Toys with stories: The complicated business of selling nostalgia

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In a year when Hollywood’s biggest hits star characters that have been around for years like Barbie and Spider-Man, nostalgia is a hot commodity.

Nostalgia hasn’t just restrained to the silver screen. Business owners specializing in old-school toys are also seeing renewed interest.

However, while some stores see this interest turn into sales, others are not.

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Matthew Powell co-owns Totally Rad Toyhouse in Nashville. He sees customers every day who come in to take a walk down memory lane.

“A lot of it I think is people reconnecting with their childhood and there is good memories along with it and having it puts them back in that mindset,” Powell said.

Even though nostalgia is still a business, it isn’t always at the top of people’s shopping list. Meanwhile, people are often more eager to sell their older toys, which are often not as valuable as you think.

“Toys are the bottom of the necessity pool,” Powell said.

The holiday season is usually busy for Totally Rad, so store employees hope their toys with stories will find new homes over the holidays when more people are willing to shop.

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Forty-five minutes down the road, Chad Flatt is having a different experience. His store, Music City Toys and Collectibles, sells vintage toys, but it mostly focuses on pro-wrestling figures.

According to Flatt, as pro-wrestling continues to gain popularity, he is seeing more children and parents come into the store. In other words, business is booming.

“You see stuff people say, ‘Oh, this reminds me of my grandfather, because we would sit down on Saturdays and we would watch wrestling together,’ or whatever, you know, so it’s really cool to hear those stories and hear how stuff like that is kind of woven into the fabric of people’s lives,” Flatt said.

Flatts said his customers want to own and give old and new wrestling products. He also brings retired and current wrestlers into the shop to attract customers and create an experience.

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“It takes me back to when I was a child, to a simpler time when things weren’t so complicated as when you’re grown, and me as an old man, I have young kids, so I come in, I can share a little bit of my childhood with them. You can’t put a price tag on it,” said customer Heath Springer.

While both businesses are selling nostalgia, they are also learning that how much people are willing to spend on priceless memories can easily change.

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