So You Want to Start Collecting Old Toys. The First Thing to Know Is There Really Aren’t Any Rules.

I don't think most collectors actually sit down one day and decide:

Right. I'm going to become a collector.

Maybe some do.

But I suspect for a lot of us, it happens almost entirely by accident.

You buy one thing because you like it. Then you find another. Then you discover there are different versions. Then you start noticing the accessories you're missing.

And eventually you're standing in front of a display trying to explain why you absolutely need another one that, to everyone else in the room, looks suspiciously similar to the six you already own.

Congratulations.

You have a collection.

I certainly didn't plan mine

I've collected all sorts of things over the years.

Funko Pop Vinyls were probably my first purposeful collection, but there have also been indoor plants, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World dinosaurs, Tamagotchi, tropical aquariums and fish, and plenty of other things that have caught my interest along the way.

My newest collections aren't toys at all.

One is lava lamps.

I already had one that belonged to my mum, and then a really cool vintage 90s lava lamp came through Previously Played With this year.

I now have seven.

Which seems like a fairly good demonstration of how these things happen.

The other is framed entomology specimens. Butterflies, insects and other fascinating little things that I've started planning an entire display around.

And apparently simply collecting those wasn't enough either, because I've now started framing specimens myself.

Which also means there's a new PPW product line coming. 👀

More on that another time.

The point is, your collection doesn't have to make sense to anyone else.

It doesn't even necessarily have to make sense to you.

Sometimes a collection starts because something means something

My childhood toy collection started very differently.

Four years ago this month, I lost my Nana. 💔

After she passed, something triggered in me that made me start looking for pieces of my childhood again.

One of the first was a My Little Pony that I remembered her having in the toybox when we'd come to visit.

It wasn't about rarity.

It wasn't about value.

I wasn't looking at it and wondering whether it was a particularly sensible thing to collect.

I remembered it.

I remembered her having it.

And I wanted it.

That one little pony became part of something much bigger, but I didn't know that at the time.

And I think that's probably a better way to explain how to start collecting than any checklist I could give you.

Start with the thing that means something to you.

You don't need to choose a collection before you start one

There are plenty of collecting guides that will tell you to pick a category, research it, establish a budget and decide exactly what you're going to collect before buying anything.

Which is probably very sensible.

It also sounds absolutely nothing like how I've ended up with most of my collections.

Sometimes you don't know what you're going to enjoy collecting until something catches you.

Maybe it's the toys you actually had as a child.

Maybe it's the toys you desperately wanted and never got.

Maybe it's a particular character, brand or series.

Maybe you find one really cool lava lamp and apparently that's your personality now.

You don't have to decide you're going to collect every My Little Pony ever made before you're allowed to buy one.

Just buy the one you love.

You can work out the rest later.

Complete is lovely. Perfect isn't always necessary.

This is another place where I don't think there should be rules.

Personally, I definitely prefer complete items.

But whether I want something boxed, loose or somewhere in between depends entirely on what it is.

I've also been known to buy something and then upgrade it later when a better example comes along.

That's part of the fun.

And something I think people occasionally forget when collecting vintage toys is just how old these things actually are.

A toy from 1985 is now 41 years old.

Something from 1996 is 30 years old.

These were toys.

They were opened. They were played with. They were dragged around houses, taken to friends' places, shoved into toyboxes, dressed and undressed, had accessories lost under furniture and were sometimes given haircuts that nobody involved would like to discuss today.

Finding one that has survived at all can be pretty remarkable.

That doesn't mean condition doesn't matter. Of course it does, particularly when you're deciding what something is worth.

But a collection doesn't need to look like it has just left the factory to be a good collection.

Sometimes the slightly played-with one is exactly the one you want.

We are called Previously Played With, after all. 😂

Don't let somebody else's collection tell you what yours should look like

This might be the closest thing I have to an actual rule:

Collect for yourself.

Not because somebody online has one.

Not because somebody says it's rare.

Not because collectors have decided it's the version you're supposed to want.

And definitely not because you think having it will make your collection somehow more legitimate.

If the $15 toy makes you happier than the $500 one, I'd argue you've made the better purchase.

Your collection can be twenty immaculate boxed toys lined up perfectly in a cabinet.

It can also be four battered childhood favourites sitting on a shelf.

Both count.

Be warned about finding out how many versions exist

This is where things can become dangerous.

Tamagotchi is probably my best example.

I started with my originals.

Perfectly innocent.

Then I continued buying them.

Then I discovered all the different models.

And apparently at some point my brain decided the logical response to that information was:

I should collect every different model I can.

This is the risk nobody warns you about.

You think you're buying a childhood toy.

Then you discover variants.

Colours.

Different releases.

Regional versions.

Accessories.

Packaging variations.

Things you didn't even know existed when you were a kid.

Suddenly you've gone from I'd love to own one of those again to having saved searches and being able to identify differences that would be completely invisible to a normal person.

I can't help you at that point.

You're one of us now.

You also don't have to stay in your lane

Collecting toys doesn't mean you can only collect toys.

Clearly.

My own interests have wandered all over the place.

Toys. Games. Plants. Fish. Lava lamps. Entomology specimens.

Some collections stay with you forever. Some become enormous. Some remain just a handful of things. Sometimes your interests change completely.

That's okay too.

You aren't signing a contract when you buy the first thing.

A hobby is supposed to be enjoyable.

So, how do you actually start a collection?

I could probably turn this into a neat numbered list.

But after everything I've just said, that would feel slightly dishonest.

So here's my entire beginner's guide:

Find something you genuinely love.

Buy that.

Learn about it.

See where it takes you.

Don't worry about whether you're doing it properly. Don't assume something has to be expensive to be worth owning. Remember that vintage things have actually lived a life before reaching you, and don't let somebody else's collection dictate what yours needs to become.

You might buy one thing and be completely satisfied.

Or you might discover there are twelve versions of it and decide you need all twelve.

You might rediscover something from your childhood that you haven't thought about in decades.

You might find something that reminds you of someone you miss.

Or a 90s lava lamp might come through your business and, several months later, you'll be wondering where you're going to plug in number seven.

That's collecting.

I don't think there are really any rules.

And honestly, that's probably the best part.