Least of the concerns when you and your kid(s) go out for a quick bite at your favourite McDonald’s store, is the question “Is the toy that McD is throwing in with their Happy Meal, going to be worth a fortune one day?“. Nah! At least for me, a father who is fanatic about buying the best toys there are out there for my kid, I couldn’t care less about how much each toy costs and whether these toys are worth the money in the long run if I hoard up on them, to be sold in the future
So, let me reiterate, Are McDonald’s Toys Worth Any Money?
Yes, some of these toys could be worth a great deal of money; but is money really more important or your child’s happiness? This phenomenon is at its peak right now. You can see listings of McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys on almost all the major auctioning websites such as eBay and Craigslist. Collector’s of these toys have hoarded up on them and are now banking hard by putting them out onto the auctioning websites. Bidders are going nuts to get their hands on these collectables that are deemed valuable and limited. So, there is definitely good money to be made if you have got an attic filled with old toys from your childhood or just plain old toys your kid isn’t interested in playing with. Worth the shot to go and explore your attic after reading this article.
Nothing to worry about if your kid just opened up that toy they got with the Happy Meal. It’s theirs to play with, and banking on it sometime later in the future should be the least of your concerns.
We all know that when you take your kid to the McDonald’s store to pick up the Happy Meal, their first and foremost priority is to go and peek at the toys box section where the store is displaying the toys that accompany their Happy Meal’s for the rest of the month. If they are picky, they may even walk up to their store manager (who is just behind the cashier-desk) and request for a particular toy to be handed out to them with their favourite Happy Meal. This, on its own, is an excellent deal for a kid since they get to choose their favourite toy from the collection displayed and thus their mundane meal considerably more memorable.
Out of majority, the Toys from the Happy Meal’s is anything that a kid could ask for, even though the novelty on it wears off relatively within a few hours. Once that happens, these toys end up in either the toybox where they rot for eternity and end up being worthless. Well, if looked from a matured-eye, these “worthless” toys are indeed not useless after all. Here’s why!
What to Do with Old McDonalds’ Toys?
From personal experience, I have seen bidders on eBay going mad over the most expensive toys McDonald’s ever handed out with their Happy Meals. It is absolutely shocking to notice that these FREE toys go out for staggering prices and people are all over the listings. The frenzy of getting their hands on that limited toy that McDonald’s once launched is mind-boggling. And farther the toy dates back to, higher the price that is tagged with the toy at the listing.
Historically, the data that I have collected across these auctioning sites; it is evidently clear that the Happy Meal toys from the ’80s and ’90s tend to fetch a lot more money. Not saying that the ones you get today couldn’t be worth it, but the trend shows all those toys that were handed out FREE with these Happy Meals from the ’80s and ’90s tend to rake in a lot of cash for the sellers.
If you are in agreement with selling yours or your kid’s toys that they don’t bother to look at anymore, then you are in for good news. Get ready to either be happy, or sad; since down below this paragraph, I have listed all the toys that are going crazy over the internet along with their value in dollars. The reason I mentioned “SAD” is because if you can relate having that particular toy but just threw it out for a few dollars at your car-boot sale, then SAD is the emotion you would be engulfed with. But you are in luck if you have some of these toys still lying around in your attic.
Psst! Do not tell your kid that you have been reading this article on selling their favourite McD toys.
McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys Value Price
Before I begin, let me reiterate. Below list is composed after researching on an individual basis. That’s me! So please feel free to use the contact form to update me if you think there is any misinformation or some other toys you believe should have also been added to the list. I would be happy to edit the article for my fellow readers.
Here is a list of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys you might have, or you wish you had!
TY Teenie Beanies
These Teenie Beanie Babies go out for super-high prices on eBay. I came across a listing where the sellers were demanding a staggering $1,000 for a TY Beanie Babies set. This TY Teenie Beanies set dates back to 1993.
Furby Toy Set
You are in for luck if you have this full set of Furby Toys from McDonald’s. These toys were handed out along with the Happy Meal’s back in the 1990’s and today they rake in approximately a $1,000 pure profit, given if you have a complete set.
