Buying Doctor Who Collectables on eBay

Forty Years of Doctor Who Collectables
Doctor Who is part of Britains cultural heritage and has become a global phenomenon that has had children hiding behind the sofa for decades. Doctor Who and the TARDIS first materialised on our screens on a November evening in 1963.
Doctor Whos position as a Saturday teatime favourite was assured in the second storyline when the TARDIS landed on the planet Skaro and the Doctor met a Dalek for the first time. Over the next four decades and more hes done battle with the Yeti, Autons, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Tetraps, Silurians, the Master and the Rani, Zarbi and countless more and won the day nearly every time.
In 2005, Christopher Eccleston returned as Doctor Who and this has meant that there is new interest in Doctor Who collectables and items of all sorts. A brand new generation has joined thousands of existing Whovians in collecting and enjoying the plethora of wonderful Doctor Who items that exist. The new interest in Doctor Who also means that there are some innovative new collectables available for the old and new Whovian alike.
eBay is doubtless the best single source of Doctor Who items in the galaxy, so if you are looking for that elusive Doctor Who collectable youve come to the right place.
Doctor Who Collectables
Age isnt necessarily the most critical feature of Doctor Who collectables. As with most other collectables, condition and rarity count for a lot. The most prized of Doctor Who collectables are those which have struggled to survived, like sweet wrappers, or those in mint condition and in the packaging they were first housed. Doctor Who was most popular in the sixties and seventies so many of the items available then were mass produced. For much of the nineties Doctor Who was followed only by a hardcore of fans and many of the items produced in those years are very scarce.
Doctor Who Titles
When you are searching for Doctor Who items there are a few things to bear in mind. Obviously Doctor and Who are very common terms in listings titles so a search for plain Doctor Who will probably return you more items that you want to see. By putting Doctor Who in inverted commas you will only get results that include Doctor and Who in the correct order and you wont get results for Who is Doctor Strangelove? Dont forget to look for items that have Doctor styled as Dr so searching for (dr,doctor) who will get you more results than simply Dr Who or Doctor Who.
Most experienced Doctor Who sellers will use very specific terms familiar to Whovians such as Dalek and TARDIS. Try searching for full titles of books because if you are searching for an individual item your luck will probably be in. If you are looking for a specific item, the more specific you can make your search term the better. Dont be afraid to use dapol for the 1990s range of Doctor Who toys and abbreviations. For instance, Doctor Who Magazine is commonly abbreviated to DWM and many sellers will include the edition number such as DWM 245."
Doctor Who Categories on eBay
The main place to seek out those Doctor Who treasures is in the collectables category where there is a dedicated Doctor Who Section under the sci-fi heading.
Although there is a special section some sellers will put their items in other eBay categories. Youll find Doctor Who items in Books, Comics and Magazines and also Toys and Games where youll typically find action figures and dont forget to take a peek in DVD, Film and TV.
Who is the Doctor
Time Lords have the amazing ability to regenerate if they are mortally injured or their existing body is too old and frail to survive. This list of official Doctors will help you better understand the Doctor Who chronology and introduce some of the collectables available.
William Hartnell (1963 1966): The first Doctor was an old man, grandfatherly and fusty in appearance and often curmudgeonly. Although he may not have been physically spritely it was through his mental dexterity and often childlike wonder and childish sense of adventure that he won the day.
The Doctor relied on his intellect and instinct and that has been true whoever has played him. Hartnells reign also set the standard for Doctor Who collectables. Christmas 1964 saw Dalekmania and every child wanted their Dalek suits consisting of a plastic skirt replete with plunger and gun and a very rudimentary headdress with a Dalek eye stalk and if youve got one of those mint in box youll get a fortune for it. From the very beginning there were books, toys and annuals and trinkets that are still sought after today.
Patrick Troughton (1966 1969): With his straight dark hair brushed down and evenly to his eyebrows, the second Doctor looked a bit like a the older fifth Beatle when he took over from Hartnell after being injured after the Doctors first encounter with the Cybermen. Patrick Troughtons Doctor was altogether more approachable and whimsical and it is a shame that so many of his television adventures have been lost as part of the scandalous BBC clear out all those years ago. That said, one of the best adventures survives, Tomb of the Cybermen and even forty years on it is still an engaging and terrifying piece of drama.
Jon Pertwee (1969 1974): The third Doctor stumbled out of the TARDIS after his regeneration into a world full colour for the first time. With the Doctor exiled to Earth by the Time Lords, he teamed up with UNIT (the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) under the command of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Dressed in ruffled shirts, velvet jackets and sometimes a cape, Pertwees portrayal was flamboyant and confident. He was also the least politically correct of the Doctors frequently patronising his female companions: Liz Shaw, Jo Grant and the redoubtable Sarah-Jane Smith. The 10th Anniversary provided an opportunity for the first three Doctors to unite and do battle with Omega in an adventure that remembered as much for the frailty of Hartnell (who died not long after) as the famous souvenir Radio Times it produced that is highly prized.
Tom Baker (1974 1981): When Tom Baker assumed the role in 1974 after Pertwee encountered the giant spiders of Metebelis 3 the Doctor Who collectables machine was in full gear. From his first adventure, Robot, collectables became part of the norm. Not only was there a collectable Robot there was the Palitoy talking