Monday, December 2, 2013

THIS is why I love Goodwill so much. THIS EPIC FIND.

I'm on vacation this week. I have so many things that I should be blogging about... but I'm not getting around to yet. Instead, I want to talk about something I found TODAY. At Goodwill.

What's hilarious to me is that the League of Extraordinary Bloggers' topic for this week is Wishlists. We did the same topic a year ago at Christmas time, and in fact, we posted stuff we were looking for this past October as well. The items I'm looking for have stayed pretty consistent... but I can FINALLY cross one of my holy grail items off that list. And how.

My wife had to go observe a classroom today for one of her college classes. So I was home with the two boys. I took my older boy to preschool and then asked the younger boy what he wanted to do. He wanted to go to Dunkin' Donuts. So we did. And I almost just drove home right then and there. Almost. But any time I'm in town and I have the opportunity, I like to go to Goodwill. I almost didn't though. Just want to point that out.

Michael Caine did a much better job of explaining this in Mr. destiny than I am right now. 
Today could have gone so much more different than it did is my point. But instead, my two-year old and I went to Goodwill and browsed around. I didn't find much at first. We went to the toy department first. Not much there. I did find a Homer Simpson's Head Rubiks Cube that I picked up, then I browsed the case and hit the books. It was around this time that my 2-year old started whining that he wanted to go home. I didn't blame him, so I told him we would soon. I took a stroll through the rest of the store, checked the glass-wares aisle to see if any other McDonalds glasses had sprouted up, and then my son asked me the magic words: "Can we go look at toys again?" 

So we did. Can you SEE all the what-ifs in the paragraph above? What if we had left right then? What if we hadn't gone back to the toy department? What if what if what if. 

So we went back to the toy department, and I let my son get out of the cart again so he could paw through all the junk we'd already pawed through. I didn't mind, and it made him happy. And then one of the girls who works at Goodwill rolled up one of the carts they use to stock the shelves. And that cart? It contained this:


Castle Grayskull for me, is one of those things that represents my early childhood. Some of my earliest memories involve Fisher Price Little People, Star Wars Action Figures, and Masters of the Universe. I had an Aunt that would sit with me for hours and play He-Man. I would ALWAYS choose the bad-guys and make her be the good guys. I would spend hours alone, looking closely at every detail of Castle Grayskull, tracing my fingers over the face of the skull and looking at the teeth on the drawbridge. I look at this toy now and I remember it as clearly as I do the skin on the palm of my hand. 

Not me. Or my toys honestly. But you get the idea. Isn't that kid a TV actor?

I saw the girl coming, and I saw that castle, and my heart STOPPED. I mean, I started eye-balling other customers in the vicinity to see who I was going to have to wrestle to the ground or "shiv" in order to take this thing home. I also held my breath waiting to see what the price tag would say. If it was in the double digits, I was going to have to think hard before I brought it home (I still would have brought it home, I would just have had to think hard about how to explain it to my wife). And you know what that price tag said? 2.99. That's right folks. 3 measly dollars for the Castle Grayskull, one of my personal Holy Grails. Before she had the chance to even pick it up to stock it, I asked her if I could look at it. Looking at it consisted of putting it directly into my cart. I remember vaguely hearing her, in the background of my mind as it screamed inside my skull like a train whistle, warning me to be careful of the bag, because it wasn't taped or something. SO I look back down and what do I see? This:


You may notice right away (if you are familiar with MotU stuff) that there are Castl Grayskull accessories right there in that bag. And some weapons. And some Moss Man. And some G.I. Joes. Wanna see what else was in that Grab-Bag for 1.99? Let's take a look:


First up there was this pile of MotU accessories. Battle Cat armor, weapons and items that belong in the Castle play-set. Various other sundry weapons and accessories. Awesome. 


