Imperial nut
Sith Lord
Over the last year many of the folks i showed my figures or ships too have either laughed out loud or were stunned and regressed to 8 year old kids.
in the second category were many many guys who were loving the idea of even having a beater on the shelf or a ship diplayed somewhere in their homes,, as a memory or just a cool peice of retro.
And i often walked past some of the kookier shops in Dublin that sell everything from irish dancing dresses to clothing made only from hemp, and thought how the hell do they survive?
I know that forbidden planet etc. specialize in the genre but stock only modern and novelty items and no vintage lines of any toys.
There is a market out there and with the right stock and enthusiastic staff and slick displays it could work.
I have a long history of skateboarding and many of the skateboard shops serve as meeting hang out places and places to buy stuff and also do mail order etc and survive nicely.
I have a job and i probably will never do this but i have many mates in skate companies and distribution who have the retail game figured out and woulds be good guides.
My idea is relatively simple.
As rents are cheap as hell now and shops available everywhere, set up a cult retro shop that acts as a focal point for folks interested in the toys and associated memoribilia, with a nice display like tiger hams back lit boxes.
Buying in person and on a good website, with staff employed to serve, chat ,enthuse, and surf all day doing deals on toys from everywhere on the net and in jumble sales and car boots . (what a job)
obviously i would have to do multiple toy lines to ensure wide coverage and interest. but everything from holy grail items to stacks of loose in nice temporary cases like the plastic mini starcases.
and things priced from a cheap beater to more substantial items like graded MOC.
There is one thing that doesnt quite sit with me right though. Assuming that most of your punters are Joe public items that collectors might want could dissapear into civilian hands again?? or those civilians might start collecting.
It would be ok for the millions of loose out there but not so for boxed /moc/misb etc.
Yeah i know most folks will say "yeah that exists already,, its called ebay" well ebay is fine but its not personal and it appeals to people who know what they are looking for,, i personally started back when i passed a video shop and saw they had star wars inside and when i saw they had a case of vintage i nearly passed out the feeling was sooo powerful.
i was broke but i bought an At-At commander for 12 euro. and over the next few days i kept going back to buy more as i had the feeling that that was it ,, no restock,, when it was gone it was gone?
i love this idea and if i had the money i would do it as a side thing while working,, and i have a few mates who would be perfect staff,, born in the late 70's good designer/photographers and film/retro buffs.
and i would probably hire weasel as consultant SW nerd and security as there is nothig as scary as a belfast accent. :lol:
in the second category were many many guys who were loving the idea of even having a beater on the shelf or a ship diplayed somewhere in their homes,, as a memory or just a cool peice of retro.
And i often walked past some of the kookier shops in Dublin that sell everything from irish dancing dresses to clothing made only from hemp, and thought how the hell do they survive?
I know that forbidden planet etc. specialize in the genre but stock only modern and novelty items and no vintage lines of any toys.
There is a market out there and with the right stock and enthusiastic staff and slick displays it could work.
I have a long history of skateboarding and many of the skateboard shops serve as meeting hang out places and places to buy stuff and also do mail order etc and survive nicely.
I have a job and i probably will never do this but i have many mates in skate companies and distribution who have the retail game figured out and woulds be good guides.
My idea is relatively simple.
As rents are cheap as hell now and shops available everywhere, set up a cult retro shop that acts as a focal point for folks interested in the toys and associated memoribilia, with a nice display like tiger hams back lit boxes.
Buying in person and on a good website, with staff employed to serve, chat ,enthuse, and surf all day doing deals on toys from everywhere on the net and in jumble sales and car boots . (what a job)
obviously i would have to do multiple toy lines to ensure wide coverage and interest. but everything from holy grail items to stacks of loose in nice temporary cases like the plastic mini starcases.
and things priced from a cheap beater to more substantial items like graded MOC.
There is one thing that doesnt quite sit with me right though. Assuming that most of your punters are Joe public items that collectors might want could dissapear into civilian hands again?? or those civilians might start collecting.
It would be ok for the millions of loose out there but not so for boxed /moc/misb etc.
Yeah i know most folks will say "yeah that exists already,, its called ebay" well ebay is fine but its not personal and it appeals to people who know what they are looking for,, i personally started back when i passed a video shop and saw they had star wars inside and when i saw they had a case of vintage i nearly passed out the feeling was sooo powerful.
i was broke but i bought an At-At commander for 12 euro. and over the next few days i kept going back to buy more as i had the feeling that that was it ,, no restock,, when it was gone it was gone?
i love this idea and if i had the money i would do it as a side thing while working,, and i have a few mates who would be perfect staff,, born in the late 70's good designer/photographers and film/retro buffs.
and i would probably hire weasel as consultant SW nerd and security as there is nothig as scary as a belfast accent. :lol:
ah the sting of common sense,,, i remember that shop in Edinburgh when i lived there.
