What are your Hot Wheels, Pokémon cards and other old toys really worth?

The spare bedroom in Jon "Soda" James’ North Babylon home has the vibe of a vintage toy store. Slot walls are covered with encased action figures hanging on display hooks and spinning racks, file cabinets are full of comic books and several glass encasements containing dolls, figurines and other treasure troves.

"It’s definitely a conservation piece," says James, 35. "Some say I should charge admission to come in."

Among his massive toy collection, James has four special trays of Hot Wheels cars from his youth which hold significant meaning to him.

"My father worked on the Long Island Rail Road and every day, he’d come home with cars for me," he says. "I used to line them up from the front door to the back door of my house."

Retro toys, like the ones in James' collection, are on the rebound. Those who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s are hanging on to the collections because they personally mean something to them or they are hoping their items will hold some value over time.

"The idea that you have to grow up and give up all your things doesn’t apply anymore," says consumer anthropologist Andrea Richeson, of Shoreham. "What drives these dashes toward nostalgia is uncertainty … People are running to the things that brought them joy. For others, it’s become a side gig selling their stuff on different platforms like eBay, Mercari and Etsy to make some profit."

Newsday spoke with local collectors and merchants about 12 different throwback items to discover whether they are worth money or just memories.

A brand from the mid-90s that has continued to soar in popularity is Pokémon. There’s a TV show, movies, an app — you name it — but the real value is in the trading cards.

"I enjoy collecting them with my kids. It brings me back to when I was their age," says 29-year-old Danny Torres, owner of Gotham Barbershop in West Hempstead, who once owned a whole set of the original Pokémon cards as a kid but they got either lost or tossed from his childhood home. "My son recently pulled out a Charizard worth $200 from a new pack. We even have a third-generation Pokémon Rainbow Scizr VMAX from the Sword & Shield Darkness Ablaze series that’s valued at $800."

Weekly, people come into McWilliams’ shop with binders of old Pokémon cards looking for a payout.

"I’ve made some people cry by telling them their collection is not worth anything and I’ve surprised people in the opposite way, by making them very happy with an offer on a binder," says McWilliams, who has paid over $1,000 for a collection. "But, everything is based on condition. For the most part, people played with their cards and didn’t store them correctly."

VALUE Condition is key. Cards of value must be graded by a professional company. In recent years, Phil Weiss of Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook sold a 1998 Japanese promo Pokémon Pikachu Holo Illustrator, graded 9 and 1 of 39 made, for $224,250 but they could go even higher. Loose, ungraded and used, that card could drop into the hundreds. Meanwhile, some average cards could simply be worth $1.

One of the first internet sensations in the mid-90s was Beanie Babies, which were bean bag-style cuddly animals. Back in the day, parents were running around trying to find Peanut the Elephant or Flash the Dolphin for their kid thinking they’d be collectors’ items one day. Some collectors went so far as to purchase protectors to preserve the condition of the Ty heart tag on their Beanies. Although the protectors were effective, over time these toys haven’t lived up to the hype.

"Beanie Babies are nearly worthless," says Richard McWilliams, owner of Blast from the Past in Bay Shore. "They are one of the collectibles that went totally opposite of what everybody thought they would because they were overproduced."

Brittany Sordyl, 30, of Sound Beach, considers herself and her mom, Shari Cope-Dembowski, 59, of Locust Valley, "pretty extensive collectors." Growing up she had a display in her bedroom, complete with tag protectors as well as a set of the mini versions sold exclusively at McDonald’s.

"My favorite was the Princess Diana Beanie Baby. It was super rare and hard to find," she says. "My parents gave it to me as a gift after my tonsillectomy so I’ll always remember it."

VALUE A Princess Diana Beanie Baby in mint condition with a tag can still sell for $40, according to Mike Balsamo, owner of Funky Town in Centereach. But a used one is worth less than $10. Most average Beanie Babies can be purchased for $1.

Every holiday season since 1964, the Hess Corporation has annually released a different toy truck for sale. At first they were sold at Hess gas stations until 2014 when purchases were strictly online.

Greg Bennett, 54, of Centereach got his first Hess truck in high school and has been an avid collector since.

"When my son was born in 1994 I started a collection for him. Then I began going back to buy the older ones," says Bennett. "It was a hobby that I enjoyed doing with my son."

VALUE A 1967 red velvet Hess truck in the box is worth $3,000, according to Bennett. The 2021 edition sells for $39.99. A 1980 training van in-the-box has a $100 value ($10 loose) and a 1990 tanker is only worth $20 in the box ($5 loose).

Remember Molly McIntire, Kit Kittredge or Samantha Parkington? These 18-inch American Girl dolls were all the rage in the ‘90s when children would dress them up with clothing and accessories for a day at the American Girl Café.

"The American Girl dolls were based on historical characters from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s," says Lauren Czajkowski. "They represented a typical girl from a certain time period."

VALUE A Molly, Kit or Samantha doll mint, in the box can garner up to $3,000, according to Czajkowski, but loose in good condition with the original outfit and accessories the doll could be worth $500.

Barbie has been part of American toy culture since 1959. But the real value is in the dolls from the 1960s.

"They simply didn’t produce that many Barbies early on. Parents didn’t think the dolls represented their child because they were adult-flooking," says Lauren Czajkowski, co-owner of Milo Toys & Collectables in Oakdale. "Over the years, they were made to be more child friendly and there’s been more mass production."

