Is There Pony Thrifting Etiquette?

[lunar_scythe]

Theres a few, like 3 or 4, collectors in this area, and while I used to be pretty greedy with flea and thrift ponies, now I try not to go on days when i know another collector is; that way we each get a fair share of what shows up.  If i go to a thrift store and find a bunch, i try to text the others to see if they want any of them too, but thats me, theres no actual rules about it?

If im in an unfamiliar area and i find some ponies, i usually buy them, but i only go places once in a while haha.

[scarletjul]

I rarely find g1s any more in the wild and, to be honest, when I do I buy them.  Finding a g1 is just so rare and you never know who might be picking them up next; there is definitely resellers in my area.  G3s are starting to become uncommon; I only pick up ones I like.  I'm finding more g4s now but I usually leave most of those behind (unless it's a rare one or one I want.)

[chaosprincess]

I agree scarletjul it is becoming harder to find them my cousin and I got lucky when we found a box with generation 1 and 2 ponies at a yard sale, but that probably won't happen again generation 4 is whats going to be found the most since its the popular generation right now and people are mostly selling their collection instead of donating when we go to the goodwill we use to find generation 3 and 3.5 plushies and small figures, but now we don't even see generation 3 anymore its mostly generation 4 so have to hit the fairs or the internet, but they are still out there in the great wild somewhere waiting to be bought.

[Stormness_1]

I'm sure there's someone picking them up in my spot nowadays, I never find anything anymore! I haven't seen a G1 in the wild in at least a year.

[Taffeta]

I'm also looking for MH dolls, though.  I've been beaten to the punch by kids on a few occasions, but in a sense, I am ok with that. I let a kid choose her dolls at one stall first at the toy fair, because, well, they're for kids and they are out NOW, so popular with kids NOW too. And they are expensive for little kids new.

I honestly have no qualms about beating a really young child to the punch when it comes to MH. They really are not meant for very young children with all the fragile and removable pieces. (I know they are starting to come out with less articulated versions but I'm talking about the older ones mostly). I can't tell you how sad I get when I see a toddler carrying around a lower armless MH doll shoved into a Barbie dress.

The kids I have seen are in the 8-9 age range mostly, and they know exactly what they are looking for. When I said little kids I didn't mean toddlers, but that one is on the parent to know appropriate ages for toys.  The kids are the us of the present, so I am fine stepping back. Even if they destroy the toy by playing with it in the future...they are made for that purpose. Without the kid market they wouldnt exist, so I don't think you can say toys are not safe with kids.

We as a generation wrecked thousands of flutters, but nobody ever said we shouldn't have them to begin with

[LadyMoondancer]

It's first come, first serve.  Pretty much the only etiquette is "don't snatch things out of someone else's cart". 

Personally I do not like it when people ask a thrift shop to call them when the shop gets ponies.  That pretty much guarantees that no one else will ever get ponies from that shop.

As for this woman going to all the thrift shops, it might be that she has to travel anyway (on business or to visit family) and she just goes to all the thrift shops while she's in town.

If you're looking for G1s, those are simply hard to find in thrift shops these days.  The heyday for finding them in the wild was the late 90s, when all the 80s kids were outgrowing them.

[Jorgito93]

I'm also looking for MH dolls, though.  I've been beaten to the punch by kids on a few occasions, but in a sense, I am ok with that. I let a kid choose her dolls at one stall first at the toy fair, because, well, they're for kids and they are out NOW, so popular with kids NOW too. And they are expensive for little kids new.

I honestly have no qualms about beating a really young child to the punch when it comes to MH. They really are not meant for very young children with all the fragile and removable pieces. (I know they are starting to come out with less articulated versions but I'm talking about the older ones mostly). I can't tell you how sad I get when I see a toddler carrying around a lower armless MH doll shoved into a Barbie dress.

The kids I have seen are in the 8-9 age range mostly, and they know exactly what they are looking for. When I said little kids I didn't mean toddlers, but that one is on the parent to know appropriate ages for toys.  The kids are the us of the present, so I am fine stepping back. Even if they destroy the toy by playing with it in the future...they are made for that purpose. Without the kid market they wouldnt exist, so I don't think you can say toys are not safe with kids.

We as a generation wrecked thousands of flutters, but nobody ever said we shouldn't have them to begin with

I feel the same as you, i think children have the priority over us for toys.The only case i would be a little more opposed to that would be with rare ponies, and even with them they are still toys.

[buttonso]

Thrift stores are a dice roll and if someone is willing to do the leg work and go around to ones outside their area and go hunting, more power to em. ::shrugs:: I have no idea if I'm the only pony hunter in my area or not, but I doubt it. I go to thrift stores once or twice a week in my own town or venturing out to Kansas City (about a 50 minute drive) and when I travel on vacation I look for thrift stores.
As for kids...
My favorite thrift store has SO MANY toys I don't really worry about kids... Me buying a few ponies every now and then doesn't diminish a kid's shot at toys.

Post Merge: May 22, 2016, 07:54:33 AM

It's first come, first serve.  Pretty much the only etiquette is "don't snatch things out of someone else's cart". 

Personally I do not like it when people ask a thrift shop to call them when the shop gets ponies.  That pretty much guarantees that no one else will ever get ponies from that shop.

As for this woman going to all the thrift shops, it might be that she has to travel anyway (on business or to visit family) and she just goes to all the thrift shops while she's in town.