Then there was a random assortment of G.I. Joes in that bag as well. I owned the two on the left when I was a kid though I can't remember either of their names (and in fact, I now have a duplicate on the second guy on the left). But I recognize Tiger Force Dusty at least! The two on the right are completely unknown to me, and I was too lazy to Google them before writing this. But the REALLY exciting Joe in that bag? Here he is:


Sergeant EFFING Slaughter!!! I loved Sgt. Slaughter as a kid!!! After the G.I. Joe Movie especially. He was one of my favorite "good-guys" in general. But besides the weapons and the Joes there were also these two jokers:


Moss Man and Rokkon! I actually love the look of both of these figures, even though I understand Rokkon is not exactly a fan favorite. Moss Man's flocking is in amazing condition as well, though he does NOT smell like pine. Of course, the castle and the grab-bag were not the only things the girl was putting on the shelf. There were these for .99 cents APIECE!!!:


Roton! I loved this one as a kid, and this one is only showing some minimal damage. Mostly just the fact that a couple of the spinning red spines have broken off. He even still has his evil red eye stickers!!!


And again, lazy blogging... for starters I forgot to get pictures of just the two vehicles on their own, and secondly, I didn't bother to search and see what these vehicles even are. There was another one that I left behind simply because it looked like it was actually missing more pieces than it had intact. As I mentioned above, all three of these vehicles were .99 cents apiece. So far, that brings me up to about 8 dollars total for the castle, the bag, and the three vehicles. I had some books too, but I'll feature them later in another post. 

I played it so cool you guys. I was all like: I am going to calmly take my purchases to the front like a grown-ass adult and pay for it all calm-like. But once I had my purchases in the van? And my kid was safely bucked into his seat? And we were on the road? I started SCREAMING LIKE AN INSANE PERSON. I hooted. I hollered. I cheered and whooped. I laughed. I cried. I made a fool of myself. My son cheered right along with me, never knowing why. He was just happy I was happy. 

With trembling hands I carried my purchases in the house. I am not making this next part up, I swear. I swear to you on all I find important in my life that I am not lying about this. I cannot stress this point. I had not once opened the castle while I was at Goodwill. I had not seen inside it. I didn't do this until I got it home. And this is what I found:


The bag that the girl stocking shelves had been warning me about was not the one in the cart. I had assumed she was warning me not to rip the grab-bag as I was handling the castle, lifting it off or whatever. What she was REALLY warning me about was the open bag of action figures INSIDE THE CASTLE. When I opened the castle and this spilled out, I started MANIACALLY CACKLING. Wanna see what was in there? Let's take a look:


This is everything that was contained in the castle. Prince Adam, Modulok, Clawful, Trap-Jaw, Orko, Man-E-Faces, Stratos, Roboto, Thunder-Punch He-Man, and Two-Bad!!! Now, I already own 6 of these figures. So really, only 4 of these are new to me. BUT some of these guys (like Stratos and Clawful) are in much better condition than the ones I already own, and have more of their accessories, so it's like I'm upgrading a little bit. Plus, throne, ladder, and a few other parts. Turns out, a lot of their accessories had also ended up in the other grab-bag, like Trap-Jaws belt, Prince Adams sword, and Thunder-Punch He-Man's shield, among other things. 


Here's a shot of ALL the MotU stuff I brought home today. I pad 6 dollars for this whole pile of loot. SIX DOLLARS YOU GUYS!!! (Maybe even technically 5, if you want to split hairs, because I'm not counting the G.I. Joe figures, which was sort of half of the grab-bag). 

GASP!!!
So for about 8 bucks, I reclaimed a healthy portion of my childhood and walked away from Goodwill screaming and laughing like a lunatic. I think that was a pretty good way to spend day 5 of my vacation. I've spent the rest of today with a big, dumb grin on my face, looking at these toys over and over again, expecting them to evaporate. Expecting them to disappear like this is just a dream and I'll wake up any second. And to get them for such an amazing price? I almost passed out. The weird thing about this castle, unlike most toys I have tracked down from my childhood... it seems bigger than I remember! It's strange how so many old toys always seem tiny compared to my memories, because I'm not as small as I used to be. Castle Grayskull has some bulk to it, some height. It's just as impressive if not more so than I remember. And by the power of you-know-who, that is pure magic. 

