For current generations and products: Check your local retailers (Target, Walmart, ect.) Or you can buy online. Here is Hasbro's website and The My Little Pony Amazon page (There are other places online you could shop from as well, like the walmart/target websites, ect).
For older generations and products: Check your local, second hand shops. These may vary depending on your location, but good examples are Goodwill or the Goodwill bins, thrift shops, charity shops, antique malls, flea markets, car boot sales, yard sales, ect. I tend to have more luck with gens 3-5 at normal thrift stores, while older generations I get more luck at shops that specifically are selling vintage/antique goods (though this isn't a hard rule. I've gotten lucky and gotten g1s from goodwill before).
If you are seeking a specific pony, check online in different websites. My go to place for pony shopping is Ebay, though I know people also have success with sites like Mercari. Generally, stay away from etsy, as most etsy sellers overprice the fuck out of their ponies it is ridiculous. It's good for homemade/artist's items, but not vintage toys. Remember to always do your research with pony prices and what they should ACTUALLY be sold for! (If you have any doubts: Ask some more experienced collectors!)
Finally, check out reputable, online pony sellers (aka: venders invested in the MLP fandom who have websites or other experience in selling ponies.) If you want some recommendations, go to one of the sites in the "community" section and ask your fellow collectors who they've had postitive experiences with :)
Mlp Merch Database- Visual list with pictures of pretty much every single release of Pony Dolls/merch for every single generation, in release order. Useful for if you want to scroll through a particular generation’s releases with pictures, very thorough and complete. If you make an account you can make checklists or wishlists for yourself.
Strawberry Reef- Visual list with Pictures of Pony Doll Releases. I feel like the pictures are slightly bigger (and thus easier to look at) than mlp merch database but that might just be my computer. G1-5, though I feel like the g4-5 sections are a little incomplete. For g1 and g2 you can sort by release date pretty effectively. This website is ESPECIALLY useful for quickly identifying ponies because you can sort by color, pose, or characteristics! However it’s not as complete a list as mlp merch database or my little wiki.
My little wiki- One of my favorite wikipedias ever (It’s an actual wiki, NOT A fandom wikia). Has lists of every release for every generation (Though the more recent gens might not have photos for every single release yet). The lists are NOT visual lists like the previous two resources so I use it less for identification, more for finding out more specific information about a certain toy. It will list pretty much every single variation/regional variant of every toy, as well as more information about their releases, which accessories they came with, backstories from the back of the box, ect.
Toy Sisters- I use this website less for identification and more for getting really good close up photos at every single pony and their accessories if you want to get some close up, detailed looks before you buy for example. You can sort generally by type, pose and year. As of writing this they do not have g5 info. If you collect other dolls or toys this website may be useful to you because they have more than just ponies
Ponyland Press- Has photos and information on g1 releases in order, as well as country exclusive releases. Also has some information on certain accessories, ponywear or other merch. Also has some information on cleaning and some restorative information.
Ghost of the Doll- Has interesting information on My Little Pony and other vintage toys.
My Little Pony Accessories- Has good pictures of accessories, playsets, packaging, ect.
(IMMEDIATE PSA IF ANYONE IS LOOKING AT THIS LIST TO RESTORE A PONY WITH MARKER OR HIGHLIGHTER ON HER: do NOT use acne cream like removezit or any other creams on her! This can lead to awful, permanent discoloration and staining! Instead I would look at what the mlp preservation project (linked below) says about sunfading!)
How to Clean MLP Toys- Very basic guide on thoroughly cleaning toys, plus some styling tips.
Hair Styling- How to Make Twists and Buns- This guide is intended for customs and talks about pushing pins into the pony and trimming the hair once you’re done but when using this guide to make buns before I have adjusted for non customs in a way where you don’t actually cause harm to the pony by hiding the pins in the hair instead of the plastic, and twisting all of the hair so I don't have to cut any of it.
MLP Preservation Project- One of the most useful guides for restoration, has sections on pretty much every major restoration need you might have. Links to so many different sources, tutorials and guides for fixing your ponies if something is badly wrong with them. Godsend.
Lavender Lagoon- A resource specifically for G2! Has identification and checklist materials but also has guides for hair matching and color matching eye crystals if your g2 pony's eyes have fallen out.
Hair Matching Guide- A guide for closest hair color matches using dollyhair colors. Has g1, but it is a wip site. Looks like it will have other generations eventually too.
Hair Length Guide- By no means complete, but has a bunch of the exact hair lengths for certain ponies g1-g3 written out, useful for looking for exact hair length measurements for rehairing. (Side note: If you can’t find how long a certain pony’s should be, ask around the community! I don’t bite and would be happy to measure a pony’s hair for you if I have the same pony, and I’m sure there are many other collectors who would be willing to do the same ^^)
Rehairing Youtube Tutorial- Using the main method most commonly used, in my opinion the easiest hairing method so the one I recommend.
