I am right there with you on toys from the 80's. I was born in 1976 so I was prime age for the toy craze. I had tons of toys - 90% were knock-off figures from the local supermarket that had $3 to $5 toys around the checkout (Go-Bots was the only name brand toy I got around then). I had Japan imports for Macross, Mospeada, etc. All I knew was it was cheaper than Transformers, was cool because it was a robot and a vehicle, and my parents could afford to get it for me.
Same for He-Man. The 5 1/2 inch tall figure in that style was HUGE in the 80s. Especially the knock offs. I had tons of those. They were cheap as hell - some just came in a baggie from the local store for even cheaper. I would look at the wild text on the carded ones then grab the baggie version for $2 cheaper (that was a lot of money in the 80s). I don't know if they were damaged in shipping and the store was trying to recoup something or what, I just knew I could get 2, maybe 3, in a bag versus one on a card that I was going to tear up anyhow.
Then there were the yard sales! OMG. Model kits were WAY above my understanding but I got them anyhow.
It was a wild time to be alive.
I have since become a reseller to fund my collecting and sometimes I want to cry at the value of some of those toys, especially knock offs that absolutely no one took care of. 😂
I recall the massive toy stores and what a joy it was to go to them as a child. I loved board games as well and remember entire aisles of board games with new ones being released every month or so. I think that was a great time to be a kid.
I remember retail competition and one thing they battled over was the toy aisle. It was wonderful. Supermarkets even had toy aisles with stuff that bigger stores would never stock. Gas stations had toy aisles, even if they were quite short. Toys were everywhere because stores knew kids would drag their parents in, or nag for the latest knick knack with colorful packaging.
I remember getting an Incredible Hulk "stretch armstrong style" character at a gas station one weekend while riding around with my parents in 82 before we moved to California. I have no idea where it went or when I lost it but I remember grabbing it out of a bin of 5 or 6 different characters - I liked green and had no clue at 6 years old who the Hulk was. 😂