These toy sellers/collectors are regulars on the Toy Chat Board & they provide information so that you may learnto I.D. your toy & to become a better, more knowledgeable collector or enthusiast.
(Not be your unpaid appraiser!) Please do not e-mail these kind people with questions.
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Toy Train Guides
For Lionel trains there are 2 guides that are the industry standards. The 1st is Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains. This has been around for a number of years, and many people consider it to be the train "bible." However there is a newcomer that has become accepted and is the one that I prefer. It is TM's Lionel Price and Rarity Guide by Tom McComas and Charles Krone. This guide is available in many bookstores, at train shows, or by mail at 1.800.892.2822. I prefer this guide because it is easy to use, and includes a key to rarity. There are also selected reviews from magazines and other interesting articles and opinions. The rarity index is an added value that other price guides don't have. This price guide, as with all others, is only that -- a guide. Nothing in it is absolute, but it does give some sort of scale of relative value and a starting point when buying or selling a train.
Joe B...
"Toys & Prices" published by Krause, 1999 edition. It has listings for many different types of toys...Action figures, Barbie, Games, Vehicles, Western, and many others. It's "Battery Operated" category leaves a lot to be desired, but it's got one of the best "Games listings I've seen outside of a specific games price book. Pretty extensive listings in each category.
"Schroeders 1999
Collectible Toys Price Guide". More listing categories than Krause (like Puppets, Jack-in-the-Boxes, Cast Iron, Banks, etc) but the listings aren't nearly as comprehensive as Krause's.And of course, "Tomarts Price Guide to Hot Wheels Collectibles, 3rd edition". Nuff said!
I also have a premium ring price guide I picked up cheap at a book sale that I think is VERY good. It's "Overstreet Premium Ring Price Guide". Lots of good pictures. I've had a couple of occasions to use it to help "toy chatters" and it's an excellent reference! The one I have is from '94 (FIRST EDITION so you know I'll put that puppy away for years to come$$$), so the prices may be a little outdated. There's probably a more recent edition although I haven't looked for it. Hope that helps!
Kathy
Toys and Prices from the publishers of Toy Shop
.Published by Krause Publishing. Provides prices for toys of all categories. Easy to use.Collecting Toys by Richard O'Brien. Published by Books Americana. Includes many different toy categories with excellent references for vintage cast iron toys.
Schroeder's Collectible Toys by Sharon and Bob Huxford. Published by Collector Books. A good source of actual auction prices realized for many different toys and categories.
Tomart's Price Guide to Hot Wheels by Michael Thomas Strauss. Published by Tomart Publications. Considered one of the best guides for Hot Wheels™ brand diecast cars.
The Complete Encyclopedia to GI Joe by Vincent Santelmo. Published by Krause Publishing. This is an excellent source for GI Joe collectors.
Cracker Jack Toys by Larry White. Published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. A great source for the Cracker Jack™ toy collector. Photo and listing guide.
Arno "Tex"
"This Old Toy" www.thisoldtoy.com is the most comprehensive and accurate Fisher Price
reference I've seen. This website contains information about every known toy manufactured under the Fisher Price label from the 1940's through the 1990's. Toys can be searched by model number (which is conveniently listed on all Fisher Price toys) or by type of toy, such as Little People, Adventure Series, etc.
This site is especially useful for collectors of the "Fisher Price Little People" toys that were manufactured from 1959 through 1990. Descriptions of Little People playsets include lists of accessories, and all known color variations, to assist the collector in assembling accurate sets. This information is derived from original advertising and packaging materials, so it can be considered very reliable. One unique feature of this site is a "People ID" where little people are listed according to their hair color and body characteristics, along with a listing of which playsets they go to, so that individual people can be matched with their playsets.
Definitely an indispensable website for Fisher Price collectors!
Modern Toys: American Toys 1930-1980 by Linda Baker
Modern Toys is an excellent book with large, full color photographs of toys, arranged by the name of the manufacturer. Especially extensive are the sections on Fisher-Price, Kenner, Marx, Mattel, and Playskool. The detailed photos make this an excellent book for identifying less common toys. However, the toys pictured are from the author's own collection, so the book is not meant to provide a comprehensive list of all the toys made by a manufacturer,
or all the pieces that might go with a specific toy. But it is a great book to browse through and enjoy the photos, or to get your feet wet learning about different toy styles and manufacturers.
Shelli
Me
Listed in the order of which I think is best:
1.Lee's Action figure news and toy review
2.White's guide to collecting figures
3.Beckett's Toy guide.
All of these are monthly publications and can be found at bookstores and news stands. There is one more that is good for finding toy stores called Toy Shop and I believe they have a website as well, this is not a price guide.
"Omi"
omicron@internetconnect.net Me
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lease be aware that the advice given herein are the opinions of various authors and is not represented to be otherwise. eBay disclaims any responsibility for the advice given herein. The authors furthermore disclaim any damages financial and or otherwise that may result by following our suggestions.