If you are an action figure collector or any type of collector for that matter you know what it feels like to find a great score at a garage sale or a thrift store. Many cities have at least one second hand store that you can visit for action figure hunting. If you visit thrift stores or garage sales you will have a very good chance of finding a really valuable collectable. You may have to go there a few times without getting anything, but when you find that toy gold after finding nothing time and time again, it makes your day.
Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are great places to find collectables because the merchandise is all donated and sometimes people just don’t know what they have when they donate it. You could score an action figure that is priced and $2.00 but is valued at $50+. That my friends is a good $2.00 investment.
When you are just starting action figure hunting you will want to play out your trip. Find where the local thrift stores are in your area. The most common thrift stores are Goodwill and Salvation Army. I have 2 Goodwill stores within 10 minutes of my house. Sometimes you can find smaller thrift stores too and lots of time they have good prices.
Once you arrive sprint right over to the toy section. Ok, maybe not sprint but you get the point. Know what you are looking for before you get there so when you arrive you know what you want. It may be helpful for you to have a list of what you need for your collection. If you trade toys too you might have a broader range of figures you want to pick up.
If you find one Star Wars figure for example you want to keep looking. Kids generally don’t just have one action figure, they have many.
One thing that a lot of thrift stores have are toy bags. Toy bags are clear plastic bags of a random assortment of toys from action figures, plastic men, or even die-cast cars. Look over these bags carefully because you may just be able to spot the head of an action figure and the rest of his body is covered. Chances are you will have to buy the whole bag but they usually cost around $5 for the entire bag.
Condition of Used Action Figures
When you are buying action figures that are from a thrift store be sure to look the item over before you buy it. They are probably well played action figures and may have damages. The downside to buying in thrift stores is that you have a very low chance of getting the figures accessories with the figure.
If they just look dirty that is fine because you can easily clean them up nice.
Even if you don’t want to buy figures for YOUR collection at thrift stores it is still a good time to go action figure hunting and look for valuable figures to resell. Give it a try, but remember that you will may have to visit multiple times before you will find anything.
