More than fun and games

American Demographics, August, 1991 by S.K. List

SUMMARY

Strong consumer demand is turning old toys into precious "day-old antiques." Most collectible toys follow a 20-year demographic cycle, but there are exceptions: some Star Wars toys from the 1980s are already worth more the $1,000.

"Help, I'm a Kiddleholic! I need Mattel Liddle Kiddles, dolls, books, shoes, and any items Kiddle-related," confesses Paris Langford of Jefferson, Louisiana. Scott Bruce of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a similar affliction: "I'll kill for old cereal boxes."

That's what they say. They're buyers, sellers, dealers, and collectors in the market for kid stuff. From G.I. Joe to Magilla Gorilla, from Pez to Peter Potamus, pre-owned playthings are in demand. Marketed by businesses with names like Toys "Bee" Used and Stuff Morn Threw Out, recent artifacts of the Age of Plastic are enjoying second and third lives as collectible objects. Consumer demand for the stuff is growing despite a sluggish economy, thanks to a happy combination of nostalgia and demographics.

Krause Publications of Iola, Wisconsin, put out the first issue of Toy Shop in September 1988. By the beginning of 1991, the all-advertising monthly had 17,000 subscribers. "Everybody was surprised at the direction the advertising took," says publisher Bob Lemke. "Our original concept had been that the market was more oriented to wheeled toys and farm toys. But it's turned out to be very heavily into TV-related toys of the 1950s and 1960s."

Toy Shop has a well-educated, affluent readership. Over 70 percent of the readers have attended college, and most range in age from 25 to 54. Average household income is just over $50,000. Most are married men. They spent a total of $36 million on toy collecting in 1989, or more than $2,000 apiece. Lemke describes Toy Shop commerce as "a growing area. The best comparison would probably be to our baseball card line."

Toy Shop's success is one small example of how middle-aged baby boomers are changing consumer markets. Serious collectors for all kinds of objects are clustered in the 35-to-54 age group, and the number of Americans in this group is growing rapidly. When a huge crowd of nostalgic buyers pursues a finite supply of Rin Tin Tin lunch boxes, the result is a super-heated market.

Toy collecting may even benefit from hard economic times. Sales of antique and collectible price guides always do well during recessions, says Bill Schroeder of Collector Books in Paducah, Kentucky. People are more anxious to evaluate the worth of their collections when times are tight. And they're more likely to invest in material objects rather than stocks.

DAY-OLD ANTIQUES

"Collectibles" from the 1950s and 1960s are less expensive than true antiques, for two reasons. First, they were mass-produced and are more plentiful than antiques. Second, antiques such as fine furniture and art had a higher intrinsic value at the time they were produced. Most collectibles are objects originally designed as short-lived or even as throwaways. But people who yearn to recapture their childhood regard the survivors as precious.

Coins and stamps are still the most popular collectibles. Four percent of American adults collect stamps, and 7 percent collect coins, according to Mediamark Research in New York City. Most coin and stamp collectors are men; women dominate the market for "ready-made" collectibles such as commemorative plates, dolls, and spoons. About one-third of adult women in households with incomes of $25,000 or more own at least one collectible figurine, according to Pedone & Partners Advertising in New York City. The average collector, however, owns 15. *

Toy Shop readers are far more devoted than the average collector. Gary Sohmers, who runs Wex Rex Records and Collectibles in Hudson, Massachusetts, has reserved "two ad pages of every issue forever" in Toy Shop. Smaller, even more specialized publications have sprung up, including Action Figure News and Toy Geek.

For 17 years, Keith Schneider has run Gasoline Alley, a Seattle store specializing in collectible children's toys and pop culture. He uses a simple rule of thumb to decide what collectors will want. "If it screwed you up when you were growing up, I deal it," he says.

Toy show ads regularly fill 15 to 25 pages in Toy Shop. These are usually for-profit events that are organized by promoters and typically held in arenas, convention centers, and large hotel meeting rooms. Attendees are "a general audience, in their 30s to early 40s," says Bob Lemke. "It's definitely a family-oriented activity, and we don't see as many families in other hobbies." At shows, he says, women can look at the Barbie dolls, men can buy cap guns and play sets, while their children go for modern toys "like Batman."

Toys are not always the main draw at toy shows. Gary Sohmers, who promotes toy shows in New England and Florida, attracted 25,000 people (at $4 a head) to a December 1990 show in Boston. The show was billed as a 25th Anniversary "Lost in Space" Cast Party, featuring appearances by June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, and other members of the TV show's original cast.