"We went to toy shows in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas, and we advertised in Toy Farmer magazine," Bruce says. "People got to know what we were stocking. We ordered everything that John Deere made in the way of toys."
And all of it was popular.
"We stock some of the old items, as well as new ones," he says. "The A tractor has sold consistently and stayed in the $14-16 range for a long time. Customers say 'This is the tractor my grandpa had, and I'm buying a toy one for my boy. I want to pass on to him a little of my grandpa's heritage.' It's a good, solid old-time seller."
"I've seen toy tractors that sold for $100 originally that are reselling for $200-300, easily," he says.
It's an expensive hobby, he adds.
"When you're getting in the retail price range of $100-125 to start, that narrows it down to a select group of people," he says. "I had one customer exclaim 'Good God! You want $100 for a toy tractor? When I bought my big one, I only paid $800!'
"They may have to reduce the scale to keep the price where people can afford it, perhaps to 1/25," he says. "But people already complain that there are too many different scales now."
Steve warns the novice collector to be careful.
"You've got to know what you're doing, or you can get burned, big time," he says. "I've seen items at toy shows that are identical to what I carry here. They have done things to make them look old. People who don't know will pay an exorbitant price for what they believe is an antique toy. They could buy the same toy new for much less."