If you’ve managed to hold on to your Sylvanian Families sets since childhood, congratulations: they could now be worth big bucks!
People are selling their figures and sets on eBay for a decent amount and you can make even more if you’ve managed to keep the box. There’s a Sylvanian Families Applewood Department Store set (with café, of course) currently going on eBay for £499.
The adorable (or slightly creepy, depending on your point of view) little woodland animal collectibles were first created in 1985 by the Japanese gaming company Epoch under the rather long-winded name ‘Pleasant Friends Of The Forest Epoch System Collection Animal Toy Sylvanian Families’. They quickly became a family staple, originally used in Japan to teach kids who had mostly grown up in high-rise buildings in cities about nature.
Get nostalgic with the 1999 Argos catalogue:
Debrief Argos 1999 Catalogue
1 of 141. Easy Bake Oven
What says a young girl constrained by the gendering of their sex than a desperate desire to be the sole proprietor of a kitchen tool.
2 of 142. Discman
SO high-tech for 1999.
3 of 143. The Way Things Worked
You knew you were a cool kid when you had this series before the school library did.
4 of 144. Pocahontas Costume
In the woke light of 2017, it's likely that this would be perceived as cultural appropriation :/
5 of 145. Mr Frosty Ice Cream Factory
Never trust a child that makes their own ice.
6 of 146. Baby Born
On reflection, what was possibly fun about having a doll that constantly needed feeding and then and weed everywhere?
7 of 147. CD Stereo
On reflection, it makes sense why our parents wouldn't buy us a portable radio, because really what self-respecting adult can listen to B*Witched blaring at top volume all hours of the day?
8 of 146. Themed Bedsheets
Making sleepovers better since 1999.
9 of 148. Polly Pocket Mansion
Fact: Polly Pocket had a nicer house than anything available on Help To Buy
10 of 149. GameBoy
More advanced than an electronic Disney game, less hardcore than a PlayStation. Otherwise, known as the dream.
11 of 1410. Cosmetics Collection
It's super creepy for a child to have a bigger make-up collection than me, a 28-year-old beauty editor.
12 of 1411. Play Till
Who else learnt basic arithmetic on one of these fake tills?
13 of 1412. Spinning Sindy
Seriously, what was more fun than a doll that could also be used as a weapon?
14 of 1413. Educational Electronics
When we were young enough to be fooled into thinking that learning could be fun as long as it came with an electronic accessory.
The little figurines became a huge hit with kids and adults alike all over the world. You can even still see the vintage adverts for them on Youtube.
In Japan, which still has the most enthusiasts, there’s even a Sylvanian Families theme park and themed-restaurants. The UK is the third biggest market after Japan and America, and in 2015 they celebrated their 30th anniversary with a huge picnic. Jacc Batch, who is said to have the biggest collection of Sylvanian Families in the world, actually buys an item every day, so you could end up selling to him.
Sylvanian families have been back in the spotlight these days, perhaps not exactly in the most wholesome way. Paul Welander, the British nurse behind the Twitter account @F0rest_Trump used the sweet little children’s toys to parody the Trump presidency with hilarious and sweary scenarios.
Sylvanian Families aren’t the only retro toymaking big bucks on auction sites. Owners of vintage Polly Pocket sets are raking it in making up to £1500 on eBay.
Looks like it won’t just be TV and film producers making big money out of our obsession with nostalgia.
Follow Aida on Twitter @kidisalright
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.