Second-hand toys & games in Tempe typically sells for $3 to $540. Retired and discontinued lines climb steadily once they leave the shops, and a sealed example can be worth a large multiple of one that has been played with. Anything still on sale new is held down by the shop price.
Buying toys & games in Tempe
Tempe is dominated by one of the largest university campuses in the country, built around a butte and an artificial lake in the riverbed. It is dense by the standards of the region and overwhelmingly shaped by the student population.
Toys are bulky for their value and often sold in bundles, which makes posting them awkward and the local market the natural one. A buyer can also see immediately whether a set is complete, which is the question that decides the price.
What to check in person
Open a board game and check the counters, cards and dice against the rules sheet rather than trusting a description. Smell soft toys for damp or smoke, and pull gently at eyes and stitching on anything meant for a small child.
Collecting it in Tempe
It needs a car boot rather than a bag, so agree somewhere you can actually stop for a few minutes. That is easier away from the centre than in it.
The light rail runs through the city and campus and is genuinely useful for anything portable. Campus parking is difficult, so agree a meeting point off it for anything large.
Selling your toys & games in Tempe free
The university is enormous relative to the city and clears student housing each May, which is overwhelmingly the dominant cycle. Bikes, desks and furniture move in real volume at that point.
Bundle by theme or by age rather than mixing everything into one lot, as a coherent box is worth more than a jumbled one. Keep instructions and original packaging with the set, and take the batteries out before it is handed over. Builds from October to Christmas, then again in a quieter second-hand wave in January.
Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.
Toys & Games worth listing in Tempe
Same region (Arizona)
If nothing in Tempe suits, Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa each have their own toys & games page, and a seller will often meet part of the way for something worth the trip.
More in Tempe: everything second hand in Tempe, or Toys & Games across the United States.
Prices converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate; sellers set their own price.