Rehairing Tutorial (Floss Method)- Does not require glue or a rehairing tool.
Rehairing Youtube Tutorial (Loop and Lock Method)- Does not require glue or a rehairing tool.
Alternate Rehairing Method- Does Not Require Glue or a Rehairing Tool.
Rehairing with Yarn Youtube Tutorial
Retailing Tutorial (Replacing only the tail)
How to Restore Glitter Symbols Youtube Tutorial-Restoring non glitter symbols would be similar, just without the use of glitter and using acrylic paint instead.
Aikarin's Custom Tutorials- A ton of tutorials related to creating custom ponies, also has some stuff that could be used with restoration.
My Little Pony Customs' Pony Custom Tutorials- Intended for customs but techniques could also be used for restorations.
Reflocking Youtube Tutorial- This video in particular shows reflocking small patches of missing fur. Be sure to look at the guide linked on the mlp preservation project (linked above) as well!
Creating Custom Twinkle Eyed Ponies- Not a tutorial but images that provided useful information if you were unsure how to do this.
Pencil2Print's MLP Customs and Guides- A smaller site made by Pencil2Print that has articles showing off customs but also talking about restoration/custom techniques (dyeing gradients onto ponies, cleaning rust from bodies, removing g3 so soft heads, ect).
Other Restoration Tutorials- Various other tutorials on the MLPTP forums, includes things like rehairing, restoring body parts, changing a BBE to a NBBE, ect.
Oxiclean- Good for cleaning ponies. Please note Oxiclean may damage the shiny coating on a Twinkle Eye Pony's eyes or the shiny coating on a g1 princess pony's cutiemark.
Magic Erasers- Good for cleaning Stubborn marks on dirty ponies. Please be careful of cutiemarks, eyes or other painted symbols. For less stubborn marks or if you dont have a magic eraser you can use a toothbrush with dish soap on it :>
Baking Soda- I have heard that using this can help get rid of bad smells on toys, if your pony has a dirty odor! Have not tried this myself. Cover the pony in baking soda in a baggie for a few days. Similarly if you want to restore smells by scenting a pony you can use fragrances, though be careful because certain chemicals may damage your ponies!
Shampoo and Conditioner- Essential for washing and styling manes and tails. If you have a pony with UV based color changing hair (like a g1 Sunshine Pony or something similar) Its recommended Not to wash it with soap or shampoo as it can damage the hairs ability to change color! Be very gentle with this kind of hair, plain water should wash it fine.
Rust Removers- I typically just use white vinegar to clean rusty bodys/tails/beddy bye eyes. Letting the rusty pony/hair sit in a white vinegar bath and scrubbing gently with a tooth brush will remove most rust. For harder to remove rust I’ve heard Rit Rust Remover works well, though this is more expensive and I haven’t tried it myself.
Shimmer Locks- My personal favorite place to buy hair. They have close color matches for pretty much every single g1 (And have it set up for if you just search the pony’s name it will show you the closest hair matches for them!). Each (normal nylon) hair color is about 5 dollars, and they also have affordable rehairing tools and needles for only a dollar each. I’ve emailed them for color matching help before and they respond quickly and are very nice and helpful. They also have (slightly more expensive) color changing hair, glow in the dark hair, and textured hair.
Restoredoll- Sells doll hair, flocking, doll paint and brushes that may be useful to doll customizers. Have not tried them myself yet.
Dollyhair- This site is a little controversial since the previous owner has had links to racist, antisemitic, and white supremacist sites, but the website is now under new ownership and is poc owned now! Wanted to get that out of the way since I was originally misinformed about the site and thought it was bad to use, it’s important to know about it’s past but also important to note the new ownership since the old owner passed away. They offer a lot of different hair colors, textured hair, Rehairing tools, Doll paint and even hair fragrances, with their (normal nylon) hairs being about 4 dollars each. They also have it set up so that if you search a pony's name, the closest hair match should show up.
My Little Custom- UK based nylon hair distributor, has a lot of nylon hairs but also other special hairs. They also have flocking and other materials useful for restoring dolls.
RIT Dye- The dye I use for pony hair (I have heard people also can use it for dying pony bodies for customs, but you have to be careful storing ponies with dyed bodies because it could stain other ponies over time!). Good, high quality, long lasting and not fading. If you are repinking a pony with faded pink hair, I always use Petal Pink
Forceps- If you can find some online, wonderful tool for removing hair, rusty tails, or any object that might be inside your pony. Godsend, I use it all the time when rehairing. Tweezers can also work if you dont have.
Fabritac- My personal Glue of choice for Rehairing and gluing heads back on.
Fun Flock Cotton Ball White- Can be used to reflock or flock a pony. Visually looks similar to a g1 so soft, though the texture and look is slightly different. This is what I’ve used to restore a so soft in the past
Mod Podge- My personal glue of choice for flocking. Can also be used as a sealant on a paint job on a custom, though note not all customizers like sealants as over time some may yellow.
