Have you ever vaguely recalled something from your childhood... wanted it, hunted it down and only found it was highly collectible?

[RH | 4,903]

I'm not necessarily talking about video games or toys, which as collectors, which we all know tend to be collectible for general nostalgia.  I'm talking about rather "background" things like furniture, appliances, clocks, etc.

Well for me, when I was a really little kid, we had this digital alarm clock.  I remembered it had a spinning LCD starburst on it (or something like that.  This clock was in me and my brothers room and I remember it was mesmerizing and I would stare at it until I fell asleep.  I've been wanting one for years, but I could never find one on eBay.  Finally, using a bit of google-fu, I found it was a "lumitime" clock and was actually an analog unit, meant to look digital.  Now, you can get a nice, wood grain old clock from the mid-70s for around 20-30 bucks plus shipping.  What does a lumitime go for?  North of $150!

Yeah, no.  To rich for my blood.  I really am disappointed.  I know that flip-clocks are quite collectible, mostly because they were used on TV movies a lot in the 80s, but apparently everyone who was young when I was and remembers these clocks wants one now, and they aren't common.

Oh well, at least I found the thing and I was able to finally find videos of it in use.  It brought back such good memories, even if they were about getting sleep!  Anyway, enjoy the eBay link for one up for auction now and the video of it in use:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175240979320

 

[Br81zad | 629]

Battle Beasts.

I had no idea there were so many of those things, and I didn't realize people had been actively collecting them. lol

http://www.virtualtoychest.com/battlebeasts/Battle_beasts_2_crop.jpg

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

Spinjas

loved them as a kid. I picked up a mini arena and about 6 figures. There way cooler than beyblades.

now I use a beyblade battle arena for my Spinjas and it’s awesome.

my 6 year old daughter loves them too.

Edited April 15, 2022 by docile tapeworm

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

@RH My wife found the back to the future flip clock for $6 at goodwill. It’s clean only issue is the bulb went out. Other than that it works perfectly. Had no idea until I looked it up. 

Edited April 15, 2022 by docile tapeworm

[Gloves | 11,776]

Zombie Nation on NES is one of these for me, top of my head. When I was a kid, my babysitter had a NES and that game, I played it a lot. She actually ended up giving it to me, and I just don't know/remember what happened to that cart.

[Jeevan | 8,910]

Any of the old tmnt/gi joe toys, and also, micro machines/connectables.  I thought about buying some stuff recently, but man some of that stuff is spensive..........

Also, wouldn't mind starting a lego collection at some point, but those things are pretty crazy on price for new ones, and also, when they get all bought out, you can't get it for msrp ever!  

[Tulpa | 3,492]

My parents had a Seth Thomas banjo clock. I've considered getting one for myself, but it wouldn't match anything in my current place.

[Link | 2,709]

That clock is really cool. I don't blame you for that starburst obsessing you, and the way the digits change over with a delay is also neat. 

I collect clocks, digital ones, fortunately they're not so sought after or hard to find.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

This is a cheaply made plastic figure (they were a soft plastic and hollow) made by a company called Miller in 1958.  They sold in the 5 and 10 stores for, well,  - five or ten cents.  One in very good condition will go for several hundred dollars today.

The company made other figures but this was their biggest seller - it was made in 1958 after the wildy successful novelty song by Sheb Wooley was released:

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Tabonga

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

My childhood junk is mostly worthless, which is great. The coolest, most expensive toy from my childhood is $150 brand new but still no one's buying. It's a missile base playset that pops up and opens into the interior of the base. It is cool AF. I just have too much crap and can't buy nostalgic toys on top of all the other junk I have.

I didn't have one, but Nick Time Blaster clocks are ridiculous expensive for how relatively common they are. Would be cool to get one CIB one day:

[Hammerfestus | 3,834]

My Pet Monster comes to mind.  
 

Ghostbuster toys are more than I want to pay.  
 

I had EVO as a kid.  I still have the cart but the box and manual will probably never be something I have.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

1 minute ago, Hammerfestus said:

My Pet Monster comes to mind.  
 

Ghostbuster toys are more than I want to pay.  
 

I had EVO as a kid.  I still have the cart but the box and manual will probably never be something I have.

IIRC EVO didn't really have a manual - it had a poster sized folded insert chart  with simple instructions on the back.

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

IIRC EVO didn't really have a manual - it had a poster sized folded insert chart  with simple instructions on the back.

That's correct; you can see photos of my CIB on my site here: https://glovesoff.games/games/super-nintendo-entertainment-system/evo-search-for-eden

[Tabonga | 2,317]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

That's correct; you can see photos of my CIB on my site here: https://glovesoff.games/games/super-nintendo-entertainment-system/evo-search-for-eden

The main reason I remember was that several years ago I went to play it and was looking for the manual (I store my snes games in 3 or 4 groups* - games, boxes, manuals and posters/maps etc (stored open/flat in vinyl sheet protectors) until I looked in the inserts pile and found it - drove me nuts for awhile since there was no place for the manual to have gone. 

