Welcome to Talkin’ Toys, the official blog for me, Toy Shop magazine editor Tom Bartsch. This will be one of three blogs for Toy Shop magazine. Toy Shop columnists Karen O’Brien and Mark Bellomo will host the other two blogs, which will launch shortly.

Let me first introduce myself. I have been the editor of Toy Shop for approximately four years. Toy Shop itself has been around since 1988, starting as a classified ad “shopper” magazine for toy collectors before transforming into the magazine you see today. The focus has always been on collectible toys, and we’ll use these blogs as an extension of the magazine.

Here’s what you will be seeing in this blog. I’ll share any breaking developments in the toy industry and offer my view on the situation. I’ll also comment on auction news and share what categories seem to be getting more attention from bidders. This blog will also be a good place to open up a dialog with readers on a regular basis. So share your thoughts on the hobby, your collection and your views on where the industry is heading into the future. This is the Toy Shop community, and your voice should be heard.      

This blog will be updated frequently. However, you can share your thoughts at any time, and I encourage you to do so. You can post photos of your collection, or if you have a problem identifying your collectible, we’ll post it and the knowledgeable readers of Toy Shop can help solve the mystery. Everyone loves a mystery, right?

We hope you enjoy the added features we’ve provided for you. In addition to checking this blog, be sure to sign up for the weekly Toy Shop electronic newsletter, Toy Shop Xpress. This newsletter will be e-mailed to your inbox every week. To sign up, click on the newsletter sign-up box on the Toy Shop Web site.

We’ll dive in with some toy topics in the next blog. For now, welcome to a new chapter in the history of Toy Shop magazine. I’m glad you joined the adventure.

Playtime starts now!