This battle feels... unbalanced somehow.
I also wondered if there weren't other toys out in the back room, waiting to be processed and stocked on the shelves... but that way lies madness. I could have hung out all day, being a nuisance and waiting to see what else got brought out... but I decided that was a) creepy and b) greedy. It just wasn't necessary. I got a LOT of great stuff. Anything else I MIGHT have missed out on? I'll find it some other day in some other Goodwill, for some other price. Right now, I'm still just reeling from the fact that I now own a Castle Gray Skull and didn't have to pay 40+ dollars for it on eBay. And it has a lot of the accessories! It's missing a portion of floor, but I can live with that. 

That's it for tonight guys! What a find! Don't know if I can top this one really. It's the kind of find that keeps me addicted to Goodwill though. I'll be back soon with more Geeky Goodwill Goodies! Until then, Happy Hunting! 

56 comments:

  1. OH MY GOD.
    I still owe you another "condensed" comment of excitement, but it fell through the cracks. I started to get a little ridiculous when you recalled the inner van celebration and yes, my mouth drooooped when you revealed the contents of the castle. I wish there were webcam evidence for moments like the ones that I know are happening all over as we read this tale. And you're right, how will you ever top this?!?!!!
    I am SO happy for you, Geek! This is EPIC!
    I am checking "Notify me" because I need to see all the reactions to this post. This was awesome!
    Merry Christmas, indeed!

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    1. I always worry that people are never going to believe that I've found some of the stuff I have at Goodwill (or at a yard sale, or whatever) and instead suspect I'm actually buying stuff on eBay and just tooting my own horn by saying I found it at Goodwill. But I can't stress enough just how real this stuff is. I was so elated today when this all happened! It was so just genuinely awesome. I wish there was web-cam evidence for this stuff just so I could relive it over and over again!!!

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  2. I had to come back to say this.
    HOW DO PEOPLE NOT KNOW?!
    But thank God they don't, else miracles like this would never happen.
    I LOVE that you just stuck it to all the ebay sellers who hold adult men's little boy dreams hostage for ridiculous amounts of money and shipping costs.
    Take that ebay! HA!!!

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    1. Exactly. That was one of the first things I did when I got home too. I always like to see how much money I've saved myself by not caving to the eBay machine.

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  3. The Joes are, from left to right, Sneak Peek, Fast Draw, Windmill and an Ice Viper.

    Also, I am insanely jealous of this score and super-thrilled for you at the same time. So conflicted.

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    1. Right?!
      Totally love him/hate him.
      And you have such a brief and constrained comment, I can totally feel the inner struggle. You wrote this through clenched teeth! ;)

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    2. You guys, I know exactly how you feel. This is the kind of find that can start wars. This is the kind of post that draws lines in the sand. This is me, saying: neener-neener-neener.

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    3. I only ever have love for Mr. G.W Geek. So much love!

      My initial response was terse due to not wanting to wait until I got home from work and using my phone. I can sometimes be technologically challenged.

      Although, that Orko came out of a grab-bag with his hat intact. Maybe I am jealous. Seething! Grr-argh..!

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    4. What I find especially hilarious is if you look closely, you'll note Stratos is missing an arm. I found that arm in the OTHER grab-bag I bought for 1.99! Glad I didn't leave anything behind! Do you need/want an Orko? He's extra for me.

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    5. I'm all good with an Orko, but thank you for offering. I just remember that the one I had as a kid was sans hat for most of the time I owned him. Not sure why Mattel made it a removable accessory, but curse them for doing so!