Gianna Hahne, 19, of Bohemia has 100 Barbies in her collection but her favorite is her vintage 1967 Twiggy Barbie, which is based on the 1960s teen model from London. She buys most of her dolls on eBay or local stores like Funky Town Collectibles.

"I just really liked her look," says Hahne. "She’s very ‘60s with a green, yellow and blue vertical striped outfit with a beaded necklace."

VALUE Barbie from the 1960s can sell for $600-$700 in-the-box, according to Czajkowski, but loose in good condition the value switches to $100-$150. Bob Mackie designed Barbies from the ‘90s to early 2000s can be worth $80 to $3,000 based on condition, says McWilliams, if a limited quantity was made such as the Bob Mackie Cher Ringmaster Barbie from 2007.

Much like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! is another trading card sensation coming out of Japan. However, it’s at a different level.

"Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn’t have the following that Pokémon does. It’s night a day," says Mike Czajkowski, co-owner of Milo Toys & Collectables. "However, some high-grade, first-edition cards can go up into the thousands, but there are less big money cards than in Pokémon."

Rich Berezein, 45, of Selden has been collecting Yu-Gi-Oh! cards since 2000 and saved his entire collection in pristine condition.

"I have pretty much everything," he says. "My biggest card is an original Blue-Eyes White Dragon, grade 9, from 1999, which is something I opened up in a pack as a kid."

VALUE A high-graded 1996 Blue-Eyes White Dragon can sell for $10,000, according to McWilliams, but a loose non-mint one can sell for $1.

Since the late ‘60s, Mattel has been rolling out thousands of Hot Wheels cars varying in styles.

Robert Wyckoff, 75, of Sayville, has been collecting Hot Wheels for the past 11 years and has over 3,000 cars in his collection.

"I enjoy the hunt and finding something that I don’t have," he says. "I go for everything from sedans to trucks to muscle cars."

VALUE A 1967 Red Line series red Camaro in excellent condition is worth $600-$700, according to Mike Czajkowski. However, it can go up to $1,100 in near-mint condition. Meanwhile, Czajkowski says a 1995 white Camaro Super Treasure Hunt runs $1,500 in the package and $400-$500 loose depending on condition.

There’s something fun about a Furby. The pint-size electronic ball of fur with ears, eyes, feet and a beak from the late ‘90s spoke its own language, "Furbish" gradually incorporating English words.

"Everybody has a story about a Furby," says McWilliams. "My wife’s mother found her Furby 15 years later in the attic and it started moving and talking, which creeped her out so she threw it across the room. They are almost like a nostalgic laugh in a way. But they are not super collectible."

Bill Passannante of Franklin Square held onto his wizard Ferby from 1999, which was exclusively sold at Toys R Us.

"It’s still boxed, never opened and never taught anything," he says. "It isn’t really worth as much as I thought it would be because they overproduced those."

VALUE A first edition Furby from 1998 in the box can be worth $80, according to Balsamo. But, a loose one, in good condition, from the same year could run $20.

Who would have thought the concept of a digital pet that hung on your keychain would take off? But, in the late ‘90s the Tamagotchi craze was running hot.

"You had to feed it, put it to sleep at certain times, they could even get sick," says McWilliams. "It was a way to teach kids how to take care of a pet."

Johana Guarini, 40, of Huntington got her first Tamagotchi at age 16 as she wasn’t allowed to have a real pet growing up. Today she has passed on the tradition to her three kids.

"This something I can share with them that I enjoyed," says Guarini. "I love the idea of my kids playing with a toy that’s somewhat ‘low tech’ and tactile that requires them to think about ‘someone’ else."

VALUE Rare ones like the Tamagotchi Ocean in the box sell for $100, according to Lauren Czajkowski. But, a loose one can be purchased for $10.

At some point, almost every kid has asked their parents for a pony and by 1982 they could have one as Hasbro developed a line of multicolored handheld ponies with long hair you could comb.

"They aren’t as in demand as they were 10 years ago," says Lauren Czajkowski. "It’s hard to find them in the box mostly because people played with them instead of collecting."

Emily Koegler, 33, of Brightwaters still has her My Little Pony collection from when she was age 7.

"I loved the colors and tails of the figures," she says. "I’m keeping them for when I have kids. My Little Pony helps with imagination."

VALUE A Generation 3 Pinky Pie mint, in the box could sell for $100, according to Balsamo. A loose one costs $10 or less.

After the success of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64 was the 1996 upgrade with 3D graphics. The system even came in different "Funtastic" colors like Watermelon Red, Jungle Green or Ice Blxfue.

"Nintendo 64 is a four-player system, where you can play with your friends at the same time," says collector George Emmons, 48, of Nissequogue, who owns 19 different N64s and a full library of 296 games. "What’s nice about the N64 is, you can’t play it online. All the players must be in the room together on the same TV."

VALUE A Nintendo 64 new, in the box runs $200 and $100 loose, according to McWilliams. But, the N64 in Funtastic colors are $400 new, in the box and $200 loose.

The recording device actor Macaulay Culkin used in 1992’s "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" was known as a Talkboy.

"It’s simply a cassette recorder with a little microphone that popped out and a handle, which made it look cool," says McWilliams. "But, it’s so hard to find ones that are working. I’ve even had repair guys who don’t even know how to fix them."

VALUE New in the package a Talkboy can cost $500, according to McWilliams. But, a used working one runs about $100.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.