Michael and I have been driving around the pacific northwest looking for any toy shops that seem to be mostly unknown. Full of vintage, used, obscure, broken and just awesome toys. Some have ebay shops, crappy websites or nothing online at all. Most of what they have is in the physical shop. As we've visited them, they each have their own unique personalities. I thought this would be fun thread to document shops like this that might be in your area, and I will try to keep a list sorted by state on this first post so people can plan road trips or whatever. Kentucky The South Louisville Antique Toy Mall http://www.southlouisvilleantiqueandtoymall.com - 4150-8 East Blue Lick Rd, Louisville, KY 40229 Elite Toys & Collectable https://www.facebook.com/Elitetoysandcollectibles1 - 4150-7 E Bluelick Rd, Louisville, KY 40223 Ultra Pop http://ultrapop.bigcartel.com - 960 Barret Ave, Louisville, KY 40204 Oregon Toys - Heroes & Hobbies - 4150 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005 - star wars, broken mcdonalds toys, 2 dollar bins, lots of random stuff. Usually opens after 7pm. Don't go by hours online. Call ahead. Billy Galaxy - http://www.billygalaxy.com - 912 W. Burnside, Portland, OR 97209 - vintage everything. usually overpriced. Washington Toy Stable's Attic http://www.toystable.com - 2917 Military Road East, Tacoma, WA 98445 - mostly vintage action figures. Way more than whats listed on their site, but call ahead about things you see online because they might be in storage and not in the shop. - by appointment on weekdays, regular hours on weekends. call ahead.
Toys (Heroes And Hobbies) - Beaverton, Oregon Driving around Portland, Michael and I saw this place from the road one day.. An internet search only provided us with a yelp page with a 2 1/2 star rating. The reviews are mostly negative saying the place is full of broken toys, and that the guy who runs it is an asshole. It sounded like there was enough random stuff there though that we had to go. We tried going 3 weeks in a row, and it was never open when it said. Finally we called the place and didnt leave a message. A guy called us back sometime around 7 saying he was open now, and we should come back. I told him maybe next week as I live about 30 minutes away. He spent a few more minutes trying to convince me to come back. We went back the next week around 730 this time, and the guy still wasn't there. So we sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes and he finally showed up. The place is a total mess inside. The shelves are totally crammed, and most stuff is in bins and drawers on the floor. I think that this is totally awesome as it makes it exciting to come across something random. We talked to the guy for awhile and figured out that he opens late because he doesn't like the "target moms" coming in and complaining about his stuff, or all the kids that come in a touch everything. He claims to have been open for at least 14 years because thats how long he says the Kanegon I bought had been sitting on the shelf. When I first talked to him on the phone, I said I was interested in kaiju. He told me he didnt have any, but I said I could see a Kanegon and Baltan through the window. To which he said "oh yeah.." When we got there I asked about the Kanegon again, and there was a brief awkward moment about the pronunciation. I think he called Baltan "Baruton". He then said he never has kaiju because people only ever want Godzilla. Later throughout our hour or so there, he pulled out a Namegon, not knowing the name, and said he wasn't selling it because it was going in his moms garden. Then as we were paying, Michael saw a King Caesar behind the counter and they argued about which character it was for a bit. The 2 dollar bins were pretty fun. Thats where I found the wind up brontosaurus. Heres how the conversation went when I said I wanted it... "I think I'm going to get this guy too." "What is that?" "uh... a dinosaur?" "yeah, but what is it?" "haha um.. I don't know, just a cool wind up brontosaurus" I thought he was messing around, but we later found out that he doesn't really know what most of the stuff he has is. Sometimes he tosses something into the 2 dollar bins that someone will come in and buy right away, and he will later find out it was something worth a bunch of money. So he was trying to find out if I had just found something worth something. Overall, a very strange, but fun time. Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance. my scores.. View this post on Instagram
KENTUCKY The South Louisville Antique Toy Mall Next to the Toy Mall Elite Toys & Collectable Louisville Ultra Pop
This is a great idea! I'll have to keep an eye out here in CT, with my boyfriend's everlasting job search here, we've been traveling a lot around the state. Hope I can find one of these gems along the way.
There's a place in Burlington nj in an indoor flea market called "the grand marketplace" the flea market has a website, but inside there's a place " 'play with this' toys" that's been around forever. Used to be in the old pennsauken mart before it was demolished. Ill try to get some more info after work.
