By Thomas Clapper
FPS Staff Writer
For Bud Garner, his toy tractor collecting passion turned into owning Bud’s Farm Toys in downtown Carrollton.
“I played with toys as a kid, then moved on to the real stuff and started putting the toys on the shelf for collecting,” said Bud. “I have been selling toys since 1985 but have had the store since August of 1999.”
Bud explained the store came about directly from his passion for collecting with a group of about seven or eight friends and collectors. He said multiple brands were in demand because many people collected what they farmed with in their daily lives. He personally collected Case tractors, but there are also John Deere, Farmall and many others. He collected the smaller ones, and they only cost $1.25 at the time and are 1/64 scale pieces.
“It came to the point where we just couldn’t find them, so I called the toy company and started getting them shipped to the house,” said Bud. “My friends and collectors would buy them at my house, then eventually I moved the collection to an old dress shop in town, which we opened as a warehouse to start with.”
This was only a side gig at the time because Bud and his wife, Cheryl, both had full-time jobs. Cheryl worked at Ames in the toy section and later began working full time at the toy store.
“If you have something you like and enjoy collecting, that’s fine,” said Cheryl when asked about Bud’s collecting habit. “I was working at Ames toy department already, so why not toy tractors?”
“People collected what they farm with mostly,” said Bud. “I collected Case because it is what we farmed with. They have Deere, Farmall and other brands. We bought everything the 5&10 or the farm stores had, so we wrote to Ertl about becoming a dealer, and they told me what it cost and the minimum order, and away we went.”
Today, Bud’s Farm Toys sells various brands and items ranging from around $5 for newer items up to $1,000 pedal tractors. A chase unit can go even higher. There are chase variants, which are randomly inserted color changes that are rare and more valuable. A recent example: Bud opened up a box of 12 tractors where all were red, but there was one gold chase unit in the box as well.
“We have anything for those who are six months old to 100 years old in toys,” said Bud. “We have infant stuff and old toys for collectors like me.”
Bud’s features sought-after brands such as ERTL Toy Tractors & Equipment, Bruder Trucks & Construction Toys, Breyer Horses and Accessories, Melissa & Doug Toys, Radio Flyer wagons, toddler toys, metal signage, and other brands of antique toys and collectibles.
Bud’s Farm Toys is a well-known vendor at several shows and events.
“I set up at New York Farm Show in Syracuse in February and have been doing it for 30 years,” said Bud. “I set up at the London, Ohio, Farm Science Review every September.”
Bud hosts the Farm Toy Show every Saturday after Thanksgiving at Garner Event Center. This year will be his 39th year hosting the event. He has an 8.5-by-20-foot box trailer that he hauls the toys to the shows in.
“It does get overwhelming after almost 40 years. We have a lot of stuff,” Cheryl laughed.
He said approximately 10 percent of his sales are local in the store and 90 percent are at trade shows or from collectors out of state.
“We have people who drive two or three hours to get here,” said Bud. “People come from Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and we have had some as far as Texas and Saskatchewan, Canada.”
For Bud, the most fulfilling thing about having the store is seeing the generations who have come into the store over the years and purchased toys.
“I have had a good time over the years watching kids grow up and bring their kids in here,” said Bud. “The young kids who bought toys in 1985 now bring their grandchildren in to buy toys. We enjoy the people stopping in and talking to us.”