Hi Mae & Jo Ann (and everyone else!). Nice to hear from you.

It's unusual to find much Wombles stuff for sale as new, except for
the videos and pre-school storybooks that are still being produced
in the UK.

The CD compilation albums are still available too, though they don't
include many songs from the original Wombling Songs album. As Mike
Batt explained in my interview (www.tidybag.co.uk), he wasn't very
happy with the production quality of the first album. Personally I
don't really notice the production, I just like the songs!

The last dolls/toys were from 1998, so most shops will have sold out
by now. I did see some in a gift shop in Blackpool (in the north of
England) a few weeks ago, just outside the Pleasure Beach theme
park - loads of beanies, and a few of the larger ones. They were
reduced to half price (£5 for the beanies, I think), but had been
very overpriced to start with (that's probably why they still had so
many left!).

eBay is always the best place to find Wombles stuff, with a regular
flow of stuffed toys as well as some less common items. I've bought
quite a few cool things lately; I just received a 1973 Orinoco hand
puppet today, in great condition because the packaging had never
been opened.

If you look out for things advertised as in good condition, you
should be fine, although I've sometimes been disappointed when
things turn out not to be quite as good as described. That's more
likely to happen with old 70s collectibles than recent products, not
surprisingly.

Good luck in building up your collection!

Cheers

Tara
http://www.tidybag.co.uk/