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Why have Marx toys dropped in value?

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized August 30, 2017August 30, 2017atari, Baby Boomers, classmate, Hot Wheels, lionel, Louis Marx, marx, nintendo, real estate, Star Wars

“Why have Marx toys dropped in value?” you ask? Blame Millennials. Well, actually, my generation bears more of the blame for this one. Blame Gen X. The value of vintage toys tends to follow trends, and those trends don’t necessarily pass from generation to generation.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Commodore 64 common questions and answers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 14, 2017August 5, 20171541, 1980s, 1990s, Baby Boomers, commodore, commodore 128, commodore 64, estate sales, garage sales, irving gould, Japan, Korea

I hear a lot of questions about the Commodore 64 over and over again. Many of them don’t warrant a single blog post. So here’s a list of Commodore 64 common questions and their answers.

If you want to know when the Commodore 64 came out, how many Commodore 64s sold, who made the Commodore 64, where the Commodore 64 was made, is the Commodore 64 worth anything, are Commodore 64 games worth anything, or if you can still buy a Commodore 64, read on.

Dave Farquhar

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Estimating the value of a Marx train

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 23, 2016November 25, 20181950s, american flyer, Baby Boomers, Joy Line, Kansas City, lionel, Louis Marx, marx, marx trains, New York, New York Central, pbs, Quaker Oats, tin, Union Pacific

One of the most frequent questions I see or receive directly about Marx trains is what a Marx train is worth, or the value of a Marx train. Of course without seeing the train, it’s nearly impossible to give a good estimate, but there are some general rules that you can follow, either to protect yourself as a buyer, or to keep your expectations realistic as a seller.

Dave Farquhar

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Are video games a good investment?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 3, 2013July 9, 20171950s, 1980s, 1990s, american flyer, atari, Baby Boomers, baseball cards, collectibles, lionel, nintendo, old trains, pi, playstation, raspberry, Raspberry Pi, real estate, video game, vintage trains

An article on Slashdot asked this weekend whether video games were a good investment. So are video games a good investment? Will they appreciate over time?

The answer is generally no. Collectibles in general are not–they follow a boom and bust cycle. I’ve seen it happen in my own lifetime.

Dave Farquhar

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An O scale glossary of sorts

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 15, 2006September 5, 20191950s, 1990s, american flyer, Baby Boomers, bachmann, HO, ho scale, ives, lionel, lionel train, marx, o gauge, o scale, o27, s gauge, s scale, Standard Gauge, tin, toy train, tubular track

I just spent some time explaining some of the terminology that goes along with Lionel and other O gauge and O scale trains. That made me think maybe a definition of some terms might prove useful to somebody. So here’s an O scale glossary.

Dave Farquhar

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