Vintage video games gathering dust for decades are changing hands this Christmas for thousands.
An Atari 2600 console in original 1977 box with a full set of games can sell for between £2,600 and £4,000.
That contrasts with today’s must-have £450 consoles like the Sony PlayStation5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
Atari sold 30 million consoles in the company’s heyday, with fans hooked on seminal games such as Space Invaders, Frogger and Asteroids.
Other toys from yesteryear are doing brisk business too – like Action Man, which cost just £2.23 in 1970.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
Last week eBay had a rare Action Man Lancer doll for £1,100 and a Colditz play set for £850.
Airfix models which cost just 10p back in the day can fetch sky-high prices, too.
An Airfix Attack Force Set featuring a battle between US and Japanese forces recently sold for £2,479. BMX Mongoose Supergoose bikes – £219 in the 1980s – have become a collector’s item with pristine models going for up to £3,000.
Raleigh Choppers that were £34 in the 1970s can be even more expensive.
Last week a Mark 1 version in bright orange was among a string up for sale on eBay for around £4,595.
Meanwhile, sit-on inflatable Space Hoppers are on sale at £70, a £67 profit on the 1970 cost. And even the humble £3 Etch-aSketch drawing game can fetch £50.
Toy collector Mark Newbold, editor in chief of Star Wars website Fantha Tracks, said: “There is a huge amount of nostalgia. People were throwing away these consoles in the 1980s because they were considered old. To find one now in good condition could be very lucrative.
“At an auction last week we saw a Princess Leia figure in beautiful condition going for £9,000 – crazy money.”
