponies for around the same, with some being around the $3.50 mark at KayBee Toys, probably for the "last year's models" as they made room for the new ones or something.

I'm a catalogue junkie, though, and an old Sears catalogue from 1983 shows the original 6 ponies at $4.99 each (and the Show Stable for $19.99, and the Pretty Parlour for $12.99, and My Pretty Pony as a set with Butterscotch for $19.99).  This is emphatically NOT my photo, I am hopelessly inept at linking photos from other sites when they're all in frames and stuff.  Please enjoy it and all credit goes to Wishbook Web.  Or really, Sears Roebuck & Co, I imagine.  Public domain?

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Wish I still found this kind of stuff in the Sears catalogues... *sigh*

Edit to add:  Eeee!  The Montgomery Ward's catalogue on the same site for 1984 has the Dream Castle!  And plushies!  All the second year ponies!  *swoon*

[svleonard]

I distinctly remember buying Raincurl and another pony (a yellow one, perhaps?) from a drugstore when I was a little girl.  I can't remember how much each cost, but I do remember the number 7.  Either both ponies cost $7 together, or they were $7 each.  I also remember thinking that they were really nice, and that for my money I was making a good investment.  Alas, I don't know where they are now.

[Rosette]

Most of my MOC ponies have had their price stickers either scraped off or have fallen off over time.  The ones I have, though, say this:

So-Soft Buttons $7.96
Twice as Fancy (first series) $4.99
Summer Wing (from KayBee toys) $5.99
Rockin' Beat Pony  $7.69
Pony Purse with Baby Crumpet (from Toys R Us)  $8.97

[SkyCakes]

I just cry at these prices... I remember picking out ponies with my allowance. They were about 5 dollars each. I also remember a giant row of my little pony. Sigh..if I only knew what I know now I wouldn't of gave my childhood ponies away..

[kitkatvintage]

Adult ponies on a card were about $5, and babies on a card were usually $4. As mentioned, anything in a box was more - usually $7-8 or $10-12 depending on what they came with (or what store it was). Paradise Estate was $50... I remember that specifically because it seemed like *so much money*. My family was big on teaching me how to use money as a child & I knew that if I got $5 for something like a birthday or good report card, I could go buy a pony (my grandmother usually helped me out with the tax, lol).

I remember Kmart running a sale of 3/$10 on the newborn babies on a card & I raid the piggy bank to get $10 to spend on them.

[Elfpony]

I've got the box of my childhood Party Pack (one of the few things I have from my childhood collection) and the price tag is $26.99.  Not bad at all for 5 ponies and a tonne of accessories.

Elf

[Daiyuflower]

Given that they cost so much in the 80s, I'm not surprised I didn't have too many as a kid   Does anyone know how much the Dream Castle retailed for?  I got the lavender one for Christmas when I was four, and I'm wondering now how my parents managed to find the money since my dad was still in school then. 

[hathorcat]

Adult ponies on a card were about $5, and babies on a card were usually $4. As mentioned, anything in a box was more - usually $7-8 or $10-12 depending on what they came with (or what store it was). Paradise Estate was $50... I remember that specifically because it seemed like *so much money*. My family was big on teaching me how to use money as a child & I knew that if I got $5 for something like a birthday or good report card, I could go buy a pony (my grandmother usually helped me out with the tax, lol).

I remember Kmart running a sale of 3/$10 on the newborn babies on a card & I raid the piggy bank to get $10 to spend on them.

Lol PE over here was a staggering £59.99 on one of the catalogues I have - which back then would have been about $100! So in todays money $200...now thats an expensive playset!

[Sugar]

Given that they cost so much in the 80s, I'm not surprised I didn't have too many as a kid   Does anyone know how much the Dream Castle retailed for?  I got the lavender one for Christmas when I was four, and I'm wondering now how my parents managed to find the money since my dad was still in school then.

Wishbook Web has a Montgomery Ward's catalogue scanned from 1984, listing the Dream Castle at $27.77.   But that's the pink one, sadly they don't have a catalogue from 1989 or 1990...