If you can find one or two Furby’s in your old toys collection. Just list them on eBay for $200 to $300 each, and they should be an easy sell.
Inspector Gadget
The marvellous Inspector Gadget TV series first aired in 1983 and was one of the top 10 watches TV series of the time. Later on, in 1999, McDonald’s started handing out the Inspector Gadget Toy along with their Happy Meals. This toy now goes out for approximately $100+ on eBay and is up for brags as we speak.
Snoopy’s World Tour
A complete set of Snoopy World Tour (composed of 28 pieces in total) goes out for a whopping $459 on eBay right now. Imagine having 2 to 3 sets of this collection from the 1998’s lying in your old-toys collection.
101 Dalmatians
You would be lucky to have this complete 101 Dalmatians set from the ’90s. But if you do, then you are in for luck. This complete set of 101 pups goes out for approximately $500 on eBay. Haste on listing this toy onto eBay right now if you are the owner of one.
Super Mario
Rarest of ’em all, the Super Mario Egg Catch game watch goes out for a whopping $750 if you are lucky and have it in your stash of old toys.
I wouldn’t hesitate to sell this rare watch to a collector even for a $1,000 since I haven’t come across such listings across the web other than this one listed on eBay.
Mr & Mrs Potato Head
Vintage and Rare, Mr and Mrs Potato Head from the McDonald’s Happy Meal 1999 collection bags in almost $1,500 if you own these. No point keeping such a rare toy in your old inventory as this is by far one the most unique McDonald’s toys I have come across.
McDino Changeables Sets
If you have a collection of 10 McDino Changeable Sets, then you may easily be able to bag $100 by listing them on eBay.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Fan of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers of the ’90s? I know I am. God, I miss those days when we used to wait for Saban’s Power Rangers to Air on the TV. Then came in the Power Rangers: The Movie. And then to my amusement, McDonald’s came up with these set of Power Rangers toys that they threw in with their Happy Meals. I wish I had these *frown*
A complete set of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from the Happy Meal collection can bag you a decent $100 to a $150, given it’s a set. But nothing stops you from selling the individual figures if you have a few. Let me know via the Contact Form if you have one and are willing to gift it to me *smile*
Mr Men
A set of Mr Men x 25 toys, can bag you a decent $180 to $200 in profit. Not a big fan of Mr Men, but my son is. Yeap got a couple of these Mr Men’s in my old-inventory of toys.
Diener Keshi
A massive hit in the ’80s, a complete set of 10 can bag you anywhere between a $100 to $200 on eBay.
Hot Wheels
If you were a Hot Wheels lover, then this one is for you. The 1970s to 1980’s Matchbox and Hot Wheels toys from McDonald’s could make you some serious profit. Each car can be sold for a whopping $40 if sold alone, and a set can bank you approximately $400 to $600 in the eye of a collector.
Happy Meal Toys Worth Anything: How to Know
Below are some basic guidelines that I have started following based on the data on these above auctions that I have listed. I am confident that if we all follow these; we might end up with some decent profit in the future.
- You must keep any McDonald’s toy you deem as a collectable, intact and secure. If possible, try to retain its original packing. Which means not opening it! But if you do end up opening the toy, try to keep the packaging intact as later on in the years, this can too be sold in the “used category”.
- The second option is to buy two Happy Meals at the same time and keep one Toy for future sales and one for your kid to enjoy.
- Make sure that whenever there is a set launched by McDonald’s, get your hands on that complete set. A prime example of this could be the LEGO set. As they are tied to specific film promotion, these could be worth a lot of money in years to come.
Following the above could easily allow you to bag some decent profits alongside your daily routine and given I have made up my mind to also follow the above practices to hoard up on toys moving forward, I would sell these toys and use that money as savings for my son’s future life.
Conclusion
Do take out time from your daily routine to search the internet for any McDonald’s Happy Meals collections that are out there on the auctioning sites and keep a note on which particular toy is being sold and for what reason. Given which you can have a fair amount of understanding if the current Happy Meal toy collection is worth the collection or not.
I hope you enjoyed the article. Feel free to let me know if it requires any modifications!
Written by:
Zohaib S.