A shopper who stumbled on a collection of vintage toys from a charity shop claims they “hit the jackpot” after displaying their haul online.
The Goodwill customer posted on Reddit where they wrote: “Vintage Care Bears from the year 1983 to 2005. Jackpot at my local Goodwill Bins [outlet].” Care Bears first emerged on greetings cards in 1981 before becoming beloved soft toys produced by Kenner following the success of several of their own animated television specials and cartoon series.
This sparked countless children and adults alike to begin collecting the bears, each of which was distinguished by their own colour and hues and symbols on their tummies that reflected their personalities.
The Goodwill customer proceeded to share before and after photographs, having cleaned each plush toy before arranging them on their shelves. “I went with my best friend and they brought out a new bin full of them,” they added. “I was like, ‘no way’.”
They continued: “I actually hand washed some and the other massive part I threw in the washer machine! I used hot water, Oxy stain remover, tide pod, and fabric softener because some were very hard or dirty.”
Responding in the comments, one Reddit user declared: “It’s so exciting when you find 80s toys at thrift stores. Used to be able to find them all the time 20 years ago but now it’s less common.”
A second person quipped: “Those are probably mine from when I was little! Still upset my mum got rid of them.” A third asked: “Wait are these actually worth money? I still have mine in my parents’ basement.”
While a fourth Reddit user exclaimed: “I had so many of those growing up! Great haul!”
However, it appears the Care Bears won’t be spending long at their new home.
Their new owner subsequently returned to the post to clarify: “I’ve been getting into reselling vintage plushes and it’s been amazing, I love it! And out of this pic I only have 3 left. The NWT [new with tag] ones in the pic, but that’s an amazing start.”
On the other hand, a fellow Reddit user admitted they had encountered difficulties selling their own collection.
“These have been really difficult for me to sell,” they said. “Apparently there are conventions because I’ve had some people just come in and buy my entire stock to resell at their booth.”