Collecting before internet

[megoapesnut]

The ironic thing now...I have almost zero interest in comic books today.

I feel the same about football cards. I have a 1969 Topps set that I have been trying for years to complete, although not putting much energy into it. And I have a few of my autographed cards from the Emmitt, Aikman, Irvin era. But my interest in cards is almost nil at this point.

Which I guess begs the question, will I lose interest in Mego collecting at some point in the future as I did with football cards? My answer to myself would be, I don't think so. There are a lot of reasons. Nostalgia fuels my Mego passion and that should only get stronger as I get older. Whereas I did not play with or collect sportscards when I was young (yes, no cards in my spokes!). Also, Megos are easier to display than cards and much cooler looking on display. Plus is is more fun to piece together figures and variations and you can't do that with cards.

[megoapesnut]

I did a lot of cool deals like Cipsa Apes, Palitoy stuff etc from the public phone at the Atrium on the Bay mall.

I need to get that info from you so that when I finally invent a time machine, I can do the same deals!

[Hector]

I feel the same about football cards. I have a 1969 Topps set that I have been trying for years to complete, although not putting much energy into it. And I have a few of my autographed cards from the Emmitt, Aikman, Irvin era. But my interest in cards is almost nil at this point.

Which I guess begs the question, will I lose interest in Mego collecting at some point in the future as I did with football cards? My answer to myself would be, I don't think so. There are a lot of reasons. Nostalgia fuels my Mego passion and that should only get stronger as I get older. Whereas I did not play with or collect sportscards when I was young (yes, no cards in my spokes!). Also, Megos are easier to display than cards and much cooler looking on display. Plus is is more fun to piece together figures and variations and you can't do that with cards.

I agree with you.

I sold all my high end comic books. I still have like six boxes of comics left...but they are the low end stuff...I've been planning to take them to the local fleamarket...but I'm too bloody lazy...lol.

Megos are definitely here to stay with me as well...but I'm specializing a bit more...I'm gunning mostly for Superman stuff now...kinda like you with POTA.

[ScottA]

All my Megos back then came from catalogs and ads found in Toy Shop. A couple of my first purchases were a Batman MIB and a Green Arrow MIB for $45 each. To my surprise the Batman was an RC Batman, which was not mentioned in the ad. It was the first time I'd ever seen one. But in all the years of using Toy Shop I was never ripped off, thank goodness.

[megocrazy]

I was always into toys but it was sports cards for me all through the 80's. I would travel all over to go to shows. When my boys were born I started to get back into toys as the sports market started to get ridiculous. My first Mego re-purchase was at a show at a small VFW hall. Ironman complete, Green Goblin (no satchel), Cap complete w/ cloth emblem, and one other can't remember who, all really sweet condition for $50. I really miss the toy shows though. Almost would give up on ebay if they came back. So tough to drive 6 hours down to DE for zorro's show or 8 hours up to Toronto for those. I've done it but it's tough. I remember the good old days of a box of vintage toys for $20, or a rare piece pulled from a box of crap for a quarter.

[megoapesnut]

I really miss the toy shows though. Almost would give up on ebay if they came back. So tough to drive 6 hours down to DE for zorro's show or 8 hours up to Toronto for those. I've done it but it's tough.

I was talking with a collector at Zorro's show in Jersey and he was from Canada. He and his son travel all over to shows. And they drive to all of them. He said they were going to one in California a few weeks later and that would be the first one they flew to. Sounded like pretty cool Dad and son bonding times.

[clemso]

The first Megos I remember buying was off Mark Huckabone in the 80s. I called him up from a action figure news ad,(I was not really a Mego collector back then, more comicbook) and asked him if he had Fantastic Four megos, while still on the phone at international call rate . I recall him saying something like he was rummaging under his bed and pulling out multiples of pin pin carded FF that he sold to me for $10 a piece. He also sold me a very expensive carded Thor in the $400 range. They were exciting times for sure, there was a lot of anticipation and you did need patience.

[HardyGirl]

I started avidly toy collecting in 1990 when I lived in WI. I would go to toy shows or Rummage-O-Rama for my toy and comic collecting needs. Back then I got:

a Mego Tarzan (wearing an AJ Jumpsuit, and had a LJN SWAT suit packaged w/ him

a nude Superman (guess where that extra LJN suit went?)

The whole Peter Pan GIJoe Adventure Team book and record set

A Power Records Star Trek story album

A Power Records SMDM story album

A large Mr. T doll (which has long since been trashed due to weird circumstances)

A Pulsar figure

A Big Jeff and Dr. Steel Figure

A Crissy doll

A FREE Baby That-a-Way doll

Lotsa Archie comics for cover value

When I moved to Oakland, I got other things (mostly Atari 2600 games) from the local flea market.

