How to make money from old toys and earn hundreds of pounds to pay for Christmas
WITH fewer than 100 days until Christmas, now is a great time to make money from selling off old toys.
Decluttering guru Janine McDonald reckons people start in earnest to look around for Christmas presents to buy at the start of next month.
So it will pay to get busy now sorting out anything your children no longer play with then entering into the sometimes complicated task of persuading them to part with those once-cherished favourites.
You are likely to get the best prices for classic toys such as Lego and Playmobil, and for those that are linked to current children’s TV show, advises Janine.
So haul out any Paw Patrol, Hey Duggee, Bluey and Coco Melon figurines that no longer hold your children in their thrall.
Janine, the author of Clear The Clutter Now, has a series of expert tips to make child’s play of the selling process, on online sites such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
She says: “Take clear photos to use. They should be crisp and clear, and taken against a clutter-free background.
“If something is broken or has parts missing, then include that in the description, and photo-graph any damage.”
Also be sure to wash soft toys and wipe down plastic ones before listing them for sale.
An eBay spokesperson also advises: “Toys that come with their original packaging, instruction manuals, or extras like spare pieces for board games are highly valued, by both parents and collectors.
“Highlight in your listing whether the toy is ‘complete with original box’ or includes manuals and accessories.
“This can often justify a higher price and increase buyer trust.”
If you are missing instructions, you can often download them from the internet then print them out for the buyer.
To see what price you should be asking for, check for previous sales of similar items on sites such as eBay, searching under “Completed items”.
Of course, selling off old toys can seem like too much hassle if you are likely to make only a few quid.
But if you have a load of low-value items, it may be an idea to sell them in bundles to make all your work more worthwhile.
Below, Mel Hunter talks you through the selling process and shares top tips from the experts . . .
GETTING your kids involved, and knowing where and when to sell, can make all the difference when trying to get the best price for that unwanted Lego or Playmobil set . . .
CHILD’S PLAY
CHILDREN can often be reluctant to part with their toys, even if they haven’t played with them for years.
Janine, who has girls Ciara, 14, and Emilia, 12, suggests involving kids from the start.
She says: “After they’ve played with an item, like a Lego set, take a picture then get them to dismantle it and put all the pieces in a bag and back in the box. That way, if you want to sell it later, you’ll have a complete item.
“Rewards can also be an advantage. When we make money from selling our old things, the girls know we put it in a jar for days out.
“If they are reluctant to let a toy go, talk about their memories of that item but then remind them that they haven’t played with it for a long time and gently suggest someone else can enjoy it as much as them.
“Setting them a challenge can also work. Ask them to find as many unused toys as they can in five minutes, for example, and then get them to count them up or measure the pile.”
WHERE TO SELL
ONLINE sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace are not the only places where you can find buyers.
If you want to get rid of lots toys in one go, taking a table at a local Mum2mum Market sale, for maybe £20, could be the answer.
Janine says: “It also saves you having to respond to loads of questions about an item you’ve listed online.”
There are also other, more specialist sites.
If you have a load of random Lego to sell, some will pay you by the kilo — toy-exchange.co.uk pays £4 a kilo, musicmagpie. co.uk offers £3.
But a 1.3kg bag of Technik Lego parts sold on eBay earlier this month for £9.50, so you might want to try your luck there first.
You can also sell books, with apps WeBuyBooks and Ziffit.
BIDE YOUR TIME
IF you don’t need the money right now, holding on to classics like Lego and Playmobil, or today’s most popular toys, could net you more money in the longer run.
Tim Weeks, a toy expert, auctioneer and regular on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, says you can make the best money on toys around 25 years after you or your children first enjoyed playing with them.
Tim says: “When people get to their mid-thirties, they start looking back with nostalgia and that’s when the favourite toys from their childhood become something they want to buy back. That means that today toys from the 1990s are making big money.
“If you have an attic full of He-Man, Transformers, Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle and Subbuteo figures, or anything Star Wars, you could make some great money.”
Even used and damaged toys increase in value. Tim, owner of the Wessex Auction Rooms in Chippenham, Wilts, says: “At almost every toy sale, we sell a bundle of 50 played-with Star Wars figures, for £500 plus.”
Retro gaming is also big business. Tim says: “If you have early consoles like Nintendos and Sega Mega Drives, they are worth money, as are the games.”
You’ll get the most for items in their packaging and, ideally, with instructions.
From Tim’s experience, holding on to toys can make you more money in the long run, so you need to weigh up if you need cash now or can hold on for the chance of more.
He says: “Think of a Thomas The Tank Engine Train Set that I might have paid £50 for four years ago. I could get £10 or £20 for it, but in 20 years I might get £80.”
Going, going, gone... for thousands of pounds
ITEMS that have recently gone under auctioneer Tim Weeks’ hammer include:
- An unboxed Sega Megadrive and games, sold for £1,035.
- A sealed Nintendo Mario Kart 64 went for £1,030.
- A box of loose Transformers which fetched £600.
- Around 50 loose He-Man figures which made £520.
- Twelve boxes of Subbuteo players, sold for £510.
- A single Transformers Galvatron went for £400.
‘I stick to brands that retain their value like Barbie and Playmobil’
MOTHER-of-four Ellie Jackson sells all her children’s toys when they are no longer loved or played with.
Ellie, 44, has children Lilia, 14, Evie, 12, Rafe, ten, and Audrey, seven and all of her brood have birthdays near to the expensive Christmas season.
So Ellie, a children’s author, uses the money she gets from sales to buy secondhand toys for birthdays, as well as spending it on family outings and holidays.
She says: “I’ve saved thousands of pounds over the past 14 years. I buy toys that tend to retain their secondhand value, such as
Playmobil, Sylvanian Families, Barbie and Lego and then will sell them on for a similar price.”
Ellie, of Looe, Cornwall, has sold Duplo sets for £45, Scalextric for £100, Trashies for £40, and a Barbie toy camper-van for £30 and kitchen for £40.
Bulk sales
“The best time of year to sell is during the run-up to Christmas, starting in October, so I save the toys for then.
“Often, I will bundle together items from the same brand and sell them in bulk, usually on Facebook Marketplace.”
Ellie takes photos of her children playing with the toys, or building Lego sets so buyers can see what the finished article looks like.
She also takes videos to attract online buyers.
“Anything unsold, I donate to the charity shop but this is very rare – sometimes it might take months to sell, other times it’s gone within a day or two.
“I always clean toys before selling.”
Ellie, who writes stories about the environment and animals, and has website wildtribeheroes.com, says: “Reusing toys is important to me, and to my children.
“We regularly have clear-outs throughout the year, to make money for holidays or outings as well as more toys.”