[Cherie]

I heard this story yesterday an 88 year old ex toy rep had boxes of figures in his attic, he wanted to buy a new bathroom, now he will be able to get a house, apparently these toys in any condition are fetching record amounts, if anyone is lucky enough to have an Action Man in Judo clothes he is worth a fortune!!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...s-sell-auction


Unsold and unwanted Action Man and Star Wars figures, kept for decades by a retired toy salesman, have been snapped up by collectors at an auction which raised more than £180,000.

One telephone bidder paid out a total of £6,480 for a rare Action Man judo outfit, which retailed for just 12 shillings, or 60p, when it went on sale in 1970.

A boxed Star Wars Death Star fetched £5,280 while a Princess Leia doll was sold for £3,600. Publicity photographs for a figure of feared bounty hunter Boba Fett, complete with Mandolarian armour, made more than £2,300 when the estimate had been just £40-£60.

The majority of the 605 lots belonged to former sales rep Doug Carpenter, 88, who, when toy firm Palitoy ceased trading, was allowed to keep unsold stock and stored boxes of it in his loft and garage.

When he and his wife, Daphne, heard about a Boba Fett figure selling for £18,000 earlier this year, they handed over the collection to their son, Paul, 51, to sell.

Kathy Taylor, a valuer for specialist auctioneers Vectis Auctions in Thornaby, Teesside, said: “It was unbelievable to see all the boxes coming out with stock that was factory fresh, which hadn’t been opened, it was like a time capsule.”

Even empty boxes and factory notes were of value. One lot of Palitoy paperwork sold for £2,500, while a box which had once contained Star Wars figures, made £160.

“Factories sent toys out in what were called trade cartons and these, from the 1970s and 1980s, can be very rare. They are rarer than the items themselves,” said Taylor.

The auction also contained lots by two former designers at the toy manufacturers.

Advertisement

Action Man sporting goods were relatively poor sellers in the 1970s as children preferred to see him in military uniform. But that unpopularity now makes such outfits more valuable as fewer of them remain. A mis-carded box – a cricket outfit on an Olympic Champion cards, which was mislabelled when it was made – sold for £2,760.

Meanwhile, a Tammy doll – Pippa’s friend – which was estimated at between £40-£60, sold for £2,760.

“A lot of the value is down to the packaging, they are very scarce in shop stock condition,” said Taylor. “These are very unusual in that they have come out of trade boxes, so they are shop stock”.

Action Man was originally based on the US Hasbro 1964 figure, GI Joe, and produced and sold in the UK from 1966. The figures were a best-seller. Palitoy ignored the debate at the time on whether boys should be playing with a doll, but they banned the word “doll” when discussing the new toy.

[kirklancaster]

Will post a detailed response later Cherie - for now I'm too busy ransacking the attic for old toys.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I sell a fair bit of retro toys like AM and dolls and the like and know how well they go so its not surprising. Auction guide prices sometimes are not worth the paper they are printed on.

That Pippas friend will be a first edition, mint and boxed so no surprises there, to a degree. Any serious collector wants ex employee gear like this. its the gold.

[Locke.]

I have quite a few of these Star Wars figures, but they're from the 80's and not 70's.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

Will post a detailed response later Cherie - for now I'm too busy ransacking the attic for old toys.

Originally Posted by Locke.

I have quite a few of these Star Wars figures, but they're from the 80's and not 70's.

The article says 80s as well

[Toy Soldier]

Even stuff from when I was young, in the 90's, sells for a few hundred pounds even in used condition. All of mine were given away to various friends of my parents when they split and sold the house 12 years ago!

[Livia]

I've collected Barbies for years. Lots of them are in boxes are I've got a couple of rare ones although I shouldn't think they're worth very much, not in the Star Wars league, sadly.

[the truth]

I swapped my star wars stuff for lego.......DOH

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

Will post a detailed response later Cherie - for now I'm too busy ransacking the attic for old toys.

💰is Kirk still in the attic

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Cherie

💰is Kirk still in the attic

probably found all his 70s porn mags

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

probably found all his 70s porn mags

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Livia

I've collected Barbies for years. Lots of them are in boxes are I've got a couple of rare ones although I shouldn't think they're worth very much, not in the Star Wars league, sadly.

Livia... You have just blown my mind. I would not have had you down as a barbie collector. In fact, I'm struggling to assimilate this into my image of you, and have decided to reject this information and assume that you meant something else. Maybe you're on a touchscreen and it somehow autocorrected "Barbies" from "combat knives"? Hmmm...

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

probably found all his 70s porn mags

Hahaha beat me to it.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Livia... You have just blown my mind. I would not have had you down as a barbie collector. In fact, I'm struggling to assimilate this into my image of you, and have decided to reject this information and assume that you meant something else. Maybe you're on a touchscreen and it somehow autocorrected "Barbies" from "combat knives"? Hmmm...

I never really played with Barbies as a child, although I remember dressing them up in my brother's Action Man gear. I don't know why I collected them. My favourite is Barbie and Ken as Moulder and Scully.

And so you don't think I've lost my mind... I have some throwing knives I'm learning to use and I'm getting quite good, although that's been interrupted by a plaster cast right now.

[Kizzy]

We have some ghostbusters figures kicking about, think they're worth a couple of quid. When I think of the toys we had growing up :/ all given away or ruined.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Livia

I never really played with Barbies as a child, although I remember dressing them up in my brother's Action Man gear. I don't know why I collected them. My favourite is Barbie and Ken as Moulder and Scully.

And so you don't think I've lost my mind... I have some throwing knives I'm learning to use and I'm getting quite good, although that's been interrupted by a plaster cast right now.

Ahh, order has been restored to the world. Are the throwing knives incase there's a zombie apocalypse? I'm learning to use a composite bow incase of zombie apocalypse. I recon bullets would run out pretty quickly. I've also flirted with the idea of Kendo because... Y'know... Samurai swords vs zombies.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

We have some ghostbusters figures kicking about, think they're worth a couple of quid. When I think of the toys we had growing up :/ all given away or ruined.

Yes, I found out recently that a RoboCop toy I had as a kid is now worth a bit and I distinctly remember smashing it to **** with a hammer as part of an elaborate storyline.

Hold on a minute, why the hell were there RoboCop kids toys? I'm sure I had a T-100 terminator, too! These were not kids films! Why did they have toys?

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Ahh, order has been restored to the world. Are the throwing knives incase there's a zombie apocalypse? I'm learning to use a composite bow incase of zombie apocalypse. I recon bullets would run out pretty quickly. I've also flirted with the idea of Kendo because... Y'know... Samurai swords vs zombies.

I live in Norfolk. Zombies and I have learned to cohabit.