Totally Tracie: How Much is My Childhood Toy Worth?

We've been cleaning out the attic at home.  Going through the boxes that have sat there since we moved in, years ago.  Inside several boxes were toys and stuffed animals from when I was a child.  In my eyes they looked as shiny and new as when I first received them.  Truth is, I played hard with my toys. I cut my dolls' hair,  I took my dolls in the tub,  I took my dolls outside, I did what kids do.  So what does that do to their value?

My childhood toys have a lot of sentimental value but I knew the dollar value would be low because they were actually played with.  Without hesitation, I passed my toys onto my kids.  I was thrilled that they saw the joy they (the toys) brought.  Out of curiosity, I checked Ebay to get an idea of what people were paying for similar toys.

"Vintage Strawberry Shortcake Dolls" was entered into the search on Ebay.  I was very surprised to find the average doll was selling for only around twelve dollars.  Now my dolls aren't as clean as the one pictured above, which was selling for around thirty-five dollars  They look more like this:

This group, with the case and clothes, wasn't even getting high bids.  Under thirty dollars.  Now, that is not to say the "new in box" didn't hold some bank.  This group of vintage dolls was selling for around one thousand dollars:

No real money was found in the attic but some great memories were brought back.  I tried to explain to my daughter how I made doll houses with the album covers that opened up.  The record cases, when opened at a ninety degree angle, made two perfect walls.  Oh, wait, records are another vintage item...she had no idea what I was talking about.