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Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold

Blog Feb 26, 2016

Recently I wrote an blog article called “Holding Rare Gold Coins vs Collectible Toys”. The point of the blog article was to illustrate that rarity along with condition and demand can drive prices to great heights in both the worlds of rare gold coins as well as collectible toys from yesteryear. While toys such as the Easy Bake Oven, Fisher Price roller skates and a Furby can fetch many times over their original retail price, rare gold coins can bring bids hundreds or even thousands of times the face value of the coin. This article blog is a companion piece of sorts to that article; this article will be about toys that are a better investment than gold.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold: The Super Soaker.

Who knew? There are a few factors that have to line up before a toy can be included in the list of toys that are a better investment than gold, and in this case the factor that put the Super Soaker squarely in this category is what people are willing to pay for a Super Soaker in perfect condition: $600. The original top of the line Larami Super Soaker could be had for about $30 back in 1991.

a better investment than gold: a super soaker

The Super Soaker 300 Consisted Of A Flame-Thrower Type Backpack That Carried Water Which Fed An Uzi Inspired Water Gun Via Hose. The Three Bottles On Top Of The Gun Stored Pressurized Air The Shooter Created By Pumping The Gun. 24 Pumps Yielded 4 Or 5 Shots Of Powerful Streaming Water.

If you have a Larami Super Soaker still in the original packaging, and you paid $27.99 plus tax for it on sale in 1991, and you sold it today for $600, you would have in essence increased your squirt gun investment by roughly twenty-fold.

If you had bought an ounce of gold in 1991, it would have cost about $400 or so. Today you could realize about $1200 for that one ounce gold coin, a mere tripling of it’s original value.

better investments than gold: super soaker

The New Nerf Super Soaker Is Battery Powered So The Kids Don’t Have To Pump It Anymore. It Does Not Shoot Fifty Feet Anymore Either. Somehow I Don’t See It Appreciating To $600.

As a side note; Nerf bought the rights to the Larami Super Soaker, and the squirt gun is still produced today. You can purchase a current Nerf Super Soaker model for under $30. There are no gold coins available at 1991 prices, Nerf or otherwise.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold: Tamagotchis.

Tamawhats? Tamagotchis. Chances are pretty good that you may have actually purchased one of these at some point as a gift for a youngster. A Tamagotchi is a Japanese electronic digital pet that looks alot like a key-chain or key-fob of some sort.

a better investment than gold: tamagotchis

The Original Tamagotchi Pets Were Very Primitive By The Electronic Standards Of Today, But In 1996 This Was A Cutting Edge Inexpensive Toy.

Embedded is an electronic pet that requires “care” and interaction in order to be happy and healthy. The “owner” must feed, play with, and toilet train their digital pet. If care is not given and attention not lavished upon the key-chain, the pet will “die”.

Even though a Tamagotchi can die, it can be revived apparently by pressing buttons A and C. A Tamagotchi could be had in 1998 for about $20. Today an Original Tamagotchi, or P1’s, can bring upwards of $400. $20 in and $400 out works out to a gain of twenty-fold roughly once again. Tamagotchis are included in the list of toys that are a better investment than gold.

An ounce of gold in 1998 would have been about $300, give or take a little. Today, you could realize about $1200 for that same one ounce gold coin, an increase of only 400%.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold Tamagotchi

A Tamagotchi With X’s For Eyes Is Not A Good Sign.

Incidentally, the first and second generation Tamagotchis (P1’s and P2’s) required so much frequent care, that the digital pet would often “die” from “lack of care” while the pet’s child-owner would be away at school for the day. Because of this, Tamagotchi owners would often sneak their pets to into school classrooms, where they quickly became as unwelcome as non-virtual pets.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold: Hot Wheels.

Perhaps not such a big surprise, really. Rare cars often sell for millions of dollars. I don’t mean rare Hot Wheels cars, I mean rare real cars, like a 1957 Ferrari Testarossa or a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Real cars that real people can drive often out-appreciate the cost of gold, after all, automobiles such as these are moving pieces of engineered art.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold: Hot Wheels-

A Hot Wheels 1:16 Scale Model Car Of A Ferrari Testa Rossa. Testa Rossa Is Italian For “Red Head”. On The Real Car The Cylinder Heads Had A Red Crackle Finish.

A Hot Wheels car offered every little boy and girl a chance to own the cars (plural on purpose) of their dreams, and drive them in everyday in their imaginations, no gas or repairs necessary.

Today Hot Wheels cars are heavily traded on Ebay and Amazon, in both new and used conditions. Some of these Hot Wheels cars are very rare. Many are produced in limited number runs. As you may imagine, the little boy in a man will pay $15 or $20 for a Hot Wheels car that may have once sold for less than a dollar. Little boys that happen to be in the bodies of rich men will pay thousands, or even tens of thousands for a very rare Hot Wheels car, as long as it is in perfect condition and has proper provenance.

This Video Offers Useful Tips On Collecting Hot Wheels For Fun And Profit.

Because these cars were sometimes sold at prices of $0.69, and can now bring upwards of $4000, and in rare cases $72,000, there is no need to do math to see that the returns are simply massive in the rare Hot Wheels market, as long as you are the original owner of the car. Ha ha.

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold

Would You Pay $72,000 For This Hot Wheels Van? It Is The “Holy Grail” Of Rare Hot Wheels.

As you can imagine, there is no way I am suggesting that you invest your retirement savings in Hot Wheels or Super Soakers or even a dead Tamagotchi. I am illustrating how high rarity and original condition along with demand can drive prices where you never would have suspected they would go. These factors can be seen working in the rare gold coin market today.

There are toys that are a better investment than gold, but wouldn’t you rather own gold coins than a squirt gun and a pink van and a key-chain that needs toilet training?

Toys That Are A Better Investment Than Gold: Tamagotchi

This Tamagotchi Pet Requires Assistance.

Thumbnail Photo We believe that everyone deserves a properly developed strategy for financial safety.

Lynette Zang

Chief Market Analyst, ITM Trading

Sources & References In This Article

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