[Mikey]

That's a word I haven't heard in a long time -- rummage sale

I got a few decent things at church rummage sales back in the day.

Seems most churches around here don't host them anymore.

[generic]

The two things I miss the most are the atmosphere of a toy show or flea market and the possibility of picking up small, rare bits for under a buck from someone who's into something else. I remember picking up several really cool Mego accessories from GI Joe collectors who didn't give a damn about the Mego stuff. There were often big bins of cheaper, beat up pieces from toy dealers and you could sometimes find really good deals. I miss talking in person with other collectors and dealers too. Ebay and the internet have really changed everything, though.

I have this mathmatical philosophy that you only have so much attention that you can devote to everything that exists in your life (for a total of 100% of your available attention). The more in your life, the less attention you can devote to any one thing. So each of us devotes whatever percentage of their attention to our toy collections (say, for the sake of easy math, 50%). If you have one really awesome toy in your collection, it recieves 100% of that 50%. But the more you have in your collection, the more each piece will have a smaller percentage of your attention (50 equally cool toys, 1% of total attention each). So once you've got 10,000 pieces in your collection, each one now has less attention value.

I'm the kind of guy who keeps EVERYTHING, so in the late 90s when I discovered the internet and actually had a little spending money, I kind of went overboard. My collection ended up being too big for me to enjoy it. That's the real problem that I personally have had with ebay and the internet. I've spent the last 10 years trying to focus it more so that it's not overwhelming...but like I said, I'm the kind of guy who keeps everything, so it's tough for me to let anything go.

I think I enjoyed my collecting more when it was difficult to find the things I collected and each one had a story..."oh, I bought this Teen Titan speedy shirt from a guy was selling lamp shades at this little flea market. It was on a Boss Hogg figure!" These days, all my toys have a story too..."That one? Mego Marketplace. Oh, that one over there? Mego Marketplace. The one in the back? Mego Marketplace." Don't get me wrong. I think this place it AWESOME! It just don't see having the same kind of fond memories about reading posts here as I have about spending a Sunday afternoon at a toy show or flea market.

[clemso]

The two things I miss the most are the atmosphere of a toy show or flea market and the possibility of picking up small, rare bits for under a buck from someone who's into something else. I remember picking up several really cool Mego accessories from GI Joe collectors who didn't give a damn about the Mego stuff. There were often big bins of cheaper, beat up pieces from toy dealers and you could sometimes find really good deals. I miss talking in person with other collectors and dealers too. Ebay and the internet have really changed everything, though.

I have this mathmatical philosophy that you only have so much attention that you can devote to everything that exists in your life (for a total of 100% of your available attention). The more in your life, the less attention you can devote to any one thing. So each of us devotes whatever percentage of their attention to our toy collections (say, for the sake of easy math, 50%). If you have one really awesome toy in your collection, it recieves 100% of that 50%. But the more you have in your collection, the more each piece will have a smaller percentage of your attention (50 equally cool toys, 1% of total attention each). So once you've got 10,000 pieces in your collection, each one now has less attention value.

I'm the kind of guy who keeps EVERYTHING, so in the late 90s when I discovered the internet and actually had a little spending money, I kind of went overboard. My collection ended up being too big for me to enjoy it. That's the real problem that I personally have had with ebay and the internet. I've spent the last 10 years trying to focus it more so that it's not overwhelming...but like I said, I'm the kind of guy who keeps everything, so it's tough for me to let anything go.

I think I enjoyed my collecting more when it was difficult to find the things I collected and each one had a story..."oh, I bought this Teen Titan speedy shirt from a guy was selling lamp shades at this little flea market. It was on a Boss Hogg figure!" These days, all my toys have a story too..."That one? Mego Marketplace. Oh, that one over there? Mego Marketplace. The one in the back? Mego Marketplace." Don't get me wrong. I think this place it AWESOME! It just don't see having the same kind of fond memories about reading posts here as I have about spending a Sunday afternoon at a toy show or flea market.

That is a very philosophical way of looking at collecting generic, i like that.

[trekfan]

My first Mego in the wild sighting (that I can remember) was in the late 80's/ early 90's at a small Toy show. It was a Kirk that looked like a pack of Klingons had their way with him - just trashed. He wanted $25 for it. Pass...Even though the dealer assured me such a rare Action Figure normally sells for much, much more.