Apoxie Sculpt- This is what many people use to restore broken or chewed off body parts. Durable, though may be a little more difficult to use and expensive than other basic air dry clays.
Model Magic- Personal choice for air dry clay to use to fix broken/chewed off body parts. You specifically need an air dry clay (as you can't really bake a pony body without it melting) and Model Magic doesn’t crumble and has a soft (? I dunno how to describe it) toylike, texture when it dries. Just note you should avoid getting it wet. You could also use your own personal choice of air dry clay.
Ecostardust Glitter- (As of November 14, 2023, the website isn't working for me? I dunno if it's temporary or if they shut down but you may have to find an alternative). I specifically sought out a biodegradable glitter for my restorations, and this is the one I’ve used. Has basic colors of glitter in various sizes. (Choosing the finest option they had) It isn’t exactly the same fineness as the original g1 glitters, but it was fine enough to work and look good on a complete cutiemark restoration. Here’s an example of what it looks like on an actual pony if you wanna see how it looks compared to the original glitter. Please note you can use whichever glitter you want, there are definitely better/closer matches to the look (And I’m sure normal glitter is cheaper/easier to get). If you don’t mind using a non biodegradable one look for “ultra fine”, I just specifically felt better using a biodegradable one ^^
Acrylic Paint- Good for custom work but also for restoring Cutiemarks!
Paintbrushes- You’ll need different kinds depending on what you’re doing. Get high quality nice ones if you wanna paint a custom or do detailed cutiemark work. If you have any of those cheapo, bendy, shitty dollarstore paintbrushes: those are great for gluing hair into heads because they’re bendy and can reach hard to reach areas, and you wont destroy an actual good brush with glue.
Hydrogen Peroxide- Can be used with sunfading to safely remove certain stains, read more here
HQG1C- This is actually a huge, fan project creating a ton of “high quality g1 customs” that are so high quality, most people accept them as "real my little ponies" they’re very cool. I’m putting them here not only for their customs but they also have cool stuff for customizers and collectors: Blank Pony Bases, Hair/rehairing tools, replacement shells for sea ponies, replacement cowboy hats for a big brother pony like Tex, ect. Here is Clipper’s website (Ships in USA) And here is a UK distributor and also another UK distributor
Sweetheart Sister Earrings replacements- (Sometimes I see these going out of stock, I’m linking someone who’s selling them as of writing this on November 14, 2023)
Flutter Wing Replacements and Windy and Summer Wing Replacements- (As of November 14, 2023, the seller I had previously linked for Flutter Pony Wings is out of stock, will update when I see more pop up but in the meantime check out sites like etsy or ask around in MLP collectors spaces) (For the Windy and Summer Wings: Sometimes I see these going out of stock, I’m linking someone who’s selling them as of writing this on Novemember 14, 2023). Also worth noting the pony preservation project has a few tutorials on how to make some wings, these are just links for if you want to buy some.
Custom Flutter Wing Tutorial-This specific one is a custom look a little different from the original flutter wings, but looks gorgeous.
Dress Sewing Tutorial- Works for g1 and g3 (I have not tried to adjust it for other generations yet).
Pony Blankets, Diapers, Bandanas, and other accessories Sewing Patterns
My Little Pony Trading Post- A dedicated MLP forum, with sections dedicated to discussions (I often see people asking or answering questions about restorative measures for example), art, customs, or other topics. Sometimes they hold fun events. No profanity is allowed and you have to be over 16
My Little Pony Arena- I know this forum exists and that a lot of people discussed restorative topics on there and used it as a resource for stuff like that, and so I felt the need to mention it: but the site is quite unusable if you don’t have an account, you can’t access any pages, and to make an account you have to wait for it to be approved. I tried signing up but it has been awhile and I’ve heard nothing back, so even though there is activity on there I'm assuming it's one of those sites that's hard to access in general in the modern day (sad emoji).
My MLP Discord Server- A MLP server I made for fans of all/any generations, not necessarily toy specific either. If you wanna ask me or anyone else a question or advice about toys or restoration or something or you just wanna say hi feel free to pop in :) Very Very causal.
MLP Collectors Discord Server- Not mine but can be a fun place, for fans of all gens, some nice people there :) Is a lot larger and more structured than my own server, due to it's large size it might be a little overwhelming for some. I left because I felt like it could be drama filled :P
3d Printing Models Various MLP related 3d files for if you wanna have fun with a 3d printer! From replacement accessories to models mimicking official molds and Takara Dolls. Some cost money, others are free.
My Little Pony G1 Scans- Of various picture books but also of a sewing pattern for vintage MLP Christmas Ornaments
My Little Pony Toy Commercials (Currently has g1, g2, g3, g3.5, g4. I will update with more gens too.)
My Little Pony Episodes, all generations. Yo ho ho, also for preservtions sake. Buttons at the bottom help you navigate different generations/episodes.
