Toy Hunter Show

[ShortyBoo]

I watch the show with my son, though neither of us really like him. He just comes across as arrogant. I think the first episode I saw he was looking at a toy, but as he put it back, he said something along the lines of "I'll let you keep that" and I just thought "Um, it's his in the first place and he doesn't need your permission to keep his own stuff" which is pretty much what my son said about that. He blurted out "it's his, of course he can keep it!" and I thought that was pretty funny. I don't like that he talks down to the collectors and I also don't like how he goes and tells them how much their stuff is worth but most of the time, won't even give them half of that amount. Plus, I really wish he'd let the collectors talk more instead of treating them like they don't know anything. I'm not even sure why I do watch, honestly. I guess I just like seeing old toys. I know it mostly covers boys' stuff, but I have 2 younger brothers so I played with a lot of boys' toys when I was a kid.

[gabumon]

does anyone know if the web clips are shorter than the real episodes?

[StoryDreamer]

Did you see the first episode? It was run as a special. He went to a comic place here in Cincinnati, because Kenner's factory used to be located here. And the employees would often go to this comic store and trade things from the factory. And the owner of the store had a prototype Star Wars Boba Fett action figure that was never made. It was basically a legend and rarely seen in the fandom. And this comic owner had it in a box in his shop and wanted 10,000 for it. The host took it to NY Comic Con to sell it in exchange for receiving 20% and I think it went for  $65,000. In that case, he was able to get a good good good price for this comic owner. (Which is good because his shop is located in an area that they're trying to destroy the history of, and I'm sure that $$$ will help him stay put for quite a while, that comic store is legendary)

(He also goes to Cleveland because of the connection Care Bears and Those Characters from Cleveland. This area of the midwest is rich in toy history!)

[invaderhorizongreen]

I really have no opinion on this show I have yet to see it for myself.

[banditpony]

(He also goes to Cleveland because of the connection Care Bears and Those Characters from Cleveland. This area of the midwest is rich in toy history!)

I had to google this to see, in hopes that he was going to talk about the development of the Carebears. (Why else go to CLE? The toys were made in Cincinatti)... but all I found was like a 3 min webclip. )': Sadness. And the clip I watched ... well, I don't think I'll like the show.

[nessa16]

I like these kinds of shows. I'm sure the people know what they are getting in to and a lot of time the person buying will say, "come on you've got to work with me. I've gotta make a profit." So I think it's clear I like episodes where they give them more money than they ask for (like Eternia said) There was an episode of Pawn Stars where a lady came in with a brooch and wanted to sell it for cheap because she didn't realize it was real gold with real gemstones. The pawn guy told her how much it was really worth and gave her a lot more money than she asked for. So it's nice to see things like that

But didn't he turn around and sell it for way more than he gave her because it was supposedly a really rare Faberge Spider brooch?  Now internet sites are saying was fake or something too, IDK.

I understand that he is a broker but he seems really irritating to me for many of the reasons already mentioned: he seems to talk down to the collectors (yes maybe the info is for the audience but let the collectors speak), the "bragging" at the end for how much he thinks he can flip it for, and of course what Shortyboo said about his comments about "I will let you keep that", "It's really rare"...but I will give you like $10 for it and my favorite "You have to sell this to me!"  Um, no they don't. 

I also don't really like the false prices he gave for the girls toys.  What he paid for the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake and expected to get for him were fairly high for those toys.  Especially not MIB.  If you looked on eBay right now for loose ones, the prices probably wouldn't be near that.  It really bothers me too that he seems to only focus on certain things when obviously the people he goes to see have TONS of toys that would be interesting to see.  At least they could post pix on the internet of stuff they didn't show on the show instead of just regurgitating everything that they said on the show.  He also seems to insinuate a lot of the time that just because it is not MIB, that no one would want it or it is not worth anything.  That's what it seemed like he said to the guy that had the near mint looking Masters of the Universe Snake Mountain playset.  I would totally have wanted that lol.

[StoryDreamer]

Oh, I was mistaken. He doesn't go to Cleveland (AND BTW, I LOVE CLEVELAND LOL) after all. But there is still a chance that cool protoypes, designs, etc could be lurking in Cleveland because of American Greetings being there.

[gabumon]

ok I watched a full episode and I feel a little bit better about him.  still not sure I like the "net profit" summaries at the end.

[gothtini]

He's always really nice about things, people have offered selling an item for a couple hundred he offered to buy it for 2 grand. He's a LOT better then the American Pickers, and yah know you have to have profit in order to buy and sell items. In any show like that people are told what they do, why they have cameras, etc.