      Oh, and those two G.I.Joe vehicles-- the black one is a Cobra Stun. It's missing a couple small pieces, but is otherwise in pretty good shape. And the other is a Joe vehicle called The Mean Dog. Again, it's missing the main/large turret that mounted on the back, but is still really cool. Weird that you ended up with vehicles without their drivers [a Motor-Viper for the Stun and Wildcard for the Mean Dog], while both the Ice-Viper and Windmill came with additional vehicles you didn't find. Though, you mentioned leaving one behind, so it could have been one of those. Yes, I'm a G.I.Joe super-nerd.

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  4. Just wow! Super congrats on this most amazing Goodwill score Derek my head would of just popped off if i ran across all of this glorious goodness. It's a Christmas/Creepmas miracle i tell you. : )

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    1. It was this build where it just kept getting more and more unreal, and just better and better as I saw each new thing. It was a beautiful, transcendent moment. And now I need to figure out what I will be doing with my extra, topless Clawful.

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  5. Thought i comment on this but maybe i did so congrats on this amazing score Derek. : )

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    1. It's worth saying twice John. I genuinely thank you for the congrats though.

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  6. That's awesome! Congratulations on a great score!

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  7. Wow I'm not even a MOTU guy but that is an amazingly epic find!

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    1. Thank you! I like to think that whatever the franchise or hobby, a find like this can be appreciated for its scale if not its content. This was just insane. I am still pretty flabbergasted. I really can't over-state how much finding this meant to me.

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  8. Laura reposted this and DAMN that is an amazing find. For every blah day at goodwill, you will have another that will leave you overcome with giddyness. I get it. I recently found a mint condition Heart throb game for $2 and it tickled me pink!

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    1. Kimmie Jones at The Geek's place!
      Party at Greyskull, ya'll ;)
      This miracle is bringing the world together......

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    2. It is always feast or famine when it comes to the hunt! I've got a big Golden Book post in the works that shows off the hunting of a handful of months combined. And then you see stuff like I'm showing off here, and it all just fell in my lap in the course of about 5 minutes. Insane. Thanks for the support thrift-sistah! (Yup. That is something that I just typed) Totally following your blog now too by the way.

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    3. Kimmie Jones will have you shooting milk out of your nostrils.
      Do not read her blog while ingesting food or drink.
      I need to stop hijacking your comments section now.... I'm just super committed to this post! YAY!!!

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    4. Oh, hijack away! I think the comments on this one have been some of the best since I started this blog!

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  9. These are the kinds of finds that make collecting toys such a great hobby. I got a BARBIE CORVETT at Value Villain for 2 dollars that still holds my 12 inch GI JOES and all their weaponry so I know how you feel. Great find. Give that kid a cookie for sending you back to the toys.

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    1. I will shower him with cookies!!! And which corvette are we talking about here? Pink, silver, yellow, what? I don't know enough about Barbie stuff to guess.

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  10. Amazing find. So glad you finally found a Castle Grayskull. You hit the jackpot. I'm especially envious of the Moss Man in such great shape.

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    1. He's in great shape. So svelte. Sexy even.

      If you're into moss. You and I are still destined to trade goods, Tintod. Even if its just random packages of goodies. We'll see what we can cook up in the future, no?

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  11. Daaaaammmmn! I think this is the point where they raise your Goodwill jersey to the rafters my friend!

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    1. I want a FULL cooler of Gatorade dumped over my head.

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  12. WOW. That is amazing ! I would have been happy just finding the Sarge but the rest of that haul is spectacular !

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    1. I keep remembering about the Sarge and getting excited too. There was just so much cool stuff that I keep going, "Oh yeah! And there was that!"

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  13. I kept telling my wife every twist and turn in this post and when she walked away, I told my 3 month old. I couldn't be more vicariously excited. I wish I had tomorrow off so I could just thrift all day.

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    1. My wife doesn't seem as enthralled as I would have liked either... but she worked up enough enthusiasm to make me believe she didn't NOT care. I wish you had all the time to thrift that you want... I'll be heading out tomorrow to do some Christmas shopping, but ALSO to hit a couple of the other Goodwills I can get to within an hour.

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  14. Tremendous score! Congrats!!!!

