10 things you owned in the 90s that are now worth a small fortune

Kicking off this list is one of the most sought-after toys of the 90s, the Furby.

If you were a kid in the latter part of the decade, chances are this might have been on your Christmas wishlist for 1998.

However, if you happen to have an original Furby, a limited edition Furby or a rare one (or you never actually took it out of its original packaging) then you could well be quids in.

How much you’ll get for it depends on the type of Furby and the condition, but some of the older toys are going on eBay for around £100, or as much as £175 if it’s in its original box. Meanwhile the rarer Furbys can fetch even more.

Mental Floss reported that an original 1998 Furby went for $705 (£527) on eBay a few years ago, while Money Digest has said that a super-rare Bejewelled Furby was sold for $6,400 (£4,800) last year.

They have also reported that if you happen to be in possession of the rarest Furby of all – the Rainbow Furby, of which only three of which were ever produced – then you really could be out to make a fortune, although no-one’s actually given any indication of what it might be worth

2. Pokemon cards

Back in the days before Pokemon involved everyone walking around staring at their phone screens in a bid to catch the little critters in the wild, there was another way you could have a whole lot of Pokemon in your life – with trading cards.

These were big business in the 90s (remember when some schools banned them?) as we set out to catch them all – our favourite characters in card form that is – and if you’ve got some of these lying around in a dusty old cupboard you could be in the money.

CNN reported in 2022 that the super-rare 1999 Pokémon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard card sold at auction for an impressive $420,000 (£321,000) – setting an all-time record – so it’s well worth checking out which cards you might still have, and what their value is.

You never know, you could be holding a fortune in your hands

3. Harry Potter first edition

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was originally published in June 1997 and the rest, of course, is history.

But if you were one of the first people to buy a copy of JK Rowling’s original Potter novel, did you know you could have a small treasure sitting on your bookshelves?

The Harry Potter website Mugglenet has reported that a first edition of that original book, complete with original cover art and typos, could fetch as much as $30,000-$50,000 (£22,900-£38,200). With only 500 copies of that edition ever being printed, the chances of you having one might be pretty remote but if you are lucky enough to have a copy then head over to eBay or First Edition Books to see how much you could be sitting on

4. Super Mario Bros game

Let’s be honest, a whole lot of us whiled away far too many hours in the 90s playing Nintendo and one of the most popular games of the decade was Super Mario Bros.

The little Italian plumber and his brother Luigi proving so popular they spawned sequels, a spin-off movie (the less said about that one the better) and even a hit single, courtesy of the Ambassadors of Funk featuring MC Mario. We’re not sure any of those will net you any dough, but owning a copy of one of the original games might.

Back in 2020, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros 3 went for $156,000 (£119,000) at auction, according to CNet – a record which was smashed just a few months later when The Verge reports an unused copy of the original game sold on a collectibles site for a cool $2 million (£1.5 million). That’s a lot of moolah for your Mario.

5. Your old Disney VHS tapes

Back in the 90s, before the arrival of streaming platforms, YouTube and CBeebies, your best bet for a spot of small-screen entertainment would have been those family-friendly Disney movies your parents had in their VHS collection.

Chances are they would have been well-worn too, because who wouldn’t have watched The Lion King or Toy Story every chance they got? But who’d have thought 30 years later that those tapes could turn out to be money-spinners?

Mail Online reported back in 2023 that some classic films are going for five-figure sums on eBay – including a rare edition of 101 Dalmatians still in sealed packaging, which was sold for £15,000.

A lot depends on what condition the tape is in, of course, whether or not it’s limited edition or if it’s sealed and has never been played, but it’s worth having a rummage around in that old tape box and checking eBay to see how much yours might be worth.

6. Polly Pocket dolls

While Barbie and the like may have continued to be popular throughout the 90s, youngsters and doll collectors also snapped up Polly Pockets – those tiny dolls and their equally tiny houses – by the truckload.

With Mattel having taken over the brand in 1998, the original Pollys, particularly those made between 1989 and 1998, are now worth a pretty (Polly) penny, even more so if you have one that’s all sealed up in its box.

The Mirror reported earlier this year that one set from the decade – the Polly Pocket Beauty Case – fetched £4,800 on eBay, while other sets from the era also brought in four-figure sums when listed. So your Polly could well bring in the pounds too

7. Beanie babies

If you were a child of the 90s, the chances are you had one or two of these lying around or you might even have been an avid collector who filled your bedroom with hundreds of the colourful little stuffed bears.

Given their popularity back then, not to mention the many different limited editions and rare bears, it’s no surprise that some of these are now worth money – but how much you could get for yours largely depends on which ones you have.

This Is Money reported last year that there’s no hard or fast rule when it comes to Beanie Baby value, and some may only be worth a few quid at best. However if you have one of the original toys produced – such as Flash The Dolphin or Legs the Frog – you could well net hundreds of pounds for it, while others, such as Chef Robouchon and Mystic The Unicorn have previously sold for as much as £7,000.

However, as with all these things, it will largely depend on condition, colour and and little quirks – such as spelling errors on the tag for example – all of which can bump the selling price up or down

8. Tamagotchis

Ever kept a Tamagotchi in your bag or your back pocket? More importantly, have you remembered to feed it, play with it and generally keep the little electronic blob happy if you have?

Well, Tamagotchis are still around these days, having expanded their reach to appear in video games, as well as the 2022 Pixar movie Turning Red, in which lead character Meilin owned a Tamagotchi called Robaire Junior.

But if you were one of those people who nurtured your own electronic pet back in 1996 when they first hit the market, your now adult Tamagotchi could net you a nice little earner. Smithsonian Magazine reported in 2021 that a rare Mobile Kaitsu! Tamagotchi Plus from the era was sold for over $5000 (£3,800) while other similar 90s Tamagotchis can also sell for around the $1,000 (£765) mark.

Only the 90s ones, mind – so if your Tamagotchi is still a 21st Century infant don’t expect a four-figure sum

9. Happy Meal Toys

Happy Meals aren’t just the stuff of kiddie treats and birthday parties – anyone who’s ever munched their way through one as a child will also know that they come with a toy, usually themed around whatever tie-in promotion the burger chain happens to be running at the time.

What you might not know is that little collectible bit of plastic that you probably shoved to the back of a drawer and forgot about when you got home might now bag you enough money to invest in quite a few Happy Meals.

Power Rangers remains as popular today as it was back in the 90s, whether you still watch old episodes of the TV series, enjoy the movies or even indulge in a bit of cosplay.

But if you’ve got some of the original action figures from the heyday of the series back in the early 90s, you could well be quids in – especially if they are sealed up and unusued.

A quick look on eBay tells us that currently a full set of the original 1993 action figures, still in their boxes, could go for around £1,350. If it’s not in the box it won’t get you nearly as much, with asking prices ranging from around £30-£60 in many cases, but you could still net yourself a little extra cash for your troubles.

Do you have a story to share?