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Welcome
to the amazing collection of
I started making trips down to Bellingham with my friends to buy Star Wars figures from Episode 1. First, I only collected the main characters. Soon after, I decided I wanted all the others too. I ended up buying every single figure made between 1999 to 2002. Eventually, I decided to stop collecting Star Wars figures because I finally realized they were NEVER going to stop "pumping out" new figures. I thought "enough is enough" and sold them ALL on eBay for barely a third of what I paid for them. I began to collect other toys including Spawn and McFarlane figures, mini trading figures, busts and statues. It didn't take long for me to get into 1/6th scale stuff and I ended up buying as many as 10 figures within 2 weeks! Now I can't even count how many I have (must be between 150 to 200). I ended up loving the 1/6th scale "sub-culture" so much that I wanted to put my heart and soul into and bringing it to others--and to make future collectors out of non-collectors. So I decided to open my own store here in the greater Vancouver lower mainland called "Urban Samurai Hobbies." I've been running my business since 2004 and I'm really happy with the way things are going. I remember when I first opened, I asked myself "did I make the right decision?" Because those first few months were sooooo slow, business-wise (i.e. DEAD). The location was not that great and very few people knew about the 1/6th scale hobby. But then December came...and shoppers started coming in until the word of mouth finally became overwhelming. In fact, I've had people drive in from outside of the Province, from Toronto, Seattle, San Jose and even as far as Portland. It 's just been absolutely wonderful. Before I became a dealer, the only stores in our city that sold 1/6th scale figures were hobby shops. They would bring in new stock ONLY if they could sell out the older stock first, and if you wanted something, they would only order it in as a special order with a deposit. Therefore, 1/6th scale figures were not really moving for them. Even CY Girls were being cleared out on the bottom of shelves (with thick dust covering them). Nowadays, CY girls are impossible to get at a reasonable price. As my business progressed, I've met more and more people in the hobby and they've heard about me through word of mouth until after 3 years, they are now my loyal customers and very good friends. I remember one customers who came in...I have these Rubbermaid drawer shelves all categorized with labels stating what kind of loose items are inside each drawer...when he opened one and saw nothing but loose automatic weapons, then another drawer that's full of loose backpacks and small pouches, etc. I remember him saying something like "holy *#$@".
I've invested in a very expensive, custom-built glass display cases. Why? Well, when I was in Tokyo, I noticed that all the toy and collectibles stores have these amazing display cases where you find people staring for at least a good 15 minutes. The display cases themselves are actually an attraction! Similarly, when I'm in MY store, I see people looking in at the displays for a really long time until they finally come in and inquire about the figures. They're usually interested in buying a figure from the display case! Most of the cases are filled with new boxed figures but some are kitbashed, so then I get to teach them about the kitbashing part of our hobby. Recently, I moved into a new house with a basement that had been just a large, empty concrete space with some 2x4 wooden framework. My dad helped put up some walls and install a hardwood floor until it is now fully renovated. I purchased four IKEA glass display cases (see photo at top of page) and put two in my room and two in the living room. They're perfect for this hobby. Their shelves are at the perfect height for 1/6th action figures and are really a great value. I encourage everyone to visit IKEA and get one RIGHT NOW (Ha ha)! Before, I'd kept most of my collection hidden away in boxes and had never "cracked them open." But now, they're all displayed proudly inside my new IKEA cases (I just need some better lighting). I hope you all enjoy these pics of my personal collection, and that you'll visit me in person at Urban Samurai Hobbies if you're ever in my area. ---Alex Yu
And Don't Miss... Collections
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I
was born in 1978 and started (seriously) collecting toys about
1999. I was a George
Lucas worshiper and was floored by Episode 1 (don't ask how many
times I saw it in theaters). Anyways...the main thing was that
I then "got into" toys for the first time.
Another
customer literally got down on his knees and said to me "Thank
you for opening this store!!!" He was bowing to me like
I was some kind of god. I guess he was overwhelmed by that fact
that my small shop had all the things he'd wanted from bbi Elite
Force, Dragon Action Figures, Hot Toys, Toy Soldier, ACE Workshop,
etc.
