Ben Cooper Halloween Costumes on eBay

For this edition of Retro Ramblings, I’m coming at you with a Halloween-themed edition of eBay Archaeology. eBay Archaeology is where I dig through the layers of debris on eBay to come up with the real gems hiding there. And in this dig, I was looking for some of those cool old Ben Cooper Halloween costumes from years gone by. There are actually a ton of them for sale on eBay, and I picked out a few of my favorites to share with you.

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In case you aren’t familiar with the Ben Cooper costumes of the past, they were quite popular from the ’50s through the ’80s. If you grew up in that time frame, odds are you wore a Ben Cooper costume at least one Halloween. The picture above is from 1984, and as you can tell, Been Cooper had a costume for just about every popular property there was at any given time. Of course, that kid in the Snoopy costume looks really out of place in a group that includes He-Man, Skeletor, and Darth Vader. I bet he caught endless hell at school the next day. But speaking of Skeletor…

Skeletor Costume – https://www.ebay.com/itm/274976496667?hash=item4005e05c1b:g:lo0AAOSwORFhXj98

I really can’t remember what my Halloween costumes were back in the early to mid-’80s, but I know whatever they were, they weren’t as cool as this Skeletor one. Ben Cooper costumes were typically a thin plastic material with a cheap plastic mask that would cut through your face, but none of that is a detriment if the costume transforms you into Skeletor, master of evil plastic costumes! There were actually seveal old Masters of the Universe costumes I saw including He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Beast Man, and even a King Hiss, but Skeletor is the one that spoke to me the most.

G.I. Joe Costume – https://www.ebay.com/itm/144143286263?hash=item218f9bfff7:g:5~4AAOSwN4JhDenP

I know I just said that I don’t remember what my costumes were back in the ’80s, but when I saw this one, I faintly remembered maybe having this G.I. Joe mask. It certainly seems like a costume I would have wanted if I had spotted it in a store. At the point when this would have been on store shelves, G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe would have been my whole world. But if I did have this one, it would probably have been because they didn’t have any of the Masters of the Universe ones on the shelves that day.

Star Wars Storm Trooper Costume – https://www.ebay.com/itm/184953076698?hash=item2b100ffbda:g:d8cAAOSw8aZg9b6f

While I’m sure most kids would rather be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo, or even Chewbacca, some kids were born on the dark side and would have chosen to represent the Empire. But even then, those kids would gravitate towards the Darth Vader costume. But it takes a special kind of kid to want to be cannon fodder and dress up as a Storm Trooper. And those are the kinds of kids you should stay away from. They’re dangerous because they already feel like there is nothing to lose.

Glo Worm Costume – https://www.ebay.com/itm/304046563852?hash=item46ca96620c:g:aU0AAOSwWzNg1241

Now you may think that Ben Cooper was really scraping the bottom of the barrel producing Glo Worm costumes. But back in 1982-1983 and for a few years after, Glo Worm was one popular mofo. Seems like every girl in my class at school had one that they would sleep with. But the draw to Glo Worm was that it would flow when you gave it a squeeze. I wonder how many kids wearing this costume were picked up by some stranger and given a good squeeze to see if they would glow? This costume may have actually led to some injuries if you think about it.

Dukes of Hazzard Bo Duke Costume – https://www.ebay.com/itm/294435789143?hash=item448dbd9957:g:-pwAAOSwNYlhWeF3

Now here’s the one I would have chosen back in the early ’80s. While I said my world revolved around G.I. Joe and Master of the Universe, that was for cartoons and toys. But when it came to television, I felt like I was the third Duke boy! And what better way to show off my love for the show and everything about it than by dressing us as Bo mother f’n Duke for Halloween! I could have put this costume on, hopped onto my Dukes of Hazzard Big Wheel, and made some sweet jumps off the curbs through the neighborhood while snagging some candy along the way. If I were to have had this costume, then I surely wouldn’t have the problem I do today of not remembering what my costumes were back then. This would have been one to remember.