It’s the thrill of the hunt.
Or is it all about just having it in the collection?
And how crazy do you go to find it?
Something that I’ve noticed about myself in the past year in regards to Funko collecting is that I’m mostly about trying to find an item in-store. This is coming from a person, who if you ask my friends and family, isn’t exactly outgoing or patient in public.
For example, I recently saw that the Pop! Rocks Lemmy Kilmister figure was slowly appearing on various auction sites such as eBay and Mercari. I resisted the urge to purchase it online and decided to search for it at my local mall. The first hunt turned up empty and I gave it a couple of more days to try again. It turned out to be a good idea as I went back to the mall and saw that Lemmy was in-stock at 2 stores. Now, it’s proudly displayed in my case.
There’s a certain sense of accomplishment, at least for me, finding things in-store. It’s the feeling when you see the same Pops, Dorbz, or Hikari over and over, but then something new is found on the shelf. As a kid and now an adult, there’s some times where I just want to exclaim my joy out loud when I find something that’s been hard to track down. I’m sure many other collectors feel the same.
The craziest that I’ve gone to find something in person was the recent Pop! Target Exclusive Bullseye. It’s a cool looking Pop! to say the least. After visiting the Funko Funatics forum and reading that people were finding it near them, I followed their lead and used the site Brickseek to track it down.
This led to me driving around to almost every Target within a 15-20 miles radius, entering the DPCI number in the Price Scanner, and searching every nook and corner in the store. Each time, I came up with nothing. Eventually, I found it on eBay for a reasonable price and pulled the trigger to buy it. When Bullseye arrived at my home, I actually found myself thinking more about the search than the fact that it was now in my collection.
I also promised myself that I wouldn’t go that crazy hunting down something again. There’s crazy and then there’s CRAZY.
In this age, anyone can do a simple Google search and find what they need. It’s just a matter of what or who has the best price and reliability.
This isn’t to bash online ordering at all. I’ve had to do it a number of times, from vaulted Pop! figures like Ace Ventura (right before the price skyrocketed) to the forementioned Bullseye. And then, there’s the comic convention or store exclusives that are hard-to-find. Just a few months ago, I was on Pop! Conan O’Brien kick, constantly looking at eBay and negotiating “Buy It Now” prices.
Sometimes, you don’t have a choice. That Ace Ventura, Rey Mysterio, or Powerpuff Girls set can’t be found in major or “Mom & Pop” stores.
It’s admittedly cool when the door bell rings and there’s a pile of boxes outside waiting to be opened. However, it’s just not the same as seeing it in person and bringing it up to the counter yourself.
And then, there’s the mixture of the two, reserving something online (i.e. Barnes & Noble, Gamestop) and then picking it up in-person. I’ve done this a few times and still came away with a slightly unfulfilled feeling.
Feel free to let me know on how you collect and what lengths you go to find your “grail” in the “Comments” section. I’m very interested to read how other collectors go about their business.
Matt Norris