*May sound odd but it keeps everything in really good shape.

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Tabonga

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

The main reason I remember was that several years ago I went to play it and was looking for the manual (I store my snes games in 3 or 4 groups* - games, boxes, manuals and posters/maps etc (stored open/flat in vinyl sheet protectors) until I looked in the inserts pile and found it - drove me nuts for awhile since there was no place for the manual to have gone. 

*May sound odd but it keeps everything in really good shape.

 

Nah man that makes total sense from a space and condition standpoint. Keeping all the games "together" and "complete" as individuals certainly takes up a lot of space!

[Tabonga | 2,317]

5 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Nah man that makes total sense from a space and condition standpoint. Keeping all the games "together" and "complete" as individuals certainly takes up a lot of space!

Plus everytime you want to play a game you have to dig out the game from those crappy boxes  - which involves wear and tear (however minor) on everything.

I store the games (about 275) alphabetically in these type of cabinets:

Edited April 15, 2022 by Tabonga

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Plus everytime you want to play a game you have to dig out the game from those crappy boxes  - which involves wear and tear (however minor) on everything.

I store the games (about 275) alphabetically in these type of cabinets:

Super smart for a dude who I imagine pulls out his games to play a lot. I can dig it!

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

3 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

My Pet Monster comes to mind.  
 

Ghostbuster toys are more than I want to pay.  
 

I had EVO as a kid.  I still have the cart but the box and manual will probably never be something I have.

Oh snap! I still have this at my parents!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

Not really.  Only childhood stuff I care about is video games and books.

Most books are dirt cheap, especially paperback.  The only kinda exception is Choose Your Own Adventure.  They arent crazy in general, probably under $10 in most cases, but more expensive than most stuff.  And very hard to find.  I run across maybe 1-2 a year.

[MegaMan52 | 2,443]

Did anyone use to watch Wake, Rattle & Roll? I found a "Best of Wake, Rattle & Roll" VHS tape in 1994/1995 for $5. It was probably the cheapest VHS tape I saw at the time. A few years ago, I looked it up and noticed that it may have been the only Wake, Rattle & Roll video released on VHS. It is uncommon, and can cost anywhere between $60-$150 on eBay. Luckily, I still have my original copy.

Edited April 16, 2022 by MegaMan52

[Jeevan | 8,910]

3 minutes ago, MegaMan52 said:

Did anyone use to watch Wake, Rattle & Roll? I found a "Best of Wake, Rattle,& Roll" VHS tape in 1994/1995 for $5. It was probably the cheapest VHS tape I saw at the time. A few years ago, I looked it up and noticed that it may have been the only Wake, Rattle & Roll video released on VHS. It is uncommon, and can cost anywhere between $60-$150 on eBay. Luckily, I still have my original copy.

never heard of it......

[MegaMan52 | 2,443]

2 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

never heard of it......

[Jeevan | 8,910]

1 minute ago, MegaMan52 said:

was it a regional thing?  I used to watch pbs all the time as a kid as we never had cable and it was local station at the university in muncie.  Reading rainbow, mr. rogers, sesame street, zoobilee zoo......just the ones that come to mind, i have never seen this one.  Nice that you don't have to attempt to buy it though

[MegaMan52 | 2,443]

On 4/15/2022 at 6:27 PM, Jeevan said:

was it a regional thing?  I used to watch pbs all the time as a kid as we never had cable and it was local station at the university in muncie.  Reading rainbow, mr. rogers, sesame street, zoobilee zoo......just the ones that come to mind, i have never seen this one.  Nice that you don't have to attempt to buy it though

Never watched it on TV, and only knew about it because I found this (apparently obscure) VHS tape in 1995 or so (which I still have): 

However, being a Hanna-Barbera show, it has familiar characters such as Fred Flintstone and Muttley from Wacky Races, so I liked it. I kept several things from my childhood (as you may have noticed in my "basement treasures" topic), and this tape is also something that I still have after all these years. And, well...I'm kind of glad I still have it after seeing that price.

Edit: Found my copy: 

Edited April 22, 2022 by MegaMan52

[Estil | 1,264]

How about not being able to find one at all?  Do you know how many YEARS it took me to FINALLY track down a complete set of the Kentucky Collegiate Collection trading card set?  Or sure there were billions of the North Carolina ones and those Shop At Home guys screaming about the so-called JORDAN COLLEGE ROOKIES!!! (no sir, those cards were released in 1989, several years AFTER Jordan's UNC days so that does NOT count as a "college rookie") but finding the Kentucky sets was next to impossible.   The 1989 one was plenty hard enough but the 1988 set was even harder still.  

One toy I always wanted back in the day was a Voltron...only problem is that there are seemingly dozens of different kinds...how do you know which one is the best?  The first couple of Power Rangers Megazords would be neat also but even the re-issues are quite expensive   And (don't laugh) I was very much a Gobots kid back in the mid-to-late 80s so that too might be nice to have someday.  The Super Gobots look especially nice but both those and the regulars you gotta be really careful not to end up with broken/missing pieces ones as well as not to overpay.