If you collect toys from the 1950's to 1980's, you should subscribe to The Toy Shop.
It is often sold at collectibles stores (I know there are not many of these places), at collectibles shows in larger cities, and it's also available by mail subscription. You can get a single copy for evaluation, at no charge, by calling the number below.
The Toy Shop is a bi-weekly newspaper that weighs in at over 200 pages of ad after ad of toys and related material for sale (and also "Wanted" ads). There is a complete list of all collectible toy shows nationwide in the back of the paper. To view the front page of a recent issue, click here (112K image). (Sorry, due to its full "newspaper" size, the scanner clipped the right edge a little).
If you took a peek at that front page, you saw that it had a pretty color cover. But that's the only color you will see, except perhaps a special advertisers section which might have one extra color for highlighted ads. The photos of toys on the front color usually relate to a special advertising feature that issue, such as a special ad section for GI Joe dealers, or space toy dealers, or Barbie dealers, etc.
The big dealers tend to take out half or full-page ads. Generally the ads contain many small B&W photos of each prominent toy for sale. There may also have a list of lesser value toys without any picture. For the small-time dealer, towards the back of each issue, there is a special section where small dealers have e.g. 4" by 3" ads with a list of 10-20 toys for sale. There are also many "Toys Wanted" advertisements interspersed through the issue..
In the very back of each issue, there is always a comprehensive schedule of toy shows and auctions for the next 6 months. The shows are listed by state.
Finally, throughout the paper, interspersed with the larger ads, there are classified want-ads where "little guys" can advertise a small list of toys, usually without any pictures, for a very reasonable price. These classified ads are all organized by toy type (guns, Barbie, cowboy, trucks, space toys, etc). The index on the front page helps you locate each classified section.
Note that there are no articles or fancy pictures about old toys: if that's what you are looking for, then you should subscribe to Kalmbach Publications Collecting Toys Magazine which is printed on slicky glossy paper, and contains beautiful color pictures of toys and collections.
One unfortunate problem facing all collectors is the phenomenon of telephone auctions. Increasingly, the toys advertised in The Toy Shop are not immediately for sale, but rather are sold only at a "phone-in" auction several weeks in the future. The ad will tell you when the last day of the auction is; in reality, that is THE day of the auction, and nothing much happens until late at night. You are actually expected to keep phoning the auction number, over and over and over, late into the night (like 2-3AM) to ensure you have the highest, and last, bid on a certain item. Insane? Yes, but quite the moneymaker for dealers. It can certainly be abused, because you never know if you are really bidding against a real person, or if the dealer is acting as another bidder.
Competition for these advertised toys is extremely hot; the pros actually opt for Federal Express or UPS-Next-Day delivery, which is a VERY expensive option offered by the publishers. Unfortunately, the pros tend to scoop up the real gems this way. I hope Mother told you life wasn't always fair.......
Call 1-715-445-2214 for a sample, or 1-800-258-0929 to subscribe using VISA/MC. E.G. 26 issues by 3rd class mail is $24; 26 issues by UPS ground delivery is $159! Believe me, it is worth the extra price, if you are a serious collector. By the time you get your 3rd class mail delivery, I guarantee you that the Lost In Space robot going for $50 has LONG since been sold!
I have run a small ad in the classified section looking for construction toys and it has been very effective for me on an ongoing basis.
I have no financial interest in this publication and I do not benefit from promoting it in any way. I am just a satisfied subscriber. It is definitely *the* place to buy and sell collectible toys.
