Die-Cast Toys Nearly Surpass the Real Thing

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Billboards on Interstate 44 near Freistatt, Mo., have brought in farm toy collectors from Maine to California, Hawaii and even Guam.

When Schoen Equipment opened a farm implement store in Freistatt, Mo., in 1968, the stock included a few farm toys. At the time, the owners never thought of the toys as a money-maker.

"We gave them away as gifts to kids of parents who bought a piece of large machinery," says sales manager Steve Schoen.

But when customers started coming in just for toys, Steve saw the potential for bigger sales. He never dreamed, though, that toys would eventually fill a showroom, reaping annual sales of more than $100,000.

"We sell more in farm toys now than we did in farm machinery parts when we started here," he says.

That's saying something for the town of Freistatt, with a population of 166. Located between Joplin and Springfield in southwest Missouri, the town is famous for its two-night "Ernt-Fest" each August. The event has drawn up to 20,000 visitors per night.

And Schoen Equipment is right next door to the festival grounds.

Farm toy sales started gaining momentum in the 1980s, Steve says.

"Collectors started coming in, asking for Fiat toys," he says. Fiat was a part of the Hesston line sold at Schoen Equipment at that time.

"At first we had maybe 10 to 15 collectors a year come in," says Bruce Doss, parts manager for the company. "Now it's amazing how many people come in here, just to buy toys."

In 1986, Schoen became a John Deere dealer. That's when the company entered the toy mainstream.

"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."

For collectors, Steve says, farm toys are an investment.

"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!'