By Lauren Bishop
Enquirer staff writer
If you have old toys around that are destined for your yard sale, you may want to hold off for a week.
Tuesday through Friday, representatives of the International Toy Collectors Association - made up of more than 5,400 collectors who pay a fee to join - will be in town prepared to pay top dollar for antique and collectible playthings at their traveling toy road show.
So what are collectors looking for? George McCurley, senior vice president of the association, says the hottest toys include those made during the '50s and '60s, robot and space toys, pre-1970 Hot Wheels, battery-operated or windup toys, pre-1965 Tonka trucks, cast-iron toys, race cars, Barbies and G.I. Joes.
At past shows, buyers have paid as much as $500 for a Hot Wheels toy car and $225,000 for a rare mechanical bank, according to the association.
But there's a market for toys in the $10-$30 range too, McCurley says. And even if you have no intentions of parting with your 1959 Barbie, you can still get a good idea of its value there, he says.
At this stop on the road show, collectors especially will be looking for antique toy trains. McCurley says the association hasn't been able to fill collectors' requests for trains for the past three to four months.
"Right now is an opportune time to cash in those old trains, and I think this would be a great show to bring them to," he says.
Some tips from the association for roadshow-goers:
• Visit the road show Tuesday if you can - it's likely to be less crowded on the first day. But you still could find yourself standing in line for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Don't bring money to buy toys yourself. The buying is limited to collectors from the toy association.
• Don't try to clean your old toys - you could damage them.
• Bring the original packaging and tags if you have them.
• Bring your broken toys, too; many collectors are looking for parts.
• Remember that the market for collectibles fluctuates, and that you could get less - or more - by selling your toy elsewhere.
If you go
