Pile of vintage toys rakes in cash on eBay

DETROIT — The somewhat obsessive-compulsive habits of a recently deceased St. Clair Shores, Mich., woman has turned into unexpected goldmine for her survivors — and the Clinton couple who convinced them to sell off much of the estate on eBay rather than through an estate sale.

Melissa and Jim Sands, who run a small business called Sands-O-Time said an unusual find in the basement of the home is the reason.

Stacked up there, in unopened boxes and neatly arranged on shelves, was a treasure trove of mint-condition toys that the mother had kept since the 1960s.

Tonka trucks and Matchbox cars still in their cases. Barbie doll collections sealed in cellophane. Action figure dolls that had never been opened or played with. Chemistry sets, doll outfits, puppets and toys of every shape and size and all unused and as undisturbed as if they had been in a time capsule.

“The children said they were never allowed down there,” said Melissa Sands. “So when we did the inventory they were shocked. Apparently, their mom ordered three of every toy she gave the kids. Unknown to them, she hid two of them in the basement in case they broke.”

Through Sands, the surviving children — five daughters and three sons, the youngest of whom is 47 — declined to be interviewed for this story.

“They said they were a little embarrassed about their mother’s eccentric behavior and didn’t want their names used,” explained Sands. “They said to talk about their mother’s hoarding all that stuff for years would have reflected poorly on her memory. My husband, Jim, said there’s nothing to be embarrassed about because their mother’s habits turned out to be genius.”

That’s because there’s a huge worldwide market for toys. And eBay, the online auction site that the Sands use for much of their business, is the way to reach it.

So far, the 40-year-old toys are fetching huge prices.

Because the mother ordered all the toys from a Sears Roebuck & Co. catalogue, and because those catalogues were carefully preserved right next to the toys, the Sands have been able to trace the vintage of each toy.

And the prices these old toys are getting on eBay are nothing short of astronomical. Consider:

•A Thumbelina doll bought for $5.99 from the 1964 Sears catalogue sold for $519.99.

•A $2.19 GI Joe action figure from 1965 sold for $302.

•A Captain Action Superman outfit from 1966 that originally cost $3.89 went for $736.56.

•A Creepy Crawlers Thing-Maker set was listed for $6.66 in the 1965 catalogue. It was snapped up for $1,285.99.

•But if you think that’s crazy, consider the top price getter: A Barbie’s Dream Kitchen accessory for the Barbie doll that consisted of cardboard punch-outs of kitchen appliances and furniture. It created a virtual feeding frenzy when the Sands listed it.

“In 1965 it cost $4.97,” said Sands. “We put it up on eBay and there was a bidding war from the minute we listed it. In the last 20 seconds of the auction it went from $900 to $1,575. It was crazy.”

The now middle-aged children are understandably delighted with the eBay results, said Sands. As they’ve watched the auctions unfold, one of the daughters recalled a cryptic promise her mom had given her years ago.

“She said her mom once said something to the effect that one day, the kids would see what treasures the mom had left for them,” said Sands. “Now they know. It was down in the basement all along. This is going to be quite a Christmas present for them.”

So far, the toys have brought in about $30,000 in eBay sales, with buyers from across the country and as far away as Australia.

But before you start rummaging around your basement and think you’ve hit the eBay big-time with the discards from your own kids, you’d better listen to Melissa.

“The collectors on eBay are not afraid to spend extreme amounts when it comes to mint in-package items,” said Sands. “Had this stuff been loose and played with it would have been interesting but not anything like what we’ve seen.”

Though most of the more valuable toys have sold, the Sands still have a few items from the collection up for auction. What’s left can be seen on their eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/Sands-o

-Time-Estates-Antiques. Make sure you enter that address with the capitalization just as you see them.