'The Toy Scout': Local man travels the country searching for rare, vintage toys
DEERFIELD, Ill. - The pandemic kept us at home, which reignited an interest in nostalgia.
People cleaned out closets, found old toys and turned them into treasure at the vintage toy show in Deerfield, Illinois.
A childhood toy can transport a person to a simpler time, but the smiles created at the Chicago Vintage Toy Buying Show are partially because people earned some money.
Out with the old, in with the cash.
Joel Magee calls himself "The Toy Scout." He has got an eye for what is special and what is common. He travels the country, hunting for toys.
Magee says the old Barbie dolls with ponytails were more rare and therefore, worth more these days. He was at the Deerfield Marriott Courtyard for a recent show and says there has definitely been a resurgence in the nostalgia business because people cleared the clutter during quarantine.
"It's been insanity. People are coming out of the woodwork," Magee said.
He says toy collecting is a fun hobby,
"We have so many people into this. There are people who can go to a happy place and not have to take a pill to get there," Magee said.