Frequently
Asked Smurfy Questions
Although
we love receiving questions and comments regarding the smurfs
and Blue Imps, we understand that not everyone has time to wait
for a reply to their emails so below we have compiled a list
of some of the more common questions that we are asked.
-
Smurfs
have been produced since 1965 and were very popular in the
70's and 80's so there is a wide age range of smurf collectors
out there. Ranging in age from 70's to teens, there definitely
seems to be a large amount of collectors in their 30's and
40's, maybe starting their collections as children and either
continuing into adulthood or restarting their collections
as adults. Smurf figures and smurfy items are collected all
over the world, especially in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.
The internet is making smurf collecting so much easier on
an international basis, more information is exchanged between
collectors in different countries resulting in many new discoveries
in the last few years. We receive visitors from literally
all over the world and it is amazing to think that the smurfs
have reached so many places and touched so many people.
Top
of page
- Why
Smurfs?
For us
personally it was a childhood thing. Smurfs were available
in the UK during the late 1970's and early 1980's in fuel
promotions and a small collection was started. A few years
ago we discovered smurfs on Ebay and that smurfs were still
being produced and widely collected around the world and that
was that. There are many collectors who collect because of
this "childhood" reason, there are those who are
collecting purely for fun and others who collect for a possible
future value. As a collectible, smurf figures are a great
product as there have been so many different figurines produced,
in different countires and at different times. Some smurfs
have been made for many years, others for only a short time
making them harder to find. There have been variations available
in different colours and molds and although not every single
different variation has been documented, there is a fairly
comprehensive system of cataloging smurfs by using their Schleich
numbers making it easy to track your smurf collection. Smurfs
are fun, they appeal to children and adults alike and have
portrayed many occupations and pastimes over the years making
them ideal for gifts as well as a personal hobby.
Top
of page
Top
of page
- Where
can we buy smurfs?
There
are a number of places where you can find smurfs for sale.
The largest quantity of smurfs for sale by far are the Ebay
Auctions. Over the last few years there has been an explosion
in the amount of smurfs being sold on all the various Ebay
sites all over the world. For example, when we first discovered
smurfs on Ebay UK in 2000, there were normally 1 or 2 pages
of smurfs for sale (and most of these were McDonald's smurfs),
more recently the average number of pages is now between 15
and 20! After Ebay, the next largest resource for smurfs are
the online smurf shops. There are a few of these, mainly based
in Europe and USA, some only sell the current production of
smurfs and accessories, while a few also deal in vintage figures,
accessories and smurf buildings. Please visit our Smurfy
Links page to find online smurf shops. You can also sometimes
find smurfs in local second-hand / charity shops, this sometimes
means digging deep into boxes or asking but you do occasionally
find them. House clearances sometimes produce the odd box
of smurfs that have been put away in the past and toy fairs
are another place worth looking into and asking stall holders
if they know of any.
Top
of page
- How
much are my smurfs worth?
This is
actually quite a difficult question to answer because there
are so many factors involved. Firstly, there is a wide range
in value between different figures because some smurfs were
produced over a long period of time and have also had later
reproductions, while there are other smurfs that were only
produced for one year and only in certain regions. Smurfs
of earlier productions and licenses will inevitably be worth
more because they are harder to find than later reproductions.
Condition of the smurf is also a big factor, a mint condition
figure holds a far greater value than a figure that has been
played with and has rubs, marks and discolouring present,
also whether the original box or packaging is inlcuded will
effect the price. Paint variations and promotional smurfs
again vary in value due to the limited number of smurfs produced
in often a single production and availability to the public
at the time of release. With the huge increase in internet
availabilty over the last few years with internet auctions
and online selling, it is now increasingly difficult to definitely
say how much a particular figure is exactly worth. The nature
of auctions means that a smurf is worth how much someone else
is willing to pay for it (or sell it for) at that particular
moment in time - we have seen auctions finish for absolutely
bargain prices and also auctions finish way above what we
would consider a reasonable value for that figure. Online
smurf shops and guides often mean guaranteed mint figures
so prices do tend to be higher (this isn't always so) but
availabilty isn't always great with certain rarer smurfs very
difficult to find. There are a number of smurf catalogues
and price guides available, again these prices don't always
reflect the ever changing values that are being seen on Ebay
and the online guides. You must remember most of these book
catalogues are produced by smurf dealers, they are not done
just for information purposes. Basically, check out the figure
in question on Ebay, in on-line smurf shops and guides or
in a catalogue, check to see what markings and paint variation
it is, consider its condition and then try and work out roughly
how much someone else would pay for it!
Top
of page
- How
many smurfs are there?
There
are two answers to this question.
The easy
answer - As of 2007 there have been 364 normal smurfs and
75 super smurfs released.
The real
answer - If you take into consideration paint / colour variations,
different markings, different manufacturers, different molds,
promotional smurfs, special series smurfs (christmas, history
etc.) playsets & buildings with all their variations,
smurfs-a-grams, fake smurfs, ceramic / resin smurfs etc. NOBODY
really knows. There are thousands of different smurf figures
and hundreds of different super smurfs with the odd new variation
still being found and new smurfs still being introduced. We
have shown at least one variation of every normal smurf and
super smurf released, along with the different variaitons
we have collected but our collection is by no way complete,
there are many different variations we do not yet own!
Top
of page
- What
is the most expensive smurf?
In 2001
three christmas smurfs were sold on Ebay in Germany, each
sold for more than $2000. The reason for these extraordinarly
high prices is that these smurfs never made it into regular
production. Please see our Smurfy
News page for more information. Colour variations and
promo smurfs tend to fetch higher prices and the most expensive
playset is the Smurf Castle playset which you can see on our
Wanted page.
Top
of page
- What
are promotional smurfs?
Promotional
smurfs or promos are smurfs that have been specially commissioned
by a company or individual and contain some kind of logo or
name representing the company. These were often given away
as part of retail promotions or within companies and include
individual smurfs, super smurfs, smurf-a-grams, smurf keyrings
and smurf sets. Companies that have had promotional smurfs
made for them include BP, Shell, OMO, Phillips, McDonalds,
Hardees, Silan, Schonwald, Commerzbank and Sparkasse. Some
promo smurfs are very hard to find due to the very limited
numbers produced, resulting in high prices and some very sought
after smurfs. Please visit our Promo
Smurfs page to see our smurf promos.
Top
of page
Top
of page
- Do
we buy smurfs?
Generally
we only buy smurfs that we don't already have or if we are
looking for something in a better condition. We are always
happy to receive mail from anybody selling smurfs, send us
a list, if there is something we are after we always promise
a good smurfy home or can recommend you to someone who may
be looking for what you are offering. Found an old box of
smurfs in the attic? Don't let the little guys get frightened
in the dark, send us a list and we will see if a new smurfy
home can be found.
|
