Best Places for Vintage Toys in Hong Kong

I know this subject has probably been tackled but some of the stores that were around the last time I was there, 10 or so years are gone. What are the best places now? Has the vintage market mostly dried up over there?

When I think of china I like to imagine that they have giant bags of neon pink and green machinders being sold in the streets.

Gaiking, Hong Kong shops have just been discussed recently, but I forgot it was on "that other board". PM sending.
[www.robotjapan.proboards.com]

@ Jack, you remind me of that little critter in the "Horton Hears A Who" movie. heehee

"In MY world, everyone's a pony, and they all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies!"

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2010 10:38PM by repairtechjon.

Just got back from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I only had enough time to spend 1 day on toy shopping. Had a hard time looking for the CTM Centre and got lost. Walking aimlessly for an hour, I stumbled onto 1 shop that was not on the main shopping road. As I walked in, I was greeted by 2 women who were super friendly asking me about what in particular I was looking for and offering to gift wrap anything I wanted for free. What was unusual about this store was, I saw boxes of toys stacked in piles in almost no order. There was also a display case full of realistic looking toy guns (customs would have loved to see me try to sneak one of these back I'm sure) I felt like an archeologist uncovering hidden treasures. As I sorted through the boxes, my mind was working like an exchange rate calculator converting the HK dollars to US dollars. Looking through boxes for about an hour, I was happy to find a Masterpiece Optimus Prime for a great price. It was wrapped in cellophane, the lady telling me they do this so no one tries to open their items to see inside the box.

After walking out of the store with my prize, I realized how much fun that was. It made me long for the old days of collector shops in the United States. There was one store I remember growing up where items would be all over the place and to get a price, I'd have to ask the owner. So much is bought and sold online these days that before this experience, I had forgotten how fun it is to buy something in a store like this. I have heard of stores like these in Japan and hope to get there someday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2010 09:30AM by gaiking123.

Good story. Glad you had some fun, and nice to hear you're not the only one who gets all turned around trying to find those shopping centers. Seems to be a common story of guys who report back from trying to find the cache of vintage dealers out there. Good info to be prepared to wander. ;p

Being there to find stuff in person just kills online button pushing mostly. Like you say, just have to keep your excitement in check as you factor the cost.

I'm just glad online shopping hasn't killed these stores in Hong Kong as it has in the United States. I ended up finding the CTM Centre and the building on Nathan Road that also had many small toy shops. Unfortunately, I stopped at 3 floors only because I did not have time to cover 4-5 which is probably good for my wallet. It's amazing how all these toy stores are bunched together like this selling some of the same stuff. This experience brought back a great early childhood memory of going to these stores and seeing all these toys on display behind the glass windows. I hope these stores never go away.