10 '80s Toys That Are Worth Serious Cash Today

What's so special about the 1980s? Well, where do we begin? The '80s were a decade that had a huge influence on how we live our lives today. There are plenty of '80s inventions that you're probably still using today, and the cultural impact of the movies, music, and books from this era is undeniable. There's a reason "Stranger Things" is one of the most-watched Netflix shows of all time.

But for all the things we remember the '80s for, the toys might be the most iconic. Of course, these toys are inextricably linked to the movies and TV shows they tie in with. This is the era of the Saturday morning toy ad masquerading as cartoons after all. Of course, there were plenty of great original toys too!

Those who grew up in the '80s and '90s (when these toys and IPs were still very relevant) have strong nostalgia and sense of identity linked to these toys. This is obvious if you watch the Netflix Documentary "The Toys That Made Us," which we named one of the best Netflix documentaries. That's because these toys are more than just bits of plastic and metal. Some people are willing to shell out serious cash for a slice of that '80s childhood, and if you still have one of these toys, you could be in for a sweet payday.

When you think of handheld gaming in the '80s, you might automatically think of the Nintendo Game Boy, but while an original Nintendo Game Boy can be worth quite a lot today, it's technically an '80s toy, as it was released in 1989.

No, the real handheld wonder of the '80s is Nintendo's Game & Watch. A clear precursor to both the Game Boy and the mid-80s NES, the Game & Watch consoles pioneered many features that would become key to gaming consoles. The D-Pad that all modern game controllers use today first appeared on a Game & Watch. The dual-screen clamshell design that Nintendo used for its DS and 3DS consoles first saw the light of day with the Game & Watch Multi Screen series.

The games might have been incredibly simple with what amounts to a sticker overlay and some calculator LCD technology, but many '80s kids treasured these genuinely fun games, and they are an important part of gaming history. So, how much is your old Game & Watch worth? Since there were so many, it depends on the rarity and desirability of the unit. Not just its condition. However, for the right buyer, you might have something worth its weight in gold. In 2020, for example, a Game & Watch EG-26 sold for $2,500!

The '80s were well-known for high-tech toys that could speak, move, and light up. This was the era where electronics became cheap and powerful enough for toy makers to do new things. The original series of Teddy Ruxpin stuffed bears hit the market in 1985 and is perhaps the toy most people associate with talking toys from the '80s.

Teddy Ruxpin is basically an animatronic bear with a tape deck in its chest. The eyes and mouth move as it tells stories played back from the tape. It was one of the best-selling toys of the '80s, and there's a difference between the original run from 1985 to 1990 and later revisions, since these were made by Worlds of Wonder. In the '90s, Hasbro, and then Yes! Entertainment each took over in turn. Backpack Toys and Wicked Cool Toys also manufactured the bears.

When it comes to value, it's obviously the Teddy Ruxpins from the '80s that carry the highest value. Since this was such a high-volume toy, bears from that first era aren't rare, but getting one in good condition is rare. A broken or worn Teddy Ruxpin can go for any amount under $100, but a MIB (Mint-In-Box) Teddy could net you $200-$300. Based on the eBay sales we've seen, a pristine or rare Teddy could net you $500 or even more.

While the 1989 Nintendo Power Glove is widely considered a critical failure, there's no question that this prescient peripheral was iconic. Thanks to an amazing marketing campaign, there was plenty of interest in this early attempt at motion controls. Unfortunately, the technology of the NES era technology couldn't pull it off. It would take two decades until the release of the Nintendo Wii for motion controls to become a blockbuster product.

We called the Glove a piece of '80s tech that will stir up emotions in every boomer, so it's clear that any attachment or interest potential buyers have in this iconic gadget is about the heart and not the head. Also, yes, it's millennials and Gen X folks that would actually care, but the term "boomer" is used pretty loosely these days. Actual boomers might be more interested in a classic hoop-and-stick!

How much is a Power Glove worth? Around 1.3 million were sold worldwide, with around 100,000 of those in the USA. So it's not a rare toy in principle. However, given its age, finding one in good condition isn't easy. We've seen sealed units sell at auction for over $700, though, so if you find an unopened one in your dad's attic, don't crack the seal!

At any garage sale, pawn shop, or specialized retro gaming store, you'll see endless piles of loose carts as seen above. The NES was a massively successful console that sold millions of games. So you might not think they could be worth much when you can go buy some right now for very little money.

But then you hear that in 2021 someone paid $2 million for an unopened copy of the 1985 "Super Mario Bros." game, and that gets your attention real fast. The truth is, there's quite a bit of controversy about the value of retro game carts for consoles like the NES. A company called Wata started sealing and grading games. These sealed and graded copies started attracting high prices in the collector's market. However, Wata later got in legal hot water for alleged market manipulation, and many retro collectors take a dim view of sealing and grading' in the hobby.

The truth is that if you own a sought-after NES game that's in great condition, then it could sell for thousands of dollars if it's also sealed and graded. If you have games that are CIB (Complete In Box), MIB (Mint In Box), or still factory-sealed, you could still be looking at a decent payday. Assuming the title is rare, sought after, or both.

There are major toy successes from the '80s driven by a hit cartoon series. "He-Man" and "G.I Joe" are both key examples, and both franchises have classic toys that are worth something today,  but there's something about the fervor of "Transformers" collectors that just feels different. That fervor becomes white-hot when you whisper "G1" into the ear of a Transformers fan and watch them spit out their Cheerios.