    And I think that is the kid from Silver Spoons in that ad.

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    1. See, I thought that too... but he's not Ricky Schroeder... was he some other character? I need to look up the whole cast of that show.

      And thanks!

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    2. Hmm, I was thinking he was the Schroeder kid. He was definitely someone in the eighties sitcom game, just not sure who!

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  15. Stop the presses! Stop! What in the world!? I am so happy for you. This is insanity. You realize that right? Utter insanity! This is one of those once in a life time toy moments! I wish there had been cameras, I would have loved to have seen your reaction. This is so freakin cool! I am so glad you shared this with all of us. I am just flipping out for you right now. Something like this just doesn't happen. You pulled a trick and stepped back in time. That's what you did. You have the secret of time travel and you need to share that secret! lol

    I'm really happy for you. This is amazing! I'm just flipping out right now!

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    1. Thanks Miss M! I was pretty stone-cold in the store itself... but where the cameras would really want to catch me would have been in the van after I left. That was just insane.

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  16. This is the kind of stuff that I got spanked for trying to swipe at other kids house when I got home and my parents noticed me pulling it out of my pocket. There is no comparison to this decade of toys. Congratulations Mr. Geek, and yes Sgt. Slaughter will kick ass for all eternity.

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    1. I used to be a shameless toy thief myself. Awful. I should have done time, honestly.

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  17. He-Man, Go-Bots,transformers,G.I. Joe, and Voltron. Those were my absolute favorites. Wish I still had that Voltron that broke down into all the lions, so freaking awesome.

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    1. THAT is my new Holy Grail!!! I miss Voltron so much! That was another toy I had right around the same time.

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  18. The only reason this post would make me angry, is because I know our thrift stores don't carry anything nearly as great as this. Honestly, I started hyperventilating a little bit, which is probably what I would have done if I came across this lot in a store.

    That was an amazing score. Score, Hell, that was a steal. Congrats!

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    1. Thing is, its all just random happenstance. There's no saying that your thrift store won't ever get something like this in... it's just being there at the right moment. If I had left a few moments before they rolled that stuff out, one of the guys running the local antique malls would have come trawling for stuff and snapped those up. Then I'd be seeing them price for 30+ bucks instead of the 2.99 I paid.

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    2. Very true. Sometimes it's all in when you get there. That's not to say I haven't found some screaming deals, but I have a feeling that most of the good stuff gets snatched up before it can hit the floor at my local stores. I'd actually considered working there part-time, sort of as a man on the inside ;-).

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    3. Yeah, you usually find all the good stuff on the carts as they bring it out because it gets snatched up pretty quick otherwise.

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  19. Oh my GOSH! As I read this post I was blown away how it just kept getting better and better! As I was reading this I was screaming like a crazy person with gleeful delight! That is what thrift hunting is all about, scoring amazing stuff like freaking Castle Grey Skull stuffed full of MOTU figures AND accessories! Oh MAN! I'm so happy for you, this is just an amazing Christmas miracle! It's no wonder this post has over 40 comments! An amazing story about an amazing find that was also well written! It's like I was right there with you! SO FREAKING AWESOME! LUCKY!!! XD Great find Geek!!!

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  20. I see you have an extra mace. My Moss Man needs one. Would you be willing to trade? I have a blue He-Man battle axe.

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    1. I'll trade the gray mace for your blue axe. E-mail me your mailing info thegoodwillgeek(at)hotmail(dot)com. Let's make it more fun though. Toss let's say... 5 other small items (they don't have to be He-Man related) into a little package along with the Axe. Fun little stuff. And I'll do the same for you. Sound like a deal?

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  21. That sounds fun! You have yourself a deal. :)

    We'll be in touch.

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  22. Holy Bananas! This is an epic find. That's why I love shopping for toys at thrift stores, you never know what you are going to find. I've found plenty of cool vintage stuff, but never this much at once, for such a great price. That's got to be the score of a lifetime, there!

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