If you're looking for G1s, those are simply hard to find in thrift shops these days.  The heyday for finding them in the wild was the late 90s, when all the 80s kids were outgrowing them.

Pretty much. Some of my childhood ponies came from thrift stores in the 90s.

[Taffeta]

Personally I do not like it when people ask a thrift shop to call them when the shop gets ponies.  That pretty much guarantees that no one else will ever get ponies from that shop.

Ditto with this. Every collector deserves the chance to stumble on something by coincidence

@ Wardah - today I found some of those dolls you mentioned with missing hands and barbie wear. I now have restore and reroot projects and the owner isn't going to throw them in the bin <3 result

I also found my first G1 thing in a long time - Seastar's float. I like little surprises like that. It's what keeps the hunt fun

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Don't forget, there aren't just collectors out there... some people are resellers of vintage toys and they drive far distances and visit a LOT of shops to fill their inventory! 

[kestral_kitsune]

its hard to find ponys around here. but i've given up hard to find ones if a kid wants it, even after I've dug it up out of a pile of toys. I'm not cruel and go finders keepers to a kid that would cherish and play with a pony.
I have friends that go garage sale-ing a lot and they're always on the look out for ponies for me.
I did come across a starlight glimmer in a thrift store but a kid wanted her so let her have the pony and they're not even in stores around here,

[Wardah]

I'm also looking for MH dolls, though.  I've been beaten to the punch by kids on a few occasions, but in a sense, I am ok with that. I let a kid choose her dolls at one stall first at the toy fair, because, well, they're for kids and they are out NOW, so popular with kids NOW too. And they are expensive for little kids new.

I honestly have no qualms about beating a really young child to the punch when it comes to MH. They really are not meant for very young children with all the fragile and removable pieces. (I know they are starting to come out with less articulated versions but I'm talking about the older ones mostly). I can't tell you how sad I get when I see a toddler carrying around a lower armless MH doll shoved into a Barbie dress.

The kids I have seen are in the 8-9 age range mostly, and they know exactly what they are looking for. When I said little kids I didn't mean toddlers, but that one is on the parent to know appropriate ages for toys.  The kids are the us of the present, so I am fine stepping back. Even if they destroy the toy by playing with it in the future...they are made for that purpose. Without the kid market they wouldnt exist, so I don't think you can say toys are not safe with kids.

We as a generation wrecked thousands of flutters, but nobody ever said we shouldn't have them to begin with

Unfortunately a lot of parents think the age guidelines on toys mean "perfectly appropriate for kids above that age" when all they mean is "won't harm a kid above that age". Anyways at least in the US we now have $5 unarticulated sturdy MH Fearleading dolls. Anyways I don't think I have ever ran into an actual kid wanting something I was looking at. I leave plenty of unarticulated Disney Princess dolls behind for the little ones

If you're looking for G1s, those are simply hard to find in thrift shops these days.  The heyday for finding them in the wild was the late 90s, when all the 80s kids were outgrowing them.

I dunno they were still pretty plentiful for a long time after. You gotta remember a lot of parents would take outgrown toys (and clothes) and shove them into the attic "in case you want to pass them on to your kids or I or my sister has another kid".

[Taffeta]

It's first come, first serve.  Pretty much the only etiquette is "don't snatch things out of someone else's cart". 

Personally I do not like it when people ask a thrift shop to call them when the shop gets ponies.  That pretty much guarantees that no one else will ever get ponies from that shop.

As for this woman going to all the thrift shops, it might be that she has to travel anyway (on business or to visit family) and she just goes to all the thrift shops while she's in town.

If you're looking for G1s, those are simply hard to find in thrift shops these days.  The heyday for finding them in the wild was the late 90s, when all the 80s kids were outgrowing them.

I dunno they were still pretty plentiful for a long time after. You gotta remember a lot of parents would take outgrown toys (and clothes) and shove them into the attic "in case you want to pass them on to your kids or I or my sister has another kid".

It's also regional. There are a huge number more of them in the States because of the sheer size of the market. Mind you, there are also more collectors, so it balances?

Here, there were tons of G1 at carboot sales and such from at least 1995 (probably before, but we began in 1995) through to the start of the 21st century. They began to dry up after that. I'd say that, aside from the occasional find, they haven't been plentiful around here (by which I mean the places in the UK I've been staying/living/carbooting) since at the latest 2003-4.

In 1995 we brought home on average 2-5 ponies a week, and that was before buying doubles to trade on. After we discovered online trading, we probably brought home on average 7-8 ponies a week (some weeks 20+ some weeks none) during the summer. When the younger siblings/second generation of kids sold them they often had fewer accessories with them. And then they dried up more or less completely. People more often put their childhood collections on ebay now, if they still have them.

[ponybanker]

I leave most G3's and baits but will pick up G4 (outside of the core 6) and G1's. However like everyone else have said they get harder and harder to find, I usually have 1-5 goo scores a year. I also travel out of state to a big city with multiple thrift stores and have a few friends in that city. I cant tell them when im coming because they get "territorial" when I find stuff lol.

[Ponyfan]

The thrift stores/garage sales in my area don't usually have ponies when I look. I did find 2 or 3 ponies several years ago but they were overpriced. The store wanted $6 for a Bouncy with lots of flocking rubbed off. I did find a G1 Moondancer at a garage sale once for $.25 but these have been my only g1 finds. I did see some McDonald's ponies at Savers not too long ago. 


Ponyfan