Fisher Price, Not the Roloffs...

We got a fantastic Little People garage from our neighbors. It only came with the tow truck and mechanic, so I hopped online to see what I could find as far as extra cars & people. I didn't need anything shiny & new--just a few additional pieces for His Highness to vroom-vroom around with--and I found a little lot of 3 cars and about 5 people for a buck. A buck!

That said, the shipping for this $.99 toy cost me $8. Ya gotta be alert about the cost of shipping because it is where some sellers try to gouge their customers...but according to the postal label, the actual shipping cost for my package was very nearly $8, so I thought that was fair.

While I was searching for these Little People toys what did I come upon, but vintage Little People toys. The memories flooded my mind, and the nostalgia got to me so I set about seeing if I could find some sweet deals. The Cat Daddy caught me searching and I thought I was busted, but once he found out what I was looking at he said "Oh, the castle was the best; if you find a castle you can get it."

So I've been looking at listings, staking out my bidding plans. Well, when it comes to the vintage items some sellers totally know what they're talking about, but others are either uninformed or trying to practice deception and/or trickery (I prefer to think uninformed, but whatever), so I've been reading up, and have found all sorts of info on this type of thing--how to date some of the toys, what pieces they originally came with, and even how to do cleaning & repairs.

I haven't found the castle I want yet, but I got a great deal on a barn/silo (the one that moos) with many of the people, animals, and such that originally came with it. His Highness really doesn't care if we get all the pieces, or whether or not they're in mint condition, so I can afford to make some concessions in that regard...and I can always go pack and piecemeal missing parts if I choose. You can find anything online.

Adding to the fun are budget realities; namely that as cool as they toys are, we are choosing not to include them in our discretionary budget. The Cat Daddy feels that we should use all of my allowance to buy toys and fun stuff (ostensibly for His Highness). At that suggestion I replied that instead we should use all of his allowance to buy toys & fun stuff. Obviously the happy medium is for us each to use our own when we want to buy something.

After I picked up some containers to keep the Little People in (the new ones; the old ones are stored in the barn), and some glue to repair the silo, and looked up info on Naval Jelly (ew) to take the rust off the metal bits, it dawned on me that this is either a phase I'm going through or a new hobby altogether.

Either way, it's really fun, and I'll post more info after I get thru a couple of key auctions...gotta keep those on the down low just in case you're hunting for the same things I am...