Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Locate the precise name of your fire truck model and its production year. This can be done by visually examining your truck, looking for markings and production information. In cases where the toy has experienced a large amount of wear, it may be necessary to determine this relevant information by comparing your truck to other fire trucks, either online or in a collection. Look for similar characteristics and do plenty of research until you can confidently determine your model and production year, as these will be essential in calculating the value of your fire truck.
Search online auction sites and other online stores that display their completed listings. This will tell you how much other trucks similar to yours have sold for in the recent past. If you are lucky, a truck identical to yours will have sold recently and you can get a very accurate estimate of what your vehicle is worth.
Purchase a Franklin Mint Collector's Guide to determine the estimated market value of your piece based on condition. These guides are more expensive than Internet sleuthing, and become outdated much more quickly, so be careful when using older guides and eliminate other options first.
Contact a collectibles dealer that you already have a relationship with to see if they can help you out as a favor. Many knowledgeable antiques and collectibles dealers are more than happy to pull out a piece of knowledge from their years of experience. However, if you want a full estimate of the value, or are working with an unknown dealer, you should expect to pay a fee in order to receive your estimate. This represents a risk, as your truck may not be worth as much as the dealer's fee.