The toys we grew up with never really leave us.
And honestly? We think that's a beautiful thing.
Some of the best memories from childhood fit in the palm of your hand. A doll with impossible hair. An action figure missing one arm but still somehow the hero. A marble so perfect you refused to trade it no matter what.
At Melody Likes, we spend our days hunting down exactly those things — the toys that shaped us, the collectibles that defined whole eras, and the little plastic treasures that somehow mean more now than they ever did back then.
Welcome. You're going to feel very at home here.
It started with Jem dolls and a brother who let me wreck his action figures. Repeatedly.
Growing up, toys and imagination were everything.
My brother was a GI-Joe, Transformers and Masters of the Universe kid. Customising his Joes, though? That was a joint operation. Pull them apart. Swap the body parts. Fiddle with the rubber band connectors. Rebuild. Reinvent. Repeat. We lost entire afternoons to it. It was SO. MUCH. FUN.
He had Moss Man — and that smell. You know the one. Earthy, plasticky, completely unique, and somehow permanently lodged in my memory thirty-odd years later. I was also deeply envious that his action figures got to roll around in Battle Bones, while my dolls' only ride was my kung fu shoes.
Saturday mornings were sacred. Up early, cereal in hand, glued to Fraggle Rock, Transformers, What Now — the whole beautiful lineup. We weren't just watching TV. We were in it.
I didn't know it then, but I was already a collector. I just didn't have the vocabulary for it yet.
Those memories never really left. And eventually, they turned into something rather wonderful.
Every collector has an origin story. These were mine.
A shelf of the toys that shaped a childhood — and started a lifelong obsession.
How a childhood love of toys became a business, a community, and a very full spare room.
From Saturday morning cartoons in Hamilton to a vault full of vintage treasures.
We accidentally built a community. It's the best thing we've ever done.
What started as a Facebook sales group in Tauranga has grown into something genuinely special — nearly 1,500 members strong, and still going.
It's warm, it's fun, and it's full of people who just get it. The ones who understand why spotting a toy from your childhood in someone's photo makes your heart do a little leap.
My favourite part? The live unboxings. There is something about showing up in real time — seeing the reactions, reading the comments flying in — that a static listing just cannot replicate.
Our Facebook whānau will often get early access and special prices on select finds. They showed up first, and that means something. 💖
Powered by passion (and a very understanding whānau).
These days I spend my time doing what I love — hunting down nostalgic treasures from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Most of what lands in the Melody Likes vault is sourced from overseas, which means I'm out there doing the hard yards so you don't have to.
For vintage finds, every photo is the real deal — your actual item, photographed exactly as it is. For modern, sealed and new items, we use product images because we're definitely not cracking those boxes open just for a photo.
Most of what we carry is one-of-a-kind, which means every visit to the shop is a little like opening an old toy box. You never quite know what you'll find.
Behind the scenes, I have the most wonderful whānau who pitch in, show up, and keep me (mostly) sane. You'll meet them properly on our Meet the Team page — they're every bit as fun as they sound.
This isn't a faceless warehouse. It's a passion project run by a real person who genuinely loves this stuff. And that, I think, makes all the difference.