As the old adage goes, "The only difference between men and little boys is the price of their toys."
This coming Sunday, Oct. 10, the Just for Fun Seattle Toy Show will hold its ninth-annual convention. Kids and adults alike are expected to attend; new and vintage toys will be on display and for sale.
The Just for Fun Toy show is the only Seattle toy show. Co-organizer Rob Bender said there will be tens of thousands of things to buy there. And you don't have to be a collector to attend.
"If you're looking to buy stuff for the holidays, this is a great place to do it 'cause you'll find stuff there that's one-of-a-kind," Bender said. "You can't buy most of this stuff at Toys 'R' Us."
Collecting toys
So why do people collect toys? If you ask toy collectors, including the organizers of this event - Bender and Steve Vermeulen - there are a variety of reasons, including nostalgia and aesthetics.
"It used to be a pretty lucrative operation, but nowadays, it pretty much functions as a club," Vermeulen said of the show. "The people that usually come are mostly dealers, to sell and trade."
Vermeulen is the former owner of Toonerville Antiques in Phinney Ridge. But the 25-year, toy-selling veteran said, jokingly, "Basically, now I just sell old toys and starve."
Nostalgia
Vermeulen met Bender, whose main job is working at a local radio station, at a toy show before starting Just for Fun in 1995.
"Growing up in the '60s and '70s, I like the nostalgic aspect of toys," Bender said. That's one of the reasons we also feature old TV Guides and cereal boxes at the event."
Keith Schneider, one of the sellers at the toy show, is very outspoken about toys. He should be, since he's been in the business for 30 years and is owner of the renowned Gasoline Alley Antiques.
"When I was a kid I played with the little Marx figures - you know the cowboys and Indians," the 55-year-old Schneider said. "Then the later generations played with the G.I. Joe. Now you shoot the G.I. Joe, [and] the GI Joe shoots you back. In the new toys, sometimes there's no imagination, man - it's all programming."
Most of the attendees at the event are collectors, not just toy buyers. According to Vermeulen, visitors start coming when they reach 35 to 40 years of age, and the more serious collectors, the most intense, are around 50 years old.
"But we do get younger hipsters that come to the event as well," Vermeulen said. "You know, the blue-haired, pierced, tattooed crowd. They like most of the toys for the aesthetics. They think that they just look cool, like the robot from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Collectibles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joes, old Marx figures - what other toys can one expect to see at the show? Lunchboxes (both metal, which was discontinued in 1984, and plastic), Tonka trucks, Pez dispensers, toy cars, Barbie dolls, model kits, character collectibles, action figures, trading cards, comic books, yo-yo's and ad figures. Also, Schneider expects there to be plenty of Go-Bots and Transformers.
"Transformers - I mean what a killer concept, man," Schneider said. "Especially for an old guy who can't even do a Rubik's Cube, let alone one of those plastic Go-Bots."
Less interest in toys
With the advent of video games and the Internet, Vermeulen and Schneider believe that kids have lost a lot of interest in toys.
"Most of the young kids that I meet under 20 could really care less about toys - you know, they want a car stereo," Vermeulen joked.
And Vermeulen believes that when toy companies mass-produce a toy and over-saturate the market, the value and allure of that toy decreases.
"After the 'Star Wars' generation, toys don't matter as much for collecting. It's much more manipulated now," Vermeulen asserted. "The toy line nowadays comes before the show.
"For instance, for "Leave it to Beaver," there's like four things - two games and a couple coloring books," he explained. "And for "Andy Grif-fith," there's even less. These were long-running, successful shows."
Vermeulen warns,"If [toy companies tell you to collect it, don't. If they say it's collectible, it's not."
Of course, toys are still produced for kids today. But besides improved aesthetics and the occasional electronic upgrade, Schneider doesn't believe there is much innovation, creativity or originality in the newer stuff.
"A lot of action figures aren't bought for an appreciation of the character but how it looks," Schneider said.
"Also, the toy companies are constantly re-issuing toys. Like trolls from the '60s," he added. "Why do we have to reissue those? And instead of doing one of the hot collectibles, they have to do 8 million variations.
"Plus, if they can sell it to the kid via the parent, they will," he added. "Like you can bring in My Little Pony that was big in the '80s - well, now the mom is 35 and might buy it for her kid."[[In-content Ad]]
