Sylvanian Families were, without a doubt, the last word in luxury when we were growing up. This writer may not have had a single felt critter to her name, but she remembers visiting a school pal and marvelling at her glossy collection of teeny-weeny animals, all wearing old-fashioned clothes and living together in a sleek and shiny (and incredibly small) canal boat.
If you had them, you were the talk of the playground. If you didn’t, you were… well, you were incredibly, incredibly jealous.
And it seems as if our envy levels are going to soar even higher as adults, as Sylvanian Families are making people a lot of money on eBay at the moment.
Turns out, 32 years after they were introduced to the toy market by Japanese inventor Epoch, Sylvanian Families have finally piqued the interest of avid toy collectors.
Earlier this week, the Applewood Department Store – featuring more than 200 accessories – sold for a cool £206 on eBay.
The Vintage Mansion House, similarly, earned its owner £125.
And don’t get us started on the dinky little dolls themselves.
In January, a Sylvanian Families Japanese Doll Of The Year was sold for a massive £500 on eBay.
Meanwhile, another hopeful eBay seller is currently listing a giant Sylvanian Families rabbit on eBay for an impressive £750.
The item, which is yet to be sold, is described as: “Giant Sylvanian Families ‘Freya’ Chocolate Rabbit.”
People are also searching high and wide for the Highfields Farm, the Village Bus, the Juice Bar, the Lock Keepers Cottage, the Post Office and the elusive Postman Sam.
We recommend clambering into your attic/ringing your mum sharpish so you can dig out your dusty old toys and turn them into some cold, hard cash.
We bet you’ll have some knocking around, as over 120 million sets have been sold worldwide.
Or, you know, you could carry on hoarding them until the day they’re worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, we guess. Your call…
Images: eBay / Rex Features
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