Pony Hunting Tips and Secrets 1-10 #9&10 UPDATE... IT WORKS!!!!

[BigHicks1977]

Ok arena over the next week or two I am going to be giving out a bunch of my toy hunting tips secrets and advice some you may know some you may not either way im sure some of it will help someone. TIP #1 PLUSH TUB....Here is the truth guys most people dont see MLP as anything great most people see them as no more than baby toys or a plush so when you are at the flea market or thrift store or even a yard sale you MUST dig to the bottom of these tubs and boxes.Ponies are heavy compared to stuffed animals and smaller and they WILL find there way to the bottom.So DIG DIG DIG and not to mention the bottom of boxes and tubs are loaded with other small treasure like accesories and brushes LPS and other goodies.

[topic merge ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

[BigHicks1977]

Tip #2 If you are at the flea market yard sale or even the thrift store after you have looked around for what they have for sale find an employee or the person running the spot and ask do you have any ponies.....Now why ask at the end you wonder and not right when you walk up THE PRICE$$$$$ dont let them know what you are hunting for if people think you really want it they will hike up the price so be careful but if you didnt find anything it never hurts to ask before you walk away I have had people run into there houses to grab me toys they didnt bring out or thrift store employes bring me toys from the back they have not put out yet....so remember IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK

[Ariana]

^ I second this, and thank you for bringing this tip up! I was just at a yard sale this past weekend and dug all the way down to the bottom of a tub of dress-up clothes and plush, and found G3 Sew-and-So, who wasn't even priced, so I took her for 25 cents! 

[BigHicks1977]

Exactly Ariana you must roll your sleves up and DIG THERE ARE PONIES LURKING EVERYWHERE!!!!! and I have found several G1's at the bottom of tubs and boxes

[Summer-blade]

yes Digging works! not only in plushie tubs but in Naked barbie tubs ponies are often tossed in with dolls in goodwill and other thrift stores. I've found quite a few ponies this way 

[BigHicks1977]

Tip #3 Build a Team....this one can really REALLY help you if you can pull it off and not everyone can BUT if you can you are well on your way to pony gold...you must build a pony team....recruit friends and family if you can to help you hunt maybe even your husband/wife boyfriend/girlfriend I cant tell how much easier this makes things but there is a few things to keep in mind....first make sure you give everyone a cap like if you see a pony for no more than a buck or two or what ever you feel compfortable about and second and this is MOST important no matter what they find a phony a bald g4 ANYTHING.......BE HAPPY if your team feels good about what they are doing they will be a better hunter for you....and over time they will learn what to look for

[Shy Violet]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing

[BigHicks1977]

Tip #4 Use Craigslist as a Tool...This one can really help you strike toy gold if you do it right and if it does not work than it never hurt to try....use craigslist like a tool post under wanted and toys for sale what you are looking for and what you are willing to pay or you can wait till contact to talk money (thats what I do) and the second way you can use craigslist to its full power is if you have ever looked at local yardsale section and made a LONG list of spots you wanted to check out and do a little pony hunting only to come home later with an empty gas tank and no ponies this CAN help....go to the garadge sale section and type in toys in the search when all the yardsales with toys pop up go to each one and what I do is type one very nice message of what I am looking for and copy and paste it to everyone.....this can do many MANY great things for you it will help you narrow down your search and every once in a while people will even HOLD your toys for you GIVE THIS ONE A TRY!!!!!

[Lorelei Redfern]

great tips!  i  taught my  parents how to  hunt ponys for me when they  went out on there trips. and   they  brought back a lot of fakes but also  a  lot of good things. my dad even spotted a playset! 

the only problem with craigslist right now  is that  a lot of people are marking  ponys up. at least in my area. a lady wanted  50.00  for about 30  g4 mcdoanlds ponys. and  a g3 celebration castle.

[BigHicks1977]

Tip #5 TABOO.... This tip may rub some people a little the wrong way but it helps me a Ton.....find more to collect or look for in your hunts or even find another hobby you can do while you hunt like taking pictures or become a foodie in your area and try new places to eat CUZ at the end of the day collecting should be fun and it does sting to come home empty handed so see if you can ADD to the fun or even help another toy collector buddy and hunt for what they want.........HAVE FUN!!!!

Post Merge: July 08, 2013, 01:46:30 PM

Tip #6 LOOK THE WHOLE PLACE OVER.....Most toy collectors and MLP collectors also love related merchandise to there FAV toys like glasses,statues,toy boxes ECT....so when you are at the thrift store or even a yard sale or flea market dont forget to check ALL the areas cuz you never know when a child has walked around the store with a pony and left it in a random place and you never know what other hidden pony related gyms are all around you 

[lochnessmomster]

Thanks for the awesome tips, BigHicks... that is really nice of you to start a thread like this.

[BlondePonyTail]

His techniques REALLY work, I have seen it time and time again. I have only been collecting for about 3 months and have right at 100 ponies! All of them finds. I have bought nothing on ebay at all.

Then again I MIGHT be a little partial since he's my guy 

[Sugar]

Thanks for the tips!  These are great, and some new ideas in different directions for me.

One that we do follow is the team strategy - on hunts when my son's been along with me, his eyes frequently spot what mine miss.  He's also at a different eye-level than I am, so that helps a lot too.  It isn't always ponies (and sometimes it's more Pokémon than I bargained for ) but it's always fun.   Add to which, he's a particularly serendipitous little booger (the type of kid who wins raffles and door prizes, gets odd lucky breaks, etc.), so he feels special when his luck rubs off on me.

[BigHicks1977]

Tip #7 NETWORK and this one is kind of easy but hard to do well and if you are reading this you are WELL ON YOUR WAY lol networking just means make pony friends build a REAL relationship with other collectors this does many MANY good things for you...first off its good to talk about what you love and like talking about it and sharing is half if not more of the fun of it and second it will help you find those hard to get ponies and toys you are hunting for either through buying them or trade.....so say HELLO  and make real friends

[BlondePonyTail]

Well hello there handsome how you doin?

 

I'm just networking with you