Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a kid?

[xipotec]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

TRU
Sears
Service Merchandise

 

[xipotec]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

How did u guys have money when you were a "kid" too collect, did your parents just buy you whatever you wanted anytime you went to a toy store. Endless possibilities seem limited by what your parent were willing to spend on you, if they spoiled you thats a different story. Dont get me wrong i liked going to toy stores as a kid, but since i relied on my parents to buy things collecting was very limited. My parents werent the type to just buy me anything and everything i wanted so most of the time i left toy stores empty handed. I would get a star wars figure here and there but if it wasnt my birthday or xmas i didnt expect them to buy me much, let alone buy enough to be considered a collector. I didnt really start collecting until i was in my early teens and earned my own money

My first job I was 13....

Mainly worked to buy toys.....



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[GeneralZodLives]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

How did u guys have money when you were a "kid" too collect, did your parents just buy you whatever you wanted anytime you went to a toy store. Endless possibilities seem limited by what your parent were willing to spend on you, if they spoiled you thats a different story. Dont get me wrong i liked going to toy stores as a kid, but since i relied on my parents to buy things collecting was very limited. My parents werent the type to just buy me anything and everything i wanted so most of the time i left toy stores empty handed. I would get a star wars figure here and there but if it wasnt my birthday or xmas i didnt expect them to buy me much, let alone buy enough to be considered a collector. I didnt really start collecting until i was in my early teens and earned my own money

Besides a very rare exception here and there, my parents only bought me toys for my birthday and Christmas. I started babysitting and mowing lawns when I was around 10-11 and used all the money I earned to buy toys and comic books. I played with the toys (blew up some with my bb gun, left them outside, took them apart and swapped pieces, etc) and read the comics (rolled them up or crammed them in my backpack too) It didn't occur to me to start actually collecting them as a hobby until much later. I know that stuff is worth money now, but I wouldn't trade the enjoyment I got back then from my toys and comics for anything.

 

[HarleyQuinn2014]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Back in the day, I remember all you nerds used to give me your toys

 

[xipotec]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Do you remember what the toy that got you saving money form odd jobs?????

I do....

I began working washing dishes at a local Italian joint at 13......

But this guy I cleaned garages, mowed lawns .....etc etc

 

[DioramaMaker]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

We had a KB Toys outlet in the local strip mall where I grew up that was a total goldmine. The amount of great priced Lego was nuts, and they always were just tons of new Marvel Legends and X-Men movie figures. They also peaked out a bunch of LOTR stuff regularly.

 

[ReplicantSavior]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

How did u guys have money when you were a "kid" too collect, did your parents just buy you whatever you wanted anytime you went to a toy store. Endless possibilities seem limited by what your parent were willing to spend on you, if they spoiled you thats a different story. Dont get me wrong i liked going to toy stores as a kid, but since i relied on my parents to buy things collecting was very limited. My parents werent the type to just buy me anything and everything i wanted so most of the time i left toy stores empty handed. I would get a star wars figure here and there but if it wasnt my birthday or xmas i didnt expect them to buy me much, let alone buy enough to be considered a collector. I didnt really start collecting until i was in my early teens and earned my own money

I'm not a true collector and as a kid I didn't collect. I would be surprised if many kids back then were actual collectors trying to complete collections. I just was able to get toys and games. I had generous parents and grandparents that just gave me toys and games to keep me busy. Like many, most of my toys came during birthdays and Christmas. But also I would go maybe on average twice a month or so to a Toys R Us or other toy store. Usually when we visited a mall. One of my parents was a big shopper so that turned into what seems like every weekend around the NES period. On those occasions I would get enough money for a few games.

There were tons of toys I didn't get though. The GI Joe Aircraft Carrier and Mobile Command Center are two big ones I remember. I did have the original Joe base, the water oil rig type base, and got lucky with the Terrordrome. I still own the mini jet that launched from the center of the Terrordrome. I knew someone that had I think all the GI Joes in their basement. Far more than I had. Setup in a big battle display too. I can't recall if they had the Aircraft Carrier though. I think for everyone I knew it was the $100+ price and the size. That was the Ferrari of toys back then and it still goes for a lot of money now. I would love to see how some adult collectors have that setup.

TRU
Sears
Service Merchandise

I vaguely remember the name Service Merchandise. I think they had good catalogs that I would look at. I'm starting to recall that back then I would always look at a lot of catalogs. Especially during the Christmas season. I think the Sunday papers after Thanksgiving were the ones I looked forward to seeing for the Toys R Us, Sears, Kay Bee, and other Christmas toy catalogs. I was a kid and didn't read the paper. I just immediately went to the center part for those catalogs. I'm finding a lot of catalog scans now and I'm getting overwhelmed with nostalgia.

I think I got some of the early SEGA Genesis games at Sears. I don't know why I didn't go to Toys R Us for them. Maybe I just saw the catalog and said I'll get them here. I'm fairly sure I got Ghouls and Ghosts and maybe Last Battle there. Perhaps a few others. Maybe they were cheaper? I see some catalog scans on the Internet and the prices vary per title. I remember Sears had a pick up area for catalog orders. I don't remember ever going into a Sears and shopping or even seeing a videogame area. I recall getting Revenge of Shinobi on a whim at a then new Babbages in the city because the cover looked cool. I don't think I liked the original arcade or Master System Shinobi that much. But Revenge of Shinobi being one of the best games on the system and perhaps ever was a big surprise.

Something else I came across, racing videogames like Pole Position, OutRun, and Hang-On were popular back then and if you went to a larger arcade area maybe along with miniature golf and batting cages they had go-karts too. But if you were looking for something more than Cliff Hangers slot racing at home you could get a radio controlled car. And I don't mean those slow ones. I always wanted a Tamiya Hornet. I think it was either too expensive, I had to assemble it, or it was only sold in hobby shops. So I never got it. But it's on my list to get now. I remember some kids and adults had competitions with those cars at an indoor miniature dirt track with all kinds of jumps just like motocross races.

 

[Bocephus Jones]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

I remember going to a K-Mart in late 1977 when I was 10. There was a stand alone cardboard display that had the original Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, C-3PO and R2-D2 3.75 inch figures. There were the only Star Wars toys that had been made at that point and they were only $1.99 each. I still have all 4 of them.

 

[xipotec]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Yep 1.99 a figure .... I remember saving for each one.

I remember well meaning aunts and grandparents buying Chewie and R2 and Vader , knowing those were the popular ones...so you ended up with 3 of each...

But then having to save for those jawas , death star droids and greedos...



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[HarleyQuinn2014]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

I was poor so I used to wait until dumb kids brought their toys to school for show and tell then I’d threaten to end their lives if they didn’t give them up. Brings back so many memories...

 

[j97e1]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Stole from others.

 

[Surge Diaclone]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Toys r us
Jc Penney catalog
Smiling sunny's (small local toy store on Staten Island)
Trading with other kids

 

[Bob Fett]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Kiddie city
Clover
Sears. The wish book had a lot of Star Wars displays and figures.
All local toy shops had all of the Mego figures.
I grew up in the 70's so yeah a really great time to be a kid.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Re: Where did you get your old vintage figures, toys, & videogames when you were a ki

Toys R Us
Sears
Hills
Swallen?s
KB
Kmart