As a kid, I was HUUUUUGE into comics. I used to go to this shop in Downtown San Jose, run by this guy that liked to throw a few back before noon. He would also overprice all his back issues - I still remember needing Iron Man #17, but #18 had come out that day, so he marked 17 up to .75 Cents (not that I'm bitter :( or anything). I did get my revenge, he had Little Lulu #110 hanging with a price of $10. This was in Fine/VF condition. I bought it for my Mom's BD (she used to read LL when she was a kid) and when I got it home I discovered it wasn't a Little Lulu #110, but a Four Color #110 or the THIRD appearance of LL and worth over a hundred bucks!!!

One last "Find"...I was at a Flea Market in the 90's, when I spotted a Remco George Harrison figure. Being a Beatles fan, I made a beeline for it. Poor George had seen better days - No Guitar and missing chunks of hair. I asked how much? $50!!!! I told him about the condition issues and offered $10, which I thought was fair (maybe even a little high). I was told the $50 was firm and he wouldn't go any lower. I walked (heck, I already had one anyway, but, since collecting is a sickness, I wanted another).

David

[Flynne]

Being in the Midwest, all of the good ads in ToyShop and the other collector mags were gone by the time I called, so I relied almost exclusively on Toy Shows. Ah, how I miss the old toy shows. I remember practically wetting myself at Toy Shows in the Midwest in the late 80s and early 90s when I could find a Mego. I remember one show in 1992 where I actually considered paying $50 for a naked Green Arrow missing almost all of the headpaint because, well, it's a Mego, dude! I did pony up $30 that day for a dead mint T2 spidey in a beater card that is still in my loose collection today. I also had a Bruce Wayne head on my RC Batman for 8 years that turned out to be a Mystery Astronaut head (I thought Bruce had blue eyes), and other treasures that I found out beating the street with show leather. I really miss those days sometimes.

There were the obligatory people who thought they had goldmines on the hoof - one flea market here has had a loose Kirk and Spock with no accessories for $150 each since the early 90s, and have been in the case so long that they have faded unevenly from UV exposure. If it's a tradmarked property, then it HAS to be worth a ton! It's a comfort to go back to these stores periodically to see that the product is still there, and wonder how they can stay in business for 20 years without appearing to sell anything.

Then came the Levy List, and behold! There came a flood of like minded people with more parts and figures than my wallet could handle. Soon after came the Museum, and then eBay, and I have never looked back. Glory be, we live in the land of Mego plenty! Still, even though I have shelves of Megos and other toys that I would likely never have found without the Internet, I still miss the simple joy of finding a Mego in the wild. It's been almost 2 years since that happened, and I really, really miss that feeling.

[scoth70]

well i didnt really start collecting...till i went in my local newsagents.... i saw a magazine for collectable toys...i dont know if its still on sale called model mart...

i just fancied looking through it as i liked the idea of looking at old toys from my younger days...
i remember in the toy sales section seing several toys called mego..... now id heard of the name but had no idea what a mego was then... but from that magazine i rememberd seing a set of vintage 8 inch figures frank,wolf,mummy,drac... they were £130
when i was young me and my bro had a drac ..frank,wolf and mummy.. so i took the gamble and bought the figures from model mart...when they came they were in awesome shape but only one resembled the toy from my younger days...which was dracula...the others id never seen...... the monsters we had when younger turned out to be the ahi monsters..and the mego dracula was one of them..it was 3 ahi..1 mego

the four that came from model mart were all the 4 mego madmonsters ... so id never seen a frank, mummy of werewolf mego before... those are the 4 monsters i have now in my collection which turned out to be 3 type 2 monsters and a type1 mummy...

when they came i was dissapointed that there was only one that was my childhood toy..the mego drac..but now after getting into megos and figures over the years i love all four of em just as much ..and to end the story i end up picking up a full set of ahi monsters out the mag... all mint from ireland..which had the ahi mummy frank and werewolf we had when kids... .... then i started going to the major uk toy fairs then it was the internet after, that opend all the different megos up to me which i never knew was out there....im sure my story will get you thinking what the heck is he going on about ...but i know what i mean if you guys dont lol..

[vulcan2074]

I remember going to toy shows, lots and lots of toy shows. I collected Toys, comics and cards religioulsy. I often saw the ads in the magazines but never even gave them a try. I also loved going to garage sales and swap meets for my toy needs.

I remember when ebay came out. It took me awhile before I finally dived in because I was so used to toy shows. Now I'm on ebay daily looking for Toys. I no longer collect comics and I haven't even atempted to complete my vintage card collections.
Sammy