All Things My Little Pony
Mar. 26th, 2012 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windinthemaplesInstead of talking about my rough week, I thought I'd rather ramble a bit about My Little Pony. Feel free to skip if you aren't a collector as well.
More On My History with My Little Pony
I never bought my own ponies as a child. I received them as gifts from my mother on my October birthdays and Christmas and that's it. No other time of the year did we get toys or gifts, as a general rule. I wasn't obsessed with My Little Pony. I liked the toys, from my first when I was 4 or so, but my interests were spread to G.I. Joe, Silverhawks, Transformers, Jem, She-Ra, and He-Man, too. I loved Lego and my Fisher Price Western Town and all sorts of things. So it was okay that my mom browsed the latest releases at the store for a few years in a row and bought one or two she liked the best. Her favorite colors, generally, so I had a lot of pink and purple ponies. :) Unlike a lot of collectors, I wasn't fixated on ponies at the time and I didn't keep any of my ponies past my teenage years. The ponies I owned, as a child, were:
Year 1: 1982(Age 4)
Cotton Candy
Blossom
Year 2: 1983(Age 5)
Bowtie
Applejack
Seashell
Glory
Moondancer
Firefly
Seawinkle
Parasol
Peachy and the Pretty Parlor
Lemon Drop and the Show Stable
and the Mail Order Pink/Lavendar Haired Baby Ember
Year 3: 1984(Age 6)
Baby Cotton Candy
Year 4: 1985 (Age 7)
So-Soft Lofty
Baby Lofty
Peach Blossom
Paradise Estate
Year 5: 1986 (Age 8)
Twinkle Eyed Tic Tac Toe
Baby North Star
Year 6: 1987 (Age 9)
Big Brother Wigwam
Big Brother Steamer
Cha Cha the Llama
Vending at the Fair
This year, for the first time, I'll be vending at the My Little Pony Fair in Orlando. I was hesitant, with a newborn, to commit to anything so ambitious but my husband convinced me. I've experienced the Fair as a participant--why not give it a whirl as a vendor and see how it goes? I've spent so many years selling ponies online--it'll be a relief to be in a venue where the buyer can inspect the pony before they purchase it. There is no need for me to meticulously note every flaw in a description or hover around wondering if anyone will place a bid. No packaging to ship, no waiting for feedback. I anticipate it will be a lot of fun getting to meet everyone buying my ponies, giving them homes in their collections. So many stories, I imagine, in one space.
I spent the past week slowly sorting through the bags (and bags and bags) of accessories I've accumulated over the years. Here, I am completely out of my element. I'm still getting used to modern pony pricing--I'm stuck in 1995 mental valuations most of the time--but I never have sold many accessories. I've been flipping through a few resources, trying to find some fair price guidelines, and it seems crazy. HOW ON EARTH CAN A PLASTIC HAIR BARRETTE, FOR A TOY, BE WORTH $6? How in the world do I price incomplete pony wear sets? Just what *are* the stickers worth? The Buy-It-Now prices on eBay, for individual accessories, are ludicrous. It has been interesting and informational and I have a better respect for accessories-collectors. They are upping the difficulty level, to be sure.
The hardest part, I think, will be having to carry everything on an airplane. I have hundreds of ponies I'd be interested in bringing for sale. Two children, all their accoutrements, booth decor to consider. I'm sharing a 6" table with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rubymulligan, so I've got some hare-brained schemes for building foam core stadium risers the night before in the hotel room to display everyone and make the most of the space.
Collection Acquisitions
This year, I've made some major investments in my own personal collection. Last year, I purchased a few large childhood collections from people getting out of the pony business. I got a great Paradise Estate and found all but a few accessories to complete it. I bought my first Mimic and Mother and Baby Mail Order Set. This year, I've bought quite a few smaller, dirtier mystery bags and collections filled with a lot of elbow-grease specials. Boy, they need work! :D It has paid off, though. I discovered my first Twice as Fancy Yum Yum, a gorgeous pony with an unfortunate mohawk. (I'm considering having her rehaired.) I also now have all of the Mail Order Baby Pearlized Ponies and all but Baby Sugarberry from the Mail Order Twice as Fancy Baby Ponies set.
Tell me about your ponies! Who are you hunting for? Who do you remember? What are your goals, as a collector? My original goal was to turn a profit on the fledgling eBay. I wasn't going to keep any of them myself. Then, I thought, I'd collect the ponies I'd had as a child. (Never have managed that.) Now, I'm more motivated to find the rare ponies that I've never had pass through my hands, the ones from other countries or only available through special orders and proofs of purchase. Those challenging finds are my favorites now. They become harder to let go.
