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Page 12 The Antique Shoppe February, 2020
and price. While the toys that
KAYE’S COLLECTOR CORNER most spend are made by the
their weekends
companies for
By Mike Kaye at swap meets, their meetings
yard sales and as to what they
thrift stores, I have in store for
Action Figures Worth Hundreds of do most of my the next series
or toy line so on
buying online
Thousands! Go Figure. through eBay, and so forth. It
Facebook groups
gets as far as
You can mentally to a time and other online a prototype or
often find me when the most marketplaces. test shots. Either
rummaging stress you had was It’s a bigger the line gets
through antique cleaning up your risk, but it also Prototypes are the most sought after toys in the discontinued
and thrift shops toys. tends to be the industry; they are one of a kind pieces used at or the boss
hoping to pick biggest reward. meetings to discuss a potential new toy product. didn’t like it.
up an item I Which items Only downside I’ve seen some
can profit from. do collector’s to vintage buying is the constant of these type of figures go in private
I often meet Prototypes fight over the change in the landscape when it sales for $15,000. Any Rocket Firing
interesting most and what comes to pricing, availability and Boba Fett from the vintage 1977
people, some Most toy prototypes like these are they worth? quality. series. This was a very rare toy
like minded, like go for $100s, $1,000s, $10,000s Wow.. that’s and a lot of people mistake it for
fellow collector and even $100,000s a piece! tough. It depends If a new collector comes along, the more common Boba Fett. This
Dom. Dom owns on the level of what’s your advice for them? particular figure’s prototype just sold
a brick and collecting you are Decide on what you want to for $250,000 this year. Star Wars
mortar shop called Bitz & Buttons in at. For me it tends to be the higher collect. You have two choices, sticking toys kind of take the cake when it
Plantation, FL where he deals solely end items and collections. Being both to one license/brand or having a comes to value. There are so many
in vintage toys like some of the ones I a collector and dealer I have to try diverse collection. Either one has its variations of the old, vintage Star
remember as a kid. and not cross the line of “Need” and pros and cons. Find out what makes Wars, that range in the 5 digits, but
I was given his card in an antique “Want”. you happy. If you are a what most average people don’t
store since the items I had for sale Star Wars fan than go know is, it’s not the American toys
were less antique and more along What’s the rarest that route. If you grew that have the value, it’s the foreign
the lines of “collectibles”. action figure you have up playing with GI Joes bootlegs that carry the most weight,
I entered Dom’s store and was met and how much is it’s then go that route. mainly due to the obscurity of the
by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, graded value? There honestly is no item(s).
Creatures from the Black Lagoon I have two pieces right or wrong way
and a plethora of pop culture. Dom in my collection that to collect. Like with If you’re in the area please stop
introduced himself and we hit it off. I hold dear to my anything else, follow by Dom’s shop (Bitz & Buttons 5227
We began reminiscing of the past heart and those would your heart. The only West Broward Blvd. Plantation,
when toys were toys. After speaking be my Factory Error true advice I can give Florida 33317) or visit him online at
for a while I realized his shop would Rocksteady, which is is to research and find bitz-buttons.com.
be perfect for me to be able to raise one of kind. It is more a group of people that As a child I’ll admit I was lost in the
some funds for children. He agreed than likely the only one have similar taste that world of action figures. My favorites
to open his shop to my comic book in existence. The other can help you along were Smurfs and Transformers. There
unveiling this February with proceeds would have to be my the way. Facebook is was nothing cooler than to obtain
from my book sales to help fund Factory Sealed 1989 a great tool now days toys of characters you watched
children’s scholarships and education Party Van signed by for toy groups. during Saturday Morning cartoons. A
through Broward Education creator Kevin Eastman. lot of the pop culture back then was
Foundation. Why February? Well This particular item Can you tell us the entertainment, that in my opinion,
that’s the two year anniversary of graded at an 80 and top five or so action is equivalent to the entertainment
the Parkland shooting where my also comes with a JSA figure collectibles, that today’s phones and technology
child was a survivor. Dom has also signature. This is one including values, and provide.
offered to clue us in on what’s rare of those items that Boba Fett Rocket Firing prototype share photos of some If you ask me, I felt more of a
and expensive in the world of action again is one of a kind. recently sold for $250,000! of them with us? connection to the characters of the
Photo supplied by Dom.
figures, so here we go… Wow, now that is past then some of the new stuff I
How do you obtain fresh, vintage really hard to answer. It all depends see today. In the past the style of
What got you into collecting inventory for the shop? on what you are looking for. There “cartoons” really pulled me in, like
childhood action figures? The retail end of the spectrum are so many ends of the industry watching Wile E. Coyote chase down
I believe that as an adult we all is pretty easy. We receive emails we can go with this question. the Road Runner or Pink Panther
go through times in our lives we try practically every day from companies People think toys and think of Hot with the captivating music. Should
to find an escape from the everyday for what they refer to as PO “Pre- Wheels, Barbies and action figures. I be kicking myself for dumping my
stresses of adulthood. We all try to Orders” these are for new series, The average adult collector spends collection of action figures and toys
find an escape in some way, shape or lines, toys, Etc.. and these POs are hundreds and even thousands a year from the decades ago? I think I’d
form. For most adults their childhood usually set for delivery anywhere on toys. Diehard collectors can spend rather not know.
tends to always put a happy smile on between 3-6 months out. As far upwards of $150,000 for an action
their face and for me, it was just that. as the vintage product goes it’s a figure that’s vintage and sealed in a To order a copy of the rare Amphoman comic book
I will be unveiling at Dom’s shop in February, please
Seeing toys, TV shows and just about tough road. One thing that I always box. From a dealer’s perspective the email/paypal me at: kpeople@hotmail.com. Signed
anything that brought me back to thought separated me from my top 5 would have to be unproduced copies will be $5 each + $2 shipping, with a very
when I was a kid really took me back competition is the quality of products Prototypes for any toy line: These are limited print run and proceeds from each copy sold
will help fund education.