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In Toy Story 2, Woody is a highly valuable collectible but in Toy Story 3 this isn't true any more. We know Andy has The Internet on his room, so he could have easily checked for his toys' prices but it seems that they have no monetary value in Toy Story 3. For example, in a scene when Andy is packing his stuff before going to college, Ham says he is going to check the toy's value on eBay in a tone that indirectly says "we are worthless".

In another scene, Andy says they are just "trash" and at the end of the movie, Andy gives Woody to the little girl purely based on their emotional value.

So what happened between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 to turn Woody from a "collector's item" into mere "trash"?

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    Not necessarily. I doubt Andy cares what Woody's monetary value is compared to the emotional or sentimental value, particularly since... ahem... Woody has been well used over the course of nearly two decades.
    – Ellesedil
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 18:47
  • @Ellesedil but Woody is in very good condition (no missing hat!) and he is a vintage item, that would make him more valuable than in Toy Story 2
    – Broken_Window
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 18:51
  • The movies came out, and they made millions more of the toys. :-)
    – J. C. Salomon
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:54
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    Have you checked all of your childhood toys for collectors' value? I doubt that Andy did.
    – KSmarts
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:55
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    @Richard - I had little room to comment on your flag. There doesn't appear to be a consensus that this is on-topic on SciFi, so I'm not going to migrate it back just because of one opinion - also it messes the OP around. If there is a consensus from SciFi and the OP agrees I will migrate this back.
    – iandotkelly ♦
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 17:09

2 Answers 2

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Andy has no idea of Woody's (and Jessie's) financial value. The only times we see any evidence of this is when he's not around, during the yard sale and after Woody has been stolen. It's clear that he never learned that they had any special worth beyond their emotional value to him and even if he was aware (which he isn't), he has no plans to get rid of the toys beyond putting them into storage.

Ham's comment seems to relate more to his own (negligible) value, not Woody's known value.

Also, in the latest Toy Story Short, Toy Story of Terror (set after the events of Toy Story 3) we learn that Al of "Toy Barn" fame is still willing to pay top dollar for both the Woody and Jessie dolls after spotting them on eBid.

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    Huh. Given the way Al acted in the second film, I would have expected the value to be much higher than two grand. Ah well, that's still not bad for a 40-year-old used toy you found at a garage sale.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:35
  • @Omegacron - It's clear that Al's collection (when completed) is worth at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. He tells Mr Nakimoto to "add another zero".
    – user7812
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:39
  • Perhaps it's the full set that makes it so valuable then, with the individual Woody figure only netting three zeroes.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:44
  • @Omegacron - The Woody doll is the crown jewel of the collection and worth tens of thousands, at least. Without Woody the collection is largely worthless. Al has managed to snap it up for a bargain because a) the hotel manager has no idea what it is (labelling it a "cowboy doll" and b) Because he faces limited competition against other collectors.
    – user7812
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 19:59
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    Ah, good point. The price it goes for on eBay (ahem, eBid) does not necessarily reflect its actual worth. Gotcha.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 20:02
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I don't think Woody's value has changed between movies. It's just that Andy wasn't the kind of guy who sells his toys. While he no longer played with them, it was very obvious from the ending scene that he still viewed them as a very cherished part of his childhood memories. He was already planning to take Woody with him to college, and was extremely upset when he thought that the other toys went into the trash. That's not a guy who would have sold his most prized possession, even if he did know how valuable Woody was. Instead, he gave Woody and the rest of his toys to another child who would love them as he did. Money was never a factor in his decision, only love.

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  • I love this answer so I up-voted it, but the answer of @Richard is more sccurate to the plot.
    – Broken_Window
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 15:38

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