More On My History with My Little Pony
I never bought my own ponies as a child. I received them as gifts from my mother on my October birthdays and Christmas and that's it. No other time of the year did we get toys or gifts, as a general rule. I wasn't obsessed with My Little Pony. I liked the toys, from my first when I was 4 or so, but my interests were spread to G.I. Joe, Silverhawks, Transformers, Jem, She-Ra, and He-Man, too. I loved Lego and my Fisher Price Western Town and all sorts of things. So it was okay that my mom browsed the latest releases at the store for a few years in a row and bought one or two she liked the best. Her favorite colors, generally, so I had a lot of pink and purple ponies. :) Unlike a lot of collectors, I wasn't fixated on ponies at the time and I didn't keep any of my ponies past my teenage years. The ponies I owned, as a child, were:
Year 1: 1982(Age 4)
Cotton Candy
Blossom
Year 2: 1983(Age 5)
Bowtie
Applejack
Seashell
Glory
Moondancer
Firefly
Seawinkle
Parasol
Peachy and the Pretty Parlor
Lemon Drop and the Show Stable
and the Mail Order Pink/Lavendar Haired Baby Ember
Year 3: 1984(Age 6)
Baby Cotton Candy
Year 4: 1985 (Age 7)
So-Soft Lofty
Baby Lofty
Peach Blossom
Paradise Estate
Year 5: 1986 (Age 8)
Twinkle Eyed Tic Tac Toe
Baby North Star
Year 6: 1987 (Age 9)
Big Brother Wigwam
Big Brother Steamer
Cha Cha the Llama
Vending at the Fair
This year, for the first time, I'll be vending at the My Little Pony Fair in Orlando. I was hesitant, with a newborn, to commit to anything so ambitious but my husband convinced me. I've experienced the Fair as a participant--why not give it a whirl as a vendor and see how it goes? I've spent so many years selling ponies online--it'll be a relief to be in a venue where the buyer can inspect the pony before they purchase it. There is no need for me to meticulously note every flaw in a description or hover around wondering if anyone will place a bid. No packaging to ship, no waiting for feedback. I anticipate it will be a lot of fun getting to meet everyone buying my ponies, giving them homes in their collections. So many stories, I imagine, in one space.
I spent the past week slowly sorting through the bags (and bags and bags) of accessories I've accumulated over the years. Here, I am completely out of my element. I'm still getting used to modern pony pricing--I'm stuck in 1995 mental valuations most of the time--but I never have sold many accessories. I've been flipping through a few resources, trying to find some fair price guidelines, and it seems crazy. HOW ON EARTH CAN A PLASTIC HAIR BARRETTE, FOR A TOY, BE WORTH $6? How in the world do I price incomplete pony wear sets? Just what *are* the stickers worth? The Buy-It-Now prices on eBay, for individual accessories, are ludicrous. It has been interesting and informational and I have a better respect for accessories-collectors. They are upping the difficulty level, to be sure.
The hardest part, I think, will be having to carry everything on an airplane. I have hundreds of ponies I'd be interested in bringing for sale. Two children, all their accoutrements, booth decor to consider. I'm sharing a 6" table with
rubymulligan, so I've got some hare-brained schemes for building foam core stadium risers the night before in the hotel room to display everyone and make the most of the space. Collection Acquisitions
This year, I've made some major investments in my own personal collection. Last year, I purchased a few large childhood collections from people getting out of the pony business. I got a great Paradise Estate and found all but a few accessories to complete it. I bought my first Mimic and Mother and Baby Mail Order Set. This year, I've bought quite a few smaller, dirtier mystery bags and collections filled with a lot of elbow-grease specials. Boy, they need work! :D It has paid off, though. I discovered my first Twice as Fancy Yum Yum, a gorgeous pony with an unfortunate mohawk. (I'm considering having her rehaired.) I also now have all of the Mail Order Baby Pearlized Ponies and all but Baby Sugarberry from the Mail Order Twice as Fancy Baby Ponies set.
Tell me about your ponies! Who are you hunting for? Who do you remember? What are your goals, as a collector? My original goal was to turn a profit on the fledgling eBay. I wasn't going to keep any of them myself. Then, I thought, I'd collect the ponies I'd had as a child. (Never have managed that.) Now, I'm more motivated to find the rare ponies that I've never had pass through my hands, the ones from other countries or only available through special orders and proofs of purchase. Those challenging finds are my favorites now. They become harder to let go.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-28 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 04:54 am (UTC)You reminded me that I really want to write up the story of Firefly-was-the-first-moment-of-being-okay-with-my-gayness when I was a wee one. :)
You know, for me, my love of MLPs began when I was little. The ones I love the most now are the ones I had as a kid. It's interesting that your love sort-of evolved in reverse, but I think that's beautiful, and probably super powerful, too, to have it blossom that way. <3
<333333333333333333
no subject
Date: 2012-03-28 06:57 pm (UTC)The ponies I had as a child, though, that's a special nostalgia. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-28 06:58 pm (UTC)I've never known anyone to stop at just one. ;) Welcome! :D
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Date: 2012-03-28 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 02:48 pm (UTC)I'm trying to keep my costs down, though, because I really have no idea how much I might sell. I'd *hate* to be out on this vending venture.