Every once in a while, I'll get an email from a
Flickr pal or blog reader asking me to help them find a toy. While I don't mind helping folks out, I think the hunt is part of the fun of collecting - while it can be frustrating, it's a blast to finally run across that elusive gewgaw that you've been searching for. Many people are amazed at how quickly/easily I can usually find something, but the search method is really quite simple. Here's how I do it:
Search engines are your friend - you can find almost anything online if you want to (and sometimes when you don't). Here's my three best guides when thrashing through the undergrowth of information:
1)
Google - I guess that's pretty obvious, but maybe it's
not so obvious that I favor the
Google Product Search over regular
ol' Vanilla Google. It's called "Shopping" in the topmost menu. Not only might you find what you're looking for, but since you're using the product search, it's probably for sale, too!
2)
thefind.com - I just discovered this one. It may not be as powerful as the almighty Google, but it does turn up stuff that Google doesn't, so it's worth keeping in your backpack as another option. I have found toys here that don't show up in either of the other two methods.
3)
eBay - This is especially good if your toy isn't currently available. I'm sure you've read my advice that I've written constantly in my Toy
OTD columns about saving eBay searches - if you can't find your toy right away, you can save your search for
up to a year, and eBay will automatically send you the latest results
every day without you having to do anything! Pretty cool, huh? I generally find that almost anything I want usually turns up within a year.
So those are the tools that I use, but how do I use them? It's not super-tricky to use search engines, but it is a bit of a skill - or at least a way of thinking. Here's how to enter search terms into an engine for the best results!
Let's say you're looking for a toy from the latest
Transformers cartoon. Right now, you don't know anything else but that. You can enter "transformers toy" into a search engine, but you'll get tons and tons of results to wade through. How do you narrow it down? Well, first you need to find out what the new show is called -
that will distinguish it from all of the other
Transformers programs that have aired over the last twenty-five years or so!
Maybe you've just seen a clip, (but not the opening title sequence). You can drop "transformers" into
Google's Image Search, and look at a bunch of robot pictures until you find one that looks like the clip you remember. Every picture has a link to the original page it came from, so chances are you'll be able to figure out which program was the source of the picture. Since you're looking for a brand new show, you'll probably find it more easily, since fans of a newer program will be much more likely to jump online right away and post a bunch of stuff about it.
Another way to go is to enter "transformers fan site" into Vanilla Google, and find out about the show that way. More than likely, a huge group of
internet nerds have already done a lot of the work for you!
Okay, now you know that the show (and the toy line) is called
Transformers Animated. Generally, that should narrow things down sufficiently to find the toy that you want. But let's say that it doesn't - let's just say (for the sake of argument, because
this will happen in other searches) that the websites that you found didn't have much more information than the title. So now you'll need to narrow things down a little further. The more specific you can be, the less digging through search results you'll have to do.
Who makes the toys? This can be really helpful to learn, especially if you don't have a lot of other information (or if the toy is an older one). You'll need to use a search engine ("transformers animated manufacturer"?), ask your robot geek friends, or chat with some online at a
Transformers fan site. Most
internet folks love sharing information (aka showing off their knowledge), and will be happy to help you!
By now, you've figured out that Hasbro makes a lot of the
Transformers Animated merchandise. Okay, now you need to figure out which toy you want. Let's say it's an action figure (as opposed to bedsheets or something). Now you need to know which character you want. Hopefully by using one of the methods I've already mentioned, you can figure out which robot you want - for instance, you find out that the character you like best is the one that turns into a police car, and that its name is Jazz. Great!
Now you can jump onto any of the search engines you want and have a really good chance of finding exactly the figure you want (or at least thinning the results down to an acceptable amount). Here's some other things to keep in mind:
How big is the toy? - many characters (oh, say
Batman for example) come in a very wide variety of sizes.
Can the name be misspelled easily? - I missed out on a bunch of eBay auctions for Dr. Seuss items because a lot of eBay sellers spelled it '
Suess'. Enter a few variations in your saved searches!
Be specific, but not too specific - you may have learned more about the toy you want than the seller by this point! Try more generic terms too, just in case, but add one really specific word to keep the results manageable. Most engines pick out keywords for additional results, but it's good to keep in mind.
Is there anything else distinctive about the toy? - is it an exclusive? Does it have a special name? Was it featured at only one toy show/online shop/convention? Who designed it? Who customized it? Etc.
Don't hunt on a deadline - some toys can take months or years to uncover. Be patient and thorough!
Well, that's the thinking that I use when I'm toy hunting. I hope these tips help you to find some long-loved, long lost toy. Good luck!
Labels: collecting, ebay, google, jeff pidgeon, search engine, thefind.com, toy, toy hunting, tutorial
My friend Greg Dykstra sculpted this cigarette accessory, which I've been poring over for the last few weeks. I'll be having it cast as part of Frank Kozik's Angry Beaver variant figure!
The thought is to have the vinyl drilled and add the cigarette during manufacturing so I won't have to make a special mold. I've tested it on a defective toy here - that's why the eyes look so odd.
