Always thought you wouldn't part with your 1990s collectibles for love nor money? You may want to rethink that "money" part if you have a First Edition Pokemon Charizard PSA card in the original package.
There's one selling now on eCrater for $5,000. Of course, it has to be in perfect condition in the original packaging. But what about the others? Have your Hush Puppies plush animals, Precious Moments figurines, Cabbage Patch dolls and the like been quietly amassing you a fortune while sitting in boxes in your old bedroom? Or if you were a strategic collector of, say, Pokemon cards or Tamagotchi pets back in the day, carefully upgrading via the fledgling eBay website and cross-referencing collectible value guides, has your investment paid off?
It's entirely possible. Some current-day collectors are paying the big bucks. But realistically, most of your stuff isn't going to be in the top-earning category, though selling it might still help you pay an installment or two of student loans or maybe earning a night out.
Here's the range collectors are selling for on some choice throwback collectibles:
Pokemon cards
Thank you, Pokemon Go! That little invention of 2016 is probably the reason lots of those 1990s Pokemon cards you waited online for as a middle-schooler are still valuable. Okay, you probably didn't have a Charizard then, but if you did and he was still in mint condition and hermetically sealed, you might be raking in $5,000 or more. And complete first-edition card sets are selling for $4,000 and up.
Credit: Contributed by Amazon/Etsy
Credit: Contributed by Amazon/Etsy
Precious Moments figurines
To be honest, most of the these figures, if you could pry them off your grandmother's whatnot shelf, would re-sell for approximately $6.41. But there have been a few radical transactions involving a Precious Moments find from the 1990s. The top seems to be one from the original 21 released in 1979. Back then they cost $15 each, but these days you might be able to sell "God Loveth a Cheerful Giver," for about $1,000. It "has had valuations placed on it … in excess of $2,000," Paul Burton, a spokesperson for Woolvey Fine Antiques & Collectibles, told Today. ""I don't believe I have seen one actually sell for more than half of that, although they are still occasionally listed for sale in that price range."
Credit: Contributed by eBay
Credit: Contributed by eBay
Polly Pocket orginals
If you were in the first wave of kids or parents intrigued with Polly Pocket, you may have some value in the throwback editions. Back when the British Company Bluebird Toys owned the brand, the dolls were tiny, under an inch high, and those are the most valuable to today's collectors: anything released between 1989 and 1998. An unscathed Fairy Light Wonderland set for Polly and her teensy plastic buddies is currently selling on eBay for $300. It's in its original packaging, but even the ones that have been played with (and it seems kind of cold if yours weren't) kept up with inflation, now selling at online stores like Only Polly Pocket for about $30-$45 for toys like the Polly Pocket Giraffe House.
Credit: Contributed by Martin Bergensen/Flickr
Credit: Contributed by Martin Bergensen/Flickr
Super Mario Bros for Nintendo Entertainment System
This one has a higher price because dinosaurs like to play the original version for Nintendo instead of the Wii package. That means you might grab a bit over $100 just for the original cartridge.
As for those sweet little Hush Puppy plush toys with the lugubrious expressions and designer ears, if they still warm your heart, maybe you want to keep them for the grandkids. Turns out they're probably going to draw from $8-$15 on eBay in a modern-day auction.
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