Cleaning out the rafters and garage i found some 1980,s new old stock of boxed 1/64 scale Ertl tractors, backhoes.... so i bring them to the pawn shop and this place is heavy in old toys and the guy says that no collectables are selling as in the past as no one has money to blow. He said my ertls were kool but he has 50% off on all his collectables now and still not moving much, I asked him how are his Funko Pops selling and he said that craze is well over and he cant get rid of the ones he has.

People don’t have any money to blow ? He must be living in a different world than I am 

People are holding onto disposable income right now due to the looming economic uncertainty.  In addition, businesses are being extremely conservative with their 2025 budgets right now because of the proposed tariffs. 

 

So it's no surprise the pawn shops are already feeling the hit, especially ones that specialize in collectables.

Reminds me of a collection I had when I was young.  My father worked for a number of years selling special coatings for Iowa Paint his big clients were NASA and John Deere.  Every time he made a sales call to Deere, he would bring home a miniature iron replica of a Deere product.  I had 5 shelves 4 feet long filled with over a hundred models from tractors, combines and every other old and current piece of machinery Deere makes.  When I got older and realized their value, I called my mother and asked her about them.  Her response…..I gave them all to Goodwill.  I was crushed….

My clients (healthcare) are definitely feeling pressure, especially in elective and cash pay sectors of business. Many patients pinching pennies who were blowing cash a year ago. 

The bottom on the old toy market dropped out almost a decade ago. I'm glad. Wasn't going to $100 for 50 year old slot cars. They're back to reasonable prices again. 

Hot Wheels collecting is on 🔥 thats good and bad.