Local Funko POP! Vinyl Resellers Making Hobby Difficult for Collectors

Funko Pop! Vinyls are the hottest item in collecting. But some greedy people are making the hobby difficult.

I've been a toy collector now for about 15 years. I got into the hobby back in 2001 when The Simpsons "World of Springfield" line was huge. I didn't have a lot of cash back then (I was 14) but I liked the idea of being able to build a collection that looked good on display. From there I got into horror movie figures, DC and Marvel figures, etc. In the past 6 years, the undisputed collectible to have has been Funko POP! Vinyls.

They've become popular because they look cool, are the perfect price point (around $8.99), and they make so many different ones, you're sure to find one that represents a show, game, or movie that you like. My first POP! was a Batman that I got at Target back in 2011. My collection now hovers somewhere around 200 (it's a slippery slope). As POP! vinyls grew in popularity, so did their value. More and more stores started offering exclusives which meant they were harder to find. Which meant those that did find them could flip them for a profit like POP! vinyl Property Brothers.

It seems that the real heart of the problem started in the last year or so when everyone caught on that, oh, these things can be worth money. And if any of you are reading this today and finding this out for the first time, don't give into the Dark Side and start flippin' POP!s to retire early. However, if you want to go buy all the shelf-warming POP!s at Walgreens, feel free to do so.

Here's an example of how difficult it's become to collect. The Emerald City Comic Con Exclusive's arrived at Hot Topic this morning. The big item is a WWII Captain America exclusive. Within minutes of the store opening, somebody had already bought 5 or 6. This, undoubtedly happened across the country because eBay is booming with them. See pic below:

Yep, buy it in the morning, have it on eBay 10 mins later. If that wasn't infuriating enough, this next photo isn't for the weak of heart. You have been warned:

Say it together now: Eff this guy

Granted, this specific case didn't happen locally, but similar things have (as outlined above). It takes the fun out of the hobby and needlessly punishes actual collectors who have things like jobs and families. I talked to an employee at our local Hot Topic about the flippers and their story was the same:

"Yeah, there would be people who came into Hot Topic and buy all of one kind. There was a guy that came in and bought all of the metallic red power rangers to resell them and then there weren't any left for the genuine collectors."

And if you think that employees don't actual care who buys their stuff as long as it sells , they then said this:

I feel like most POP! collectors are so wholesome and just genuinely get some sort of happiness out of them and then people that hoard them to make money kinda ruin it for everyone.

So yeah, even the employees feel bad for us actual collectors. And yeah, I know this entire post might just seem like adults crying about "dolls," but I really do enjoy collecting and it sucks that people want to exploit the hobby. It's not new and isn't going away, but it would be nice if Funko or the exclusive retailers would make enough that the flippers weren't able to exploit the value as much. I don't know, maybe it's wishful thinking. Reagardless,I'm still gonna collect until POP!s become as worthless as Beanie Babies. Happy collecting everyone, and if you are a flipper, just know, that everyone pretty much hates you.