Old Shop Stock...........

[Jonnyred]

Just wondering if anyone has walked into an old style toy shop and asked to see their storerooms? Just in case their are any AF figures out there, although i'm guessing it would have to be a traditional, proper old place. We have one near me in Wallingford, part of an old department store. Maybe i'll ask...............

[paul463]

You know I have thought about that too! There is and old Toymaster in Dundee the very shop that a lot of my stuff came out of as a kid, they have some of the newer GI Joe stuff. I just feel it in my water that they have a few boxes of the old series 2 stuff!!

[paulitoy]

-

Yeah, I'm exactly the same!

I've had dreams in the past of finding shops with shelves full of old stock.... I still do occasionally. It's always a bit gutting when I wake up and realise.



When I was a student in Aberystwyth back in 1995, I went into their main toy shop [an old family-run place].

There were lots of Action Force mocs still up on the walls since 1983. The guy just never took down anything.

He also had lots of unsold Star Wars toys. It was what started me collecting Star Wars.

I bought a boxed B-Wing fighter, quite a few mini rigs and a speeder bike over a few months from him. Never bought any Action Force as I wasn't interested in it back then.

I went back to the toy shop last summer and all the AF was gone. He still had one mib star wars speeder bike on the shelf though!

Great shop.



Also, there's the HUGE lot that newswseller on here bought from a shop in Carmarthen about 7 years ago - 1500 moc Action Force figures plus lots of other stuff - all unsold shop stock.

I guess Wales [used to be] a bit of a goldmine for toys....

[barto]

That's bizarre, I've had dreams about a shop I went to in wrexham in the late 80's that was full series 2 stuff, I mean FULL. It was a small shop that must have picked a load of it up on the cheap and of course the & boys weren't really in vogue by that time...

but the dream is super vivid I can see a in the packaging with his boat etc.

I haven't been to Wrexham since, so who knows it might still be there!

[SteveD]

How bizarre that this is posted now, after I dragged the long suffering girlfriend on a road trip to Whitby, in the rain, at the weekend to try to visit a toy store I remember still stocked some old AF and Star Wars stuff from when i worked over there (over 7 years ago - but I was too hard up at the time to spend money collecting toys!).

It was a long shot, I know, and proved totally fruitless as the toy store in question had closed down and in it's place was a general retailer of seaside related tat, but on the drive over I had high hopes of the old toy shop filled to the brim with MOC Minesweepers for £3.99 and the like. I was going to retire on the strength of my acquired hoard! (or fill the spare room a bit more)

I even got my Zartan from there on a day trip out as a lad!

I did consider asking them if I could go for a rake about their stock room on the off chance, but I decided against it.

False economy in the end, as petrol money spent and the extortionate price of seaside Fish & Chips meant I could have probably bought loads of stuff off Ebay instead! But a fun day none the less.

[Space Commander]

If only Hasbro would read this, and dust off the old original Palitoy molds for us...

[zakkfan]

there is a tiny vintage toy shop in whitby near were the market is
he has old sweet jars of vintage star wars figs
ive asked him for a look at them atleast twice
i always get the same answer,something on the lines of " i have nothing to do with star wars anymore" and something to do with star wars collectors trying to rip him of and he might burrie them in a hole!!

next time any one goes to whitby ask him out for a laugh
i presume he still has the figures im shure

dont know what is whith this guy but he is a total tw*t, made me fell like a idiot jut for asking about some bloody figures!!

[Lady Jaye]

Chances of finding any stock is getting close to nothing as most shops have been raided by now. Some people do/did special tours buying up old stock and made quite a few pennies. It is not impossible to find stuff, but large quantities I would not count on. Plus, more and more shop owners have discovered eBay themselves.

made me fell like a idiot jut for asking about some bloody figures!!

And bottom line is that we are all idiot! We are grown up guys collecting kids toys. For us it is normal, but there are a lot of people who find it a little 'strange'

[SteveD]

Might be just me being weird, but I wouldn't want them to get out the old moulds and remake figures - part of what I like about collecting is that the figures are old, and not so easy to come by. If I could just go into any high street toy shop and buy them on my credit card I'd not really feel like it was collecting, just buying.

I remember when I was buying Star Wars Episode 1 figures it just wasn't as much fun, as it seemed that everyone was buying them. I've still got them, but they just live in a box, and rarely see the light of day. Might be because there's not the nostalgia there with them. Like I say, maybe just me being weird!

I'm with Lady Jaye too - we're all freaks in our own way! And damned proud of it!

[Lady Jaye]

Steve, I totally agree with you!

Collecting for me is hunting for figures, hunting for parts and accessories. It is very satisfying to complete a figure after so many hours of hunting! Collecting new stuff is just buying like a maniac. Within a few clicks you can have the entire GI Joe 25th complete. Now, where's the fun in that?

Collecting vintage has a nostalgic edge, that is completely missing with new releases. I have some new toys on display, but when I see those I feel more like a silly wanker that has not grown up yet than a serious collector.

The original molds are most likely gony by now, but if they would still be around I would not like Action Force remade. To me is adds nothing to my hobby. New issues of figures is just buying. I am in the same situation as you with the SW figures. It had nothing to do with collecting. I just walked into the shop and bought all the figures I wanted.

The rush is gone anyway. As a child I had to save my pocket money for weeks before I could afford a figure. Then spend hours in the shop which figure I wanted most. Then cycle home as quickly as possible to add the figure to my troops. Opening a blister gave such a rush! You were so proud of your purchase. Nowadays I can easily afford everything my heart desires, but when I open my parcel my heart rate stays the same. Things are more rewarding when they are difficult.