Hello and welcome!
Tortoys offers a safe and reliable online shop for collectors of old toys, with something to suit all pockets.
Launched in December 2004, Tortoys is a hobby that turned into a business. I had been accumulating various old toys for several years and, like most collectors, had some spares and duplicates for sale. I also worked for a retail systems company and wanted to learn how to set up a shop on the Web, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone - and Tortoys.co.uk was the result!
I started by offering a selection of the Matchbox 1-75 'regular wheel' models manufactured before 1970. Over time I added more categories including Dinky and Corgi diecasts as well as constructional toys. Tortoys quickly became known for excellent service, and now a large proportion of sales are to returning customers.
In September 2006 I started offering the Britains Floral Garden range, and this has proved enormously popular with collectors. Today Tortoys has one of the largest selections of Floral Garden for sale anywhere in the world.
I aim to give a prompt and friendly service and to respond to all orders and enquiries within 24 hours.
John.
Why "Tortoys?"
Well, the "toys" bit is easy enough - this site is dedicated to old toys, particularly diecast toy vehicles made before 1980.
"Tor" refers to where I live, in the UK county of Somerset (that's in the South West of England). In this part of the world the countryside is level marshland which has been drained over the years to make grazing land for cattle and sheep. Above this landscape rise a number of isolated hills or tors, which centuries ago were islands. The most famous of these is Glastonbury Tor (pictured), which some say is the Isle of Avalon mentioned in the legend of King Arthur. The tower on top is all that remains of the 14th century Chapel of St Michael.
The word "Tor" is thought to be Celtic, and literally means "rocky hilltop". The tors in Somerset are not particularly rocky, but if you travel over the county border into Devonshire you will find many tors of exposed granite up on the moors.
Contact Us
Please email us with enquiries, we will get back to you as soon as we can. If you have something you wish to sell, please read this first.
Our postal address is:
11 Orchard Lane
Wembdon
BRIDGWATER
Somerset
TA6 7QY
UK
Please note this is not a shop - we are online only, and stock is not held at this address.
Tel +44 (0)7703 033947
Mon-Fri 09:30-17:30, Sat 09:30-12:30 UK time
