Decluttering in the new year has become a ritual habit for some families, but as we go through old photo albums, clothes that no longer fit, and childhood toys, we may be sitting on a goldmine and didn’t even know it.
Trading cards and comic books as well as Beanie Babies and Barbies all make the list of most valuable.
Although toys might not seem likely contenders for items to invest in, if you are able to come across the right ones and keep them in perfect condition, you may have hit the jackpot.
The experts at OnBuy’s Toy Department decided to look into some of the most valuable toys and games that could earn you a fortune.
| ITEM | HIGHEST RECORDED $ | HIGHEST RECORDED £ | AVERAGE GLOBAL MONTHLY SEARCHES |
| Trading Cards | $3.9m | £2.9m | 24,900 |
| Comic Book | $3.2m | £2.4m | 280,100 |
| Beanie Babies | $600k | £450k | 163,300 |
| Dolls (Barbie) | $302k | £226k | 3,900,000 |
| Toy Cars (Hot Wheels) | $175k | £131k | 1,200,000 |
| Board Games | $146k | £109k | 726,300 |
| Disney VHS Tapes | $15k | £11k | 5,200 |
The Highlights
Although ‘trading cards’ is only searched roughly 24,900 times a month on average, the highest amount recorded for the purchase of a trading card was made earlier this year when a rare signed Mike Trout rookie card sold for a record-setting £2.9m ($3.9m).
Other specific Trading Cards of value include Magic: The Gathering Alpha Black Lotus card, Yu-Gi-Oh Black Luster Soldier card and a Pokémon Holographic First Edition Charizard.
Comic Books have the fourth largest global search volumes at 280,100 and continue to be a profitable option. In 2014, a first edition of Action Comics from 1938 sold on eBay for just over £2.4m ($3.2m) when the bidder had only put it up for 99 cents (76p).
Other comics of similar value include Detective Comics, Amazing Fantasy and Marvel.
With 163,300 average global monthly searches, the most expensive sold bundle of Beanie Babies in the world was known as Wallace and his Squad (1 large Wallace and two regular sized Wallaces, Cashew and Huggy). The bundle sold for £450,000 ($600,000),
Other valuable Beanie Babies include Rainbow, Valentino, Princess the Bear, Bubbles and Piccadilly Attic.
The most expensive Barbie doll ever sold was the Stefani Canturi doll, which went for £226,000 ($302,500) in 2010 due to the necklace the doll sported – having been designed by Stefano Canturi and featured emerald-cut pink diamonds. Barbies unsurprisingly are also the most searched with nearly 4 million average searches around the world every month!
Other dolls worth value include Original Barbie (1959), Marie Antoinette Barbie and Pink Jubilee Barbie.
‘Hot Wheels’ have the second highest number of average global monthly searches (1,200,000) and one of the rarer finds is said to be worth £131,000 ($175,000) the 1969 Pink, Rear-Loading Beach Bomb.
With ‘board games’ reaching 726,300 average global monthly searches, the original Monopoly Atlantic City, made in 1933, was sold at an auction for £109,000 ($146,500).
Lastly with the least amount of average global monthly searches, the most successful Disney VHS tape was sold on eBay for £11,478 and it was the Beauty and the Beast Black Diamond.
