How long are they going to last?

So, I was wondering. The original Tamagotchi's are already pretty old. And there a lot of people who invested hundreds, if not thousands of dollars into a tamagotchi collection. And the older ones are pretty rare and worth a lot. But how long are the tamagotchi's are actually going to last? I can not imagine they will work forever. What if somebody opened up there rare tamagotchi you have never seen and it just does not work. Because it's too old. Some wires cracked or whatever, I don't know.

So, how long do you think the old tamagotchi's are gonna work? 5 more years? Ten? What's going to happen to those people with big collections? Are you afraid they may stop working?

I always think it's funny when I see an old tamagotchi on ebay and it says "new". They are not new, they are 16, 17 years old. That's a long life for electronics. Just think about all those new phones who barely last a couple of year.

It says new because its in new condition

With proper care, I don't see why they shouldn't last a long long time. With care, most things last a life time. Store them with silica gels to keep out humidity and prevent rusting. Remove soft screws and replace them with sturdy ones. Store away from direct sunlight and from excessive cold or heat. Keep in sealed boxes to prevent dust accumulation. Even though I keep my collection sealed in storage bins, I still occasionally take them out and wipe them down. And most importantly, never store a tamagotchi with batteries inside. Battery corrosion is the number one cause of Tamagotchi deaths lol.

Ra,

-Ra- said:

With proper care, I don't see why they shouldn't last a long long time. With care, most things last a life time. Store them with silica gels to keep out humidity and prevent rusting. Remove soft screws and replace them with sturdy ones. Store away from direct sunlight and from excessive cold or heat. Keep in sealed boxes to prevent dust accumulation. Even though I keep my collection sealed in storage bins, I still occasionally take them out and wipe them down. And most importantly, never store a tamagotchi with batteries inside. Battery corrosion is the number one cause of Tamagotchi deaths lol.

Ra,

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I see! Well, I finished watching all your collection videos and then I thought how horrible it would be if all of your tamagotchi's would just stop working one day. That would quite sad! And I wondered if you are actually worried about that happening.

I'm hoping they can last a good long time, but there are a number of things that can go wrong. The electronics or the LCD screen or the speaker could fail. After twenty years or so plastic degradation could set in. A lot of toys from the 80s are starting to get a sticky, greasy feel that is basically the plastic breaking down. But then again there are plastic toys from the 60s that are still in good shape. I guess it varies depending on how an item is cared for.

This is such a depressing topic to think about. I just received a NIB P1 1997 Tama today. I don't want to think about it not working already.

But it is true, all things do wear out eventually...even if it is a long long time from now. Hopefully when mine does, I won't care about Tamas anymore.

It is a depressing thing to think about but it's also realistic. These things weren't made to be heirlooms. It was assumed that children would use them for a couple years and then toss them. They weren't meant to be collectibles. What's strange is that a lot of toys that ARE meant to be collecibles tend to last less time than things like Tamagotchi do. Collectible action figures aren't meant to be played with so they are generally more fragile than toys meant for children. A lot of figures by NECA and McFarlane are notorious for falling apart at the slightest touch and even those that aren't usually couldn't survive a fall off a shelf. Tamagotchi has those beat by miles.

i got a v1 from japan like..2 weeks ago. it works and everything, but the screen has a weird yellow tint to it and i know it's not the background because i have the same background on other tamagotchis (the blue one with the 1 2 3 4 5). it also looks like the screen is scratched under and mind you it's never been opened. but then again it could be the seller, we don't always know how they store them before selling..that's why we should ask..

I can't imagine selling my Tama collection unless I was in really urgent need of money. I can imagine keeping them till they break and not having any regrets about it. If they become incredibly rare, I might sell a few I'm not very attached to, but not my V6s or V4s.

Yes, breaking down may be a problem. However, I'm certain the if they're still in the box they can still sell for a lot of money in the future despite if they work or not. They will become a collectors item in a few years.