Millennials and Gen X Can Cash In Big Time On These 7+ Toys
Ihave been working on cleaning out my basement and have been on the look-out for these items. Some of these are worth serious cash!
BEANIE BABIES
I have found some Beanie Babies but I never got into collecting like some people. They were known as a good investment. Even as a kid, I thought that was silly. However, some are valuable.
Beanie Babies can also make you rich, depending on their condition. One seller on Etsy for example, is offering “four super rare retired Beanie Babies. Valentina and Valentino, Peace bear and First edition Princess Diana,” for an eye-popping $17,700. Whether this sale price is actually achievable is up for debate, though a “Peace Bear” Beanie Baby did sell for just under $9,000 on eBay recently.
VHS TAPES
We have a ton of VHS tapes in the basement. Some of them might be worth money. Disney VHS especially are valuable.
“If you’ve still got some old VHS tapes from your childhood, then it may be your lucky day,” Ask.com indicated.
And collectors especially like Disney movies: A 1992 copy of “Beauty and the Beast” recently sold for a whopping $13,000, while “The Rescuers Down Under” from 1991 cashed in at $7,000, Ask.com added. These prices are likely fetched for rarer variants.
POKEMON CARDS
I never got into Pokemon cards but they are now so valuable they made a recent episode of Antiques Roadshow!
Pokémon became a global phenomenon in the late 1990s, and the trading card game was especially popular among Millennials. Players collected and traded Pokémon cards, engaging in battles using their card decks. The cards featured various Pokémon characters, each with their unique abilities, making them highly sought after and collectible.
VINTAGE LUNCH BOXES
I wish I knew where my old Strawberry Shortcake lunch box was. It would probably be worth money these days.
Some of these vintage metal lunch boxes can sell for up to 10,000 times their original price, “especially if you also have the thermos that originally came inside,” according to Ask.com.
For example, a 1980 “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” lunch box with the matching thermos and insert pamphlet sold for $600 on eBay, according to Love to Know.
VINTAGE BAND T-SHIRTS
Remember going to concerts in the 1980s and 1990s and having to buy a t-shirt? Some of the concerts I went to as a teen were New Kids on the Block, Vanilla Ice and Bryan Adams. At the time I bought a New Kids t-shirt which I later threw out. I wish I had kept it now!
Another potential treasure that a lot of Gen Xers have in their attic: tour t-shirts.
“Authentic band tour T-shirts from decades ago can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars, due to their scarcity,” Ask.com detailed.
A 1988 Sugarcubes vintage tour band t-shirt is listed for $595 on eBay, as one example. And Ask.com reported that a t-shirt from the Talking Head’s New Wave Rock Tour in the 1980s just sold online for $1,900.
VINYL RECORDS
My dad loved Elvis and collected every single Elvis record. He also had a huge collection of records from the 1960s-1980s. I remember going through his collection of records and playing them on the record player.
Vinyl records have been making a comeback, and if you have some stashed away, now is a good time to sell them.
As Country Living reported, Prince’s “The Black Album,” for instance, can sell for anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000.
ACTION FIGURES
Star Wars, Transformers and GI Joes are the highest value action figures. They are worth even more if they are new in box!
BOOMBOXES
I remember getting my first cassette tape player. And then when I got a CD player in college, it was amazing.
Depending on the brand and features, some boomboxes can sell for over $800 on eBay.
Additionally, these can sell even if in non-working condition for parts. Gen Xers with their heart and soul stuck in the 1980s may have a hobby or passion for restoring boomboxes and need parts that are no longer made or available on the consumer market.
BOARD GAMES
I loved board games as a kid and still do. I collect them now and some of them are worth money!
Games like:
SMURF STUFF
Remember the Smurf’s cartoon? I was obsessed as a kid and wore a Smurf’s watch. Here are some items that are in demand:
Small Figures
Sheets
Drinking Glasses
Plush
Costumes
Christmas Ornaments
Posters
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake and the gang when I was a kid. I dressed up like Blueberry Muffin one Halloween.
Orange Blossom, Mint Tulip, Banana Twirl, and Peach Blossom Strawberry Shortcake dolls all sell for over $400 if in the original box. The houses, clothes, and accessories are valuable. A set of the “Merry Attic” plastic furniture sells for over $100! That’s right, a few pieces of tiny plastic fashioned into doll furniture is worth $100.
Right now eBay has:
SCRATCH AND SNIFF STICKERS
They were the best! I had so many sticker collections and scratch and sniff were my favorite.
It seems like kids put stickers on everything in the 80s. Notebooks, lockers, sticker books, and each other. The scratch and sniff stickers were really popular, with scents like chocolate, fruit, or pizza.
There was a brand called Mello Smello that was popular. Hallmark also had a line of chocolate scented candy themed stickers. Lots (groups) of stickers, especially still new in the package (called new old stock) can sell for over $100 on eBay. There was another product, stickers and trading cards called Wacky Packs with take-offs of name brand products.