Unfortunately, it’s extremely rare that toys of any kind truly turn out to be collectible. Even when they are “MIB”— Mint in Box… meaning never opened, never played with.
Knowing what company manufactured them will help you in your search. There are several Disneyana collectors’ sites out there. There’s even a few Facebook groups specifically for collectibles & memorabilia.
You can also get a sense of what different collectibles are worth* by searching for
completed auctions or listings on various websites like eBay. It’s important to look
only at completed auctions
in which the item was sold.
Because anybody can list their “
Disneyland Silver 25th Anniversary Mickey Ears (Beanie-type) from 1980” and set a minimum bid of, let’s say, $500. Then if the auction runs for the time specified & ends, but the item doesn’t sell, then clearly those ears were not “worth” $500.
But those same ears might be listed with a minimum bid of $10, get so much attention that there’s a bidding war, and end up selling for $250.
You have to look at a few auctions /listings of the item, note the final sold price, and then find the mean (average) sale price. That’s what you can say is
likely the worth of your item. The reality is that it’s always a crap shoot— because you could list your ears (from my example above) for half of what they’re “worth”, and end up having no bids at all, or only get bids of less than their supposed “worth”.
You have to do the research (which luckily nowadays is easier than ever with Google Lens)…. It’s sad, but toys almost never end up being truly collectible. To me, it’s doubly sad when they weren’t even enjoyed (played with) in an effort to end up with a “collector’s item”.
I have several Rubbermaid totes full of “new, in box” dolls: Barbies x 20+ in all kinds of profession, hobby, or special occasion outfits; Shirley Temple x 15-16; a beautiful porcelain “Ma Bell” operator doll from 1930’s in a presentation box that’s almost as pretty as the doll; 3 original-release Cabbage Patch dolls (2 girls, 1 boy); and a bunch of others.
I was
never allowed to play with these dolls. I never got to love or cuddle them. I never got to dress up the Barbies in different outfits, or have a party with them in the Dream House. I never “adopted” my CP dolls, because you had to open them to get to the certificate inside, fill it out, & mail it in.
These dolls were special; they were “collector’s items”. They were to be looked at on a shelf, never opened or touched. In my mom’s head, these dolls were a decent chunk of my college tuition.
But the reality is that only a few of the Barbies are worth more than what was paid for them. The Shirley Temple dolls aren’t worth anything… nada. The only dolls that became collectible are the Cabbage Patch dolls— but they’re certainly not worth thousands of dollars.
In the end, you know what? I would rather have played with them.
Now they are slowly being given to grandkids as they come along— with the express expectation that they should be loved and played with.
