Buying Smurfs

The current 50 Smurfs are being sold in toy and department stores for around 3 Euros. Collectors who are looking for older Smurfs often find them at toy fairs, Kinder Surprise fairs, etc. Many collectors find "hunting" at flea markets most enjoyable. With the information from the Smurf catalog right at your fingertips, chances are good to find a bargain, although it is getting more difficult to find Smurfs in good condition at flea markets. Sometimes you can order Smurfs from dealers for collectibles who often carry inventory of older Smurfs. You won't find any super bargains at a trustworthy dealer, but you'll get Smurfs you've been looking for in very good condition plus a return policy and no worries about shady deals.

If you have plenty of time on your hands and are in a "hunting mood," you might also try to enlarge your collection at Internet auctions. "I saw a Smurf for 4 Euros, the catalog states the value at 10 Euros. The catalog prices are wrong!" We've been receiving similar criticism a lot lately. The item (in this case the Smurf) seems to be really cheap up until the very end of the auction, but the final price is determined after auction end with many bids being placed during the last minutes. In addition to that the sometimes high cost for shipping has to be taken into consideration - if the alleged bargain for 4 Euros carries a shipping cost of 3 Euros, the total is 7 Euros, with no guarantee about the Smurf being in good condition and also a lot of time spent with bidding and emails. We conducted an experiment to see if it turns out to be less expensive to buy a complete collection of Smurfs over the internet and had to cancel the project because many of the Smurfs weren't even offered, damaged or Smurfs in bad condition aggravated us, and some of the Smurfs never arrived despite payment. There is certainly the opportunity to find much wanted Smurfs at fair prices via Internet - but chances of receiving fakes or bad quality are very high.

Selling Smurfs

You would like to sell your Smurf collection? For that purpose you'll determine the current value of your collection with the help of the Smurf catalog by adding up the prices for all your figurines. Disappointment sets in when you can't find a buyer for the total. Are the catalog prices wrong?

First, you'll have to think whom you would like to sell your collection to. Naturally, a dealer cannot pay the prices stated in the catalog - he has high overhead, has to pay taxes and has to add your Smurfs to his inventory, without a quick return of his invested money - and he has to make a profit! A dealer will very rarely pay more than 20% to 50% of the catalog prices for the less rare figurines. For very rare pieces that can be resold immediately by the dealer, you could often receive 50% to over 100% of the catalog prices. For a collection of average Smurfs in various conditions, a dealer will offer you a flat price (appr. 1 Euro to 3 Euros) per piece.

Placing an ad in the classifieds could help you locate collectors in your area. A collector is more likely to be willing to pay close to the catalog prices for Smurfs he still needs. He will however still expect a discount on the catalog prices because he could just as well buy the wanted pieces from a dealer with ease and peace of mind (condition, returns, etc.). A collector will only buy a whole collection if it is really cheap, because he is only looking for certain figurines and not interested in too many duplicates.

Another fair opportunity to sell a collection is Internet auctions. You can expect 20% to 50% of the catalog price for a collection in very good condition. You can increase the profit by offering the pieces individually - but this is also more time-consuming and more costly.