Comic book shop owner Howard Cadmus sifts through his box of newly purchased vintage toys. Battle Armor Skeletor is placed with the rest of the Masters of the Universe line, while Doc Brown’s pull-back Delorean finds a home among the other McDonald’s Happy Meal toys.

Cadmus has just returned to 1811 Comics in Williamsville, New York from a successful vintage toy hunt. He regularly hits up local flea markets and specialty antique shops looking to add to his treasure trove of collectibles and sell them to customers looking to relive their youth.

Vintage toy collecting has seen an increase in popularity in recent years, and while the market was created by the baby boomers that were first raised on television, it’s the generation raised in the 70’s and 80’s that have contributed to the increase. “Toys were such a huge part of who we were and what we did and how we interacted with other kids,” says Cadmus. “We are now at a point in our lives where we can afford to invest and are trying to recapture that feeling from our youth.”

Vintage toy expert and appraiser Joel Magee, best known as “America’s Toy Scout,” has never seen such a high demand for collectible toys. “There’s actually a huge surge right now,” says Magee. “It’s absolutely unprecedented. There’s been a spike in prices like we’ve never seen before.” Magee, who recently joined the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” as the program’s recurring vintage toy appraiser, believes there is more to the toy collecting boom than just nostalgia. “Maybe they didn’t have all the toys they wanted as a child, and they think ‘Boy, that neighbor kid across the street sure had all the cool stuff. Now it’s my turn to have it,’” says Magee. “So, they actively start looking for this stuff and you can’t go buy it at Walmart or Target.”

The newest generation of toy collectors was raised not just on the commercials for the toys, but also on the accompanying cartoons. “When we grew up, you didn’t just have a toy, you had a toy, a cartoon and a comic book, which were obviously designed to boost sales and get us interested in collecting,” says Cadmus. “Cartoons were produced to sell toys, and it definitely worked.”

While his competitors cater primarily to comic book collectors, Cadmus stated that new and vintage toys make up about half of 1811 Comics’ business, though that wasn’t the original intent. “I don’t think it was a conscious decision,” says Cadmus. “When the shop opened, it was a way to create an environment that was warm and inviting and instilled the sense of nostalgia. When you’re doing that, you can’t help but bring in collectibles.”

A childhood memory isn’t the only thing that can be gained from a classic toy. Vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls can fetch up to $600, while an original in-the-box He-Man figure can be worth up to $1650. Auctions have seen significantly higher prices for vintage toys, with a first edition Barbie from 1959 selling for $23,000, and an original Luke Skywalker figure in its original packaging going for $25,000 in a 2015 Sotheby’s auction.

Netflix’s documentary series “The Toys That Made Us,” which chronicles the development of popular toys like Barbie and GI Joe, has had a significant impact on the toy collecting market. “It’s actually affected it dramatically,” says Magee. “It’s brought back the nostalgia and the memories for a lot of people. It’s sparked a higher interest in toy collecting than we’ve seen in a very long time.”

“The Toys That Made Us” was created by Brian Volk-Weiss, who wanted to create a record of these toys that meant so much to so many people. “I’ve always been excited about toys as well as history,” says Volk-Weiss. “I realized about seven years ago that there was very little written about the origin of how some of the most popular toys in the world, and were enjoyed by billions of the decades, came to be, so I set out to tell their story in a fun way that was easily accessible.”

While Cadmus has not seen an increase in sales for 1811 Comics as a result of the series yet, it has provided a unique dialogue with his customers. “I don’t know that it’s brought more people into the store or gotten them into the hobby for that matter, but it’s an interesting talking point,” says Cadmus. “It’s definitely helped pull back the curtain on the industry and it seems to have sparked an interest, which can only help.”

According to Volk-Weiss, little has changed in the toy business in the last few decades. “There is a perception that it has changed a lot, but in truth, I think it is the people who used to be kids and now are adults that have done the changing,” says Volk-Weiss. “From what I can tell, from speaking with retired Kenner designers and current Hasbro designers, they all are very similar in how they think and who they are. They love toys and imagination and making kids’ childhoods as much fun as possible. Sure, maybe the plastics used in the 80s were heavier than some plastics used today, but the love and care that goes into making a toy in 2018 is extremely similar to what was going on in the 70s and 80s.”

Magee doesn’t believe we will see the same type of boom in collecting in the future. “Numbers from the toy companies are much larger now than they ever were,” says Magee. “People are buying toys to save now, which is a trend we saw begin in the 90s. They made so many toys that people just bought and put away. We struggle with anything from the 90s because everybody has them by the hundreds.” Brian Volk-Weiss, on the other hand, believes very little will change in the toy collecting industry. “I think nostalgia in all forms is as old as our species and will never go away,” says Volk-Weiss.

Magee can’t say with any certainty what’s in store for toy collecting. “How the future will play out I don’t know,” says Magee. “The cream will always rise to the top, but if I knew what that was going to be, I can assure you I’d already be buying it.”

While Cadmus hopes this new collection of vintage toys will help bring a little extra business into the comic shop, he’s just happy to be able to bring some nostalgic happiness to his customers. “We crave familiarity,” says Cadmus. “We just want to have that feeling back from when we were young, and everything made sense.”

Jeff Heller is the co-founder and editor of FilmDumpster.com. He once lost the entirety of his Star Wars and G.I Joe figures collection when, upon completing repairs, the gas company paved over his rock-filled driveway, where Jeff had buried the figures the night before. He has not yet recovered from this.

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