Smurfs At Blue Imps Smurf Collection


Frequently Asked Smurfy Questions

Although we love receiving questions and comments regarding the smurfs and Blue Imps, we understand that not everyone has time to wait for a reply to their emails so below we have compiled a list of some of the more common questions that we are asked.
  • Who collects smurfs?

    Smurfs have been produced since 1965 and were very popular in the 70's and 80's so there is a wide age range of smurf collectors out there. Ranging in age from 70's to teens, there definitely seems to be a large amount of collectors in their 30's and 40's, maybe starting their collections as children and either continuing into adulthood or restarting their collections as adults. Smurf figures and smurfy items are collected all over the world, especially in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. The internet is making smurf collecting so much easier on an international basis, more information is exchanged between collectors in different countries resulting in many new discoveries in the last few years. We receive visitors from literally all over the world and it is amazing to think that the smurfs have reached so many places and touched so many people.

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  • Why Smurfs?

    For us personally it was a childhood thing. Smurfs were available in the UK during the late 1970's and early 1980's in fuel promotions and a small collection was started. A few years ago we discovered smurfs on Ebay and that smurfs were still being produced and widely collected around the world and that was that. There are many collectors who collect because of this "childhood" reason, there are those who are collecting purely for fun and others who collect for a possible future value. As a collectible, smurf figures are a great product as there have been so many different figurines produced, in different countires and at different times. Some smurfs have been made for many years, others for only a short time making them harder to find. There have been variations available in different colours and molds and although not every single different variation has been documented, there is a fairly comprehensive system of cataloging smurfs by using their Schleich numbers making it easy to track your smurf collection. Smurfs are fun, they appeal to children and adults alike and have portrayed many occupations and pastimes over the years making them ideal for gifts as well as a personal hobby.

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  • Do we sell smurfs?

    Sorry, our smurfs are not for sale, we do occasionally have doubles for sale or to trade other smurfs for. Please check our Ebay page to see if we have any available.

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  • Where can we buy smurfs?

    There are a number of places where you can find smurfs for sale. The largest quantity of smurfs for sale by far are the Ebay Auctions. Over the last few years there has been an explosion in the amount of smurfs being sold on all the various Ebay sites all over the world. For example, when we first discovered smurfs on Ebay UK in 2000, there were normally 1 or 2 pages of smurfs for sale (and most of these were McDonald's smurfs), more recently the average number of pages is now between 15 and 20! After Ebay, the next largest resource for smurfs are the online smurf shops. There are a few of these, mainly based in Europe and USA, some only sell the current production of smurfs and accessories, while a few also deal in vintage figures, accessories and smurf buildings. Please visit our Smurfy Links page to find online smurf shops. You can also sometimes find smurfs in local second-hand / charity shops, this sometimes means digging deep into boxes or asking but you do occasionally find them. House clearances sometimes produce the odd box of smurfs that have been put away in the past and toy fairs are another place worth looking into and asking stall holders if they know of any.

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  • How much are my smurfs worth?

    This is actually quite a difficult question to answer because there are so many factors involved. Firstly, there is a wide range in value between different figures because some smurfs were produced over a long period of time and have also had later reproductions, while there are other smurfs that were only produced for one year and only in certain regions. Smurfs of earlier productions and licenses will inevitably be worth more because they are harder to find than later reproductions. Condition of the smurf is also a big factor, a mint condition figure holds a far greater value than a figure that has been played with and has rubs, marks and discolouring present, also whether the original box or packaging is inlcuded will effect the price. Paint variations and promotional smurfs again vary in value due to the limited number of smurfs produced in often a single production and availability to the public at the time of release. With the huge increase in internet availabilty over the last few years with internet auctions and online selling, it is now increasingly difficult to definitely say how much a particular figure is exactly worth. The nature of auctions means that a smurf is worth how much someone else is willing to pay for it (or sell it for) at that particular moment in time - we have seen auctions finish for absolutely bargain prices and also auctions finish way above what we would consider a reasonable value for that figure. Online smurf shops and guides often mean guaranteed mint figures so prices do tend to be higher (this isn't always so) but availabilty isn't always great with certain rarer smurfs very difficult to find. There are a number of smurf catalogues and price guides available, again these prices don't always reflect the ever changing values that are being seen on Ebay and the online guides. You must remember most of these book catalogues are produced by smurf dealers, they are not done just for information purposes. Basically, check out the figure in question on Ebay, in on-line smurf shops and guides or in a catalogue, check to see what markings and paint variation it is, consider its condition and then try and work out roughly how much someone else would pay for it!

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  • How many smurfs are there?

    There are two answers to this question.

    The easy answer - As of 2007 there have been 364 normal smurfs and 75 super smurfs released.

    The real answer - If you take into consideration paint / colour variations, different markings, different manufacturers, different molds, promotional smurfs, special series smurfs (christmas, history etc.) playsets & buildings with all their variations, smurfs-a-grams, fake smurfs, ceramic / resin smurfs etc. NOBODY really knows. There are thousands of different smurf figures and hundreds of different super smurfs with the odd new variation still being found and new smurfs still being introduced. We have shown at least one variation of every normal smurf and super smurf released, along with the different variaitons we have collected but our collection is by no way complete, there are many different variations we do not yet own!

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  • What is the most expensive smurf?

    In 2001 three christmas smurfs were sold on Ebay in Germany, each sold for more than $2000. The reason for these extraordinarly high prices is that these smurfs never made it into regular production. Please see our Smurfy News page for more information. Colour variations and promo smurfs tend to fetch higher prices and the most expensive playset is the Smurf Castle playset which you can see on our Wanted page.

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  • What are promotional smurfs?

    Promotional smurfs or promos are smurfs that have been specially commissioned by a company or individual and contain some kind of logo or name representing the company. These were often given away as part of retail promotions or within companies and include individual smurfs, super smurfs, smurf-a-grams, smurf keyrings and smurf sets. Companies that have had promotional smurfs made for them include BP, Shell, OMO, Phillips, McDonalds, Hardees, Silan, Schonwald, Commerzbank and Sparkasse. Some promo smurfs are very hard to find due to the very limited numbers produced, resulting in high prices and some very sought after smurfs. Please visit our Promo Smurfs page to see our smurf promos.

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  • What do the coloured dots mean?

    The coloured dots found on the feet of some (not all) smurfs generally indicates which country the smurf was painted in and more recently whether the smurf is made with the new PVC formula. Please refer to the Smurf Markings page for further information.

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  • Do we buy smurfs?

    Generally we only buy smurfs that we don't already have or if we are looking for something in a better condition. We are always happy to receive mail from anybody selling smurfs, send us a list, if there is something we are after we always promise a good smurfy home or can recommend you to someone who may be looking for what you are offering. Found an old box of smurfs in the attic? Don't let the little guys get frightened in the dark, send us a list and we will see if a new smurfy home can be found.

If your question hasn't been answered or if you would like to send a smurfy comment please contact us at:



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