[Galactica]

I agree that prototypes pop up in Cleveland all the time because of that Kenner factory closing-  I have an older friend that lived around there when the factory closed- she said they dumped TONS of toys (prototypes and first shots and the like) into the dumpsters-  (most people except her were after Star Wars) the first day or was a free for all for toy collectors- but the second day and every day thereafter they posted a guard

Just the thought of all those prototypes going to the dump makes me feel so sick.... I would have bribed the guard maybe, begged him, offered him my firs.... well, you get the idea.

Most of my prototypes from Kenner have come from former employees that still live in that area- there are a LOT of awesome thrift-shops all around Cleveland that are jammed full of vintage toys-  but the people around there know exactly what they have - and if you get a deal- it's because they are sick of looking at it....

[popyduggan]

I dislike this show because it, like insanely high listings on eBay, convinces people that their old broken played with toys are worth as much as a MIB toy kept by a collector, and it makes it harder for us to find things at a good price!

Qft, it's been a looong time since I didn't overpay for old/modern toys on ebay. Also, if it has a UPC, it's not rare, resellers!

It annoying to me because he doesn't buy to collect and even though he admits it, he still is condescending about collectors because you know, "why would buy anything unless it's to make more money? There is no other value!". Idiots like him really sour my hobbies.

In video games, if there's ever a decent deal people will buy 10x more just so they can get an extra $2.00 trade-in credit per copy at Best Buy, and they've got all these other sleezy reasons and money hungry philosophies to back up their ill will like, "You're just mad you didn't get the great deal I did, lol!". Most of these bilge rats are on the slickdeals forums.

[partypony566]

I hate these kind of shows

[keikokukien]

Well...my dad owns a pawn shop. It's kinda in our family, so I've been raised around them all my life. Now I'm working for a second-hand game shop. The main concern of the customers is to sell it now and avoid auction sites, conventions, ect. The only real way to get what you want for a rare or semi-rare collectable is to spend the time and gas/shipping/fee money to sell it to someone who is looking for it. Sometimes even a Mimic on Ebay will be circulated three or four times until she sells because people either don't have the money to buy it just then or the right person isn't looking for her at the moment that she is online. For most people, taking that extra time and money is a hassle, so they would rather sell to a broker or exchange it quickly for something they can get instant gratification for.

If you've ever tried to pawn something and the value was far less than what you saw on ebay, it's because the pawnshop will not get instant money for it. They have to wait, most times, for the right person that is actively looking for that item or that has the expendable money at that exact moment to buy it. There was this REALLY awesome doll house built at the turn of the century, a collector's item that had a price tag of over $300 for it and I remember as a kid I was allowed to clean it every month for two years until it finally sold. (They wouldn't let me play with it, naturally, but I cleaned/dusted it for them, so I got to sort of play with it.  )

This guy...he does talk too much. I wish we could hear the sentimental value of the item along with the price tag, but then again, he would still have to turn to the camera and gloat about the turnover profit. These shows have to have something like that to keep the viewers interested. Now, there have been some collectors that told him no because he couldn't match the price they wanted, or he told them the price it could go for in stores and then a much lower price which gave them the idea that they could make way more if they did put the time into it. Real pawn shops...unfortunately, don't do that. If you don't know how much your Barbie is and you try to sell it, they'll ask how much you want for it and if they can make a profit off of it and sell it for triple what you got for it, they will without hesitation. Sometimes, if the item is worth an insane amount and you want to sell it cheap, they may say "Well, we can give you more for it this time...how's ___?" Hope this helps everyone understand it a little better. I always encourage people to research what they have so they know how much they should properly get while still being reasonable.

Oh, um...one more thing... I've been in a situation before where I was hard up for money and almost on the verge of bankrupcy/debt. At that time, I didn't know what else to do other than sell some of my other collections, jewelry, ect...and there was no way I could sell it to my own father. So I know from experience...people sometimes need money for desperate reasons. There are so many reasons that a person needs to exchange/sell their items and they may know exactly what the item is worth, but don't have the means to put it up on ebay or the time to wait for the money...I just wanted to add that because sometimes it is very hard to understand a situation when you've never had to be the one selling your precious items that are very dear to you because of situations beyond your control. So there are many reasons for the need of brokers.

[minercia]

I actually like this show, but I mainly watch to see the collections.
Other show that I like is COLLECTION INTERVENTION

[josiekat]

Somehow I have a feeling that these people get more than we are told. I'm sure there is what the guy offers....and then the show itself kicks in some....just to ensure that people agree to sell their stuff. I go back and forth on this show. I don't like the dude, but I like seeing the stuff. I did laugh that he paid $50 for three Care Bears though. I laughed, and looked at my husband and said......I have those same three Care Bears in my collection, and got all 3 for less than $20 shipping included. He told me I was crazy. lol