The original run of transforming robot toy was brought to the USA by Takara and Hasbro, sold from 1984 to 1992. In Japan, Takara had two unrelated lines of transforming robots called "Diaclone" and "Micro Change." Hasbro had the brilliant idea of pulling in Marvel for an original story that would put these characters into a single world. "The Transformers" comic is the first example of these characters existing in a unified story. The cartoon TV show would, of course, differ in some details from the comic, just as the He-Man TV show differs from the original comics for that world, but the broad strokes remained the same. The show was a major hit, and Transformers remains a hot franchise to this day.

Now, although the G1 toys have been reissued over the years, genuine examples from the '80s can go for big money. As an example, a loose Optimus Prime can get over $100. Boxed? Over $200. Sealed? Jackpot baby! You're looking at up to $2K!

"The Dark Tower" (not to be confused with Stephen King's novel series of the same name) was a 1981 board game only produced for a single holiday season. It's a tabletop adventure where the objective is to unlock the titular tower by collecting three keys in the correct order.

The premise, setting, and TV commercial starring Orson Welles generated enough interest for strong sales, but the sale of the game was halted following legal troubles. In short, this game is pretty rare, but to make things worse, the electronic tower that sits at the literal center of the experience is notoriously unreliable, which means that most of the examples you'll see sitting out on eBay are broken and being sold so someone can cobble together one working unit.

This means that if you somehow have a working copy of the game in good condition, you can get up to $500 for it. Considering how many different components, pieces, booklets, and other parts this game has, that's understandable. It's been a long time since 1981. More than enough to lose a few game pieces!

The story of how "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" became a world-conquering franchise is extraordinary. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were friends who loved comics, and after drawing a turtle dressed as a ninja one day as a joke, the pair refined the concept into a fleshed-out story which became an independent comic book. The book was both a parody of comics of the day and a dark, gritty story aimed at older readers. To their surprise, they could not keep up with the demand for the initial issues, and so TMNT grew into a sleeper hit.

It wasn't until the creation of a kid-friendly cartoon series in 1987 that turtle mania took hold. That means toys, and you can bet these flew off the shelves. Obviously, the four turtles themselves are highly sought-after, but to the delight of the toymakers, the show had a massive cast of characters, and even some minor characters are worth a lot of money in toy form.

To  give you an idea, if this author still had his 1988 Donatello figure that he sadly lost while moving to a new home, it would be worth at least $100, but more likely around $200. If it were still sealed and in perfect condition, getting over $1,000 for it would be completely possible. Oh, what could have been.

There are few toy lines as famous as GI Joe, but this '60s toy only really hit its stride with the "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" series of figures. The Joes of the '80s, again connected to a hit TV cartoon and comic series. While the early figures were made to be realistic, the new generation of '80s Joes were far more varied and interesting, with the emphasis on realism far in the rearview mirror.

Speaking of rearview mirrors, '80s GI Joe toys were as much if not more about the vehicles than these little 3.75" action figures. There was pretty much any type of vehicle you could think of, whether it flew, rolled over land, or cruised on water. Actually, there were also submarines and spacecraft. So really it went above the sky and below the waterline too.

As you might imagine, modern collectors are just as interested in the vehicles, and some of them can command eye-watering prices. The USS Flagg aircraft carrier pictured above is the most extreme example. It was already expensive when new, retailing for $89.99 in 1985 money, but at least one unit sold at auction for $9,500 and you can expect to get between $2,000 and $4,000 on average if somehow your parents were oil barons and bought you one back in the day.

It's well known that when George Lucas got 20th Century Fox to bankroll the first "Star Wars" film in 1976, he negotiated a favorable merchandising deal in lieu of a $500,000 payday. This turned out to be one of the best investments in history, because the film franchise made billions from toys and merchandising and the deal meant Lucas got all the toy rights for the sequels, both of which came out in the '80s and therefore qualify for this list.

That's not to say that the Kenner Star Wars toys from the '70s aren't worth a lot of money! Obviously rare toys from the early days are going to bring in big bucks, but if you have some toys from the second and third films, the rates are nothing to sniff at.

Looking at collector's pricing guides for the '80s toys, a Luke Skywalker figure in his Bespin fatigues can net you between $245 and $615! Not bad, but if somehow you have a mint-in-box 1980 Yoda figure, you could be looking at hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. Star Wars is notorious for making figures of even the smallest and least significant background characters, so don't underestimate what your more obscure toys could be worth. In fact, some of them might be worth more than mainstream characters that were made in larger quantities. It pays to check.

Determining the value of collectible toys is always a tough problem. Just because someone listed a Teddy Ruxpin for $5,000 on eBay (yes, really) doesn't mean it's worth that much. Things are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. So we stuck to pricing we could find for amounts these toys actually changed hands for.

That meant looking at auction sales and collector price-tracking sites. These sites are useful because they keep track of what toys sold for, and show you a low and high price record, as well as the average. These prices aren't in a vacuum either. The condition and completeness of the toys matter, and even a small amount of damage can tank the value immensely.

The final part of the puzzle is how fickle the markets are. By the time you read this, people may have decided they aren't interested in Star Wars or Ninja Turtles anymore, and so demand for the toys will dry up. Well, maybe those two are bad examples, but don't blame us if you sit on your vintage '80s toys too long!