Kinder Surprise toys have been on the market since the 70's and are now found in most countries in the world (one notable exception is the United States, which has banned them for safety reasons). There were two main groups of toys, a German series and an Italian series. The Italian toys were sold all over the world, German toys are sold primarily in Germany. Italian toys usually had a number stamped on them (ex. K93-45) but this only started in 1992, toys before then may have had "GIODI" or "Castiglioni" or "PRO-GEST" stamped on them but most have no markings at all and are hard to identify. We now get toys from Argentina marked MPG with series of numbers. Many of the older toys are impossible to identify without the ID paper and very few of those papers exist today. Some older ID papers are "worth" more than the toys. German toys all have "names" and are usually stamped with 'Ferrero'. Some toys appear in both Italian and German issues, with colour or material variations.
There are 3 main "types" of toys.
Solid, "hand-painted" figures (8-12 toys per character set).
Unassembled toys to be assembled to form all manner of creatures and buildings and cars and games.
Paper Puzzles.
Each year approximately 100 new toys are released.
Some collectors only collect the 'hand-painted' toys.
Some collectors specialize in paper puzzles.
Some collectors collect advertising pieces, like boxes and posters and store displays.
Some collect anything "kinder" related.
In my experience there are a couple of things to keep in mind if you are collecting toys and want to trade your duplicates (and I guarantee you WILL get many duplicates if you are trying to complete a full set of toys from a year). Some toys you will get over and over again, some toys will be rarely seen.
Keep duplicate toys in the shell with the paper.
If the toy is assembled, KEEP THE PAPER. The paper is important to many collectors.
To find other collectors, check out the internet, there are many web sites with lists of toys for trade.
Also check out places like eBay, there is a large auction section under "kinder".
There are a number of excellent books available to help identify toys.
The value or worth of a toy is determined by many factors. It's age, it's condition, it's relative "rarity" (some toys are very, very common, while some are very rare) and of course someone else's interest in it. "Licensed" series like Smurf's and Peanuts hold their own value and many non-kinder collectors seek them out.
Availability depends on where you live. In Canada, we used to get Italian series toys, one year after their release in Europe. We now get toys manufactured by MPG in Argentina 1 to 3 years after their European release. If we are very, very lucky, we might get one hand-painted series(usually 2-5 years after its release in Europe). Canada very seldom gets 'licensed' figures like Simpsons or Lord of the Rings. We get seasonal special packaging at Halloween and Christmas and Easter.
When I started collecting the toys in 1996 there were only a few internet sites. Now there are thousands of sites and you can find many other collectors to trade your duplicate toys with.
Some questions that plague many collectors is what to do with all that chocolate and what to do with all those plastic shells? The chocolate can be frozen and sprinkled on ice cream or cheese cake or melted for chocolate fondue. The shells make great pots for kids to mix paint in and can store change in your car or purse. The ideas are endless.
The main thing is to have fun, whether you are 6 years old or 60, these toys can appeal to kids of ANY age.
Back to Main Menu