Last week, a gentleman walked in with a box full of what looked like literal crap. At least most people would have seen it this way. I on the other hand saw an opportunity. One that just needed a bit of elbow grease and $5.00 worth of O rings. I’ll get back to that in a second.
Ya see, this box was a nightmare at first glance. There were a couple of incomplete Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, and Masters of the Universe action figures. But the real prize were the several bags of GI Joe figures. The only problem was whomever the previous owner of said toys was...well...they didn’t take the best of care with the Joe line.
There was a bag of about 12 Joe’s. Then came the messy part of a bag full of upper torso’s & a bag full of lower halves. I didn’t have the time to go through them all at that moment and even if I did, I’d only match up a chunk of em. I can hold my own casually but overall, Joe’s are not an area of expertise with me. So I offered the gentleman a tasty crisp $20 bill and he seemed thrilled and surprised that he even got that for the box of broken toys that was otherwise headed to the landfill. I however had other plans.
I immediately shot a text to one of my buddies Tim from the shop. Tim IS an expert on Gi Joes and pretty much any other weird vintage toy line. He’s a true master at matching weapons and accessories, knowing names, and exact lines that the weird shit we get in from time to time is from. He eats, breathes, sleeps, and shits the 80’s, so I knew he was the man for the job. I also know he repairs Joe’s and would get a giant boner looking at the mess before me.
The next day, Timmy walks in ready to assess the situation. First thing he did besides compliment the lot of would be trash, was to start piecing together the upper and lower halves to get ready for surgery. GI Joes have a simple way that they piece and stay together. It’s called an O ring, and it’s a little rubber band like piece that loops and hooks inside the body...connecting it all together. It’s basically what gives it its playability. It’s the heart of the Joe if you will.
So Tim got to work immediately and came in stints for 3 days in a row to get the job done for us. Take a peek at the doctor at work.
In between him nursing these soldiers back to playable health, he would tell me that a certain one is pretty coveted, or show me a tiny weapon (or flashlight) that fetches some good coin on the aftermarket. The dude is full of insane toy knowledge...if I could only persuade him to pop on here to share that goodness...
Anyway, all in all he repaired just under 80 different Joe’s for us! His payment was for him to take whatever he wanted. He took a MASK figure, a separate Green Arrow toy for his kid, a bag of loose parts that didn’t match, and I believe a few random Joe’s. He’s always fair with us and is our only customer that we have this relationship with. When we get loose vintage toys in which is fairly often, I let him not only get first crack at it but I let him dictate the price. We tell him to make the number that is fair. We trust each other and this saves me time from having to research everything. He saves a bit of coin versus the rough going rate...we still make some moolah and he helps us organize. It’s a win win and I’m thankful to have him at our side for these situations.
Tim seems to think that we could get around 10 bucks a Joe on average if we put these up. With the ones already complete, the ones he fixed for us, the bag of accessories, and the other random action figures...that should bring in around a grand over time. Not too shabby for a $20 purchase! Thanks for your help Timmy! Now ya know not to throw away that pile of “broken” Joes you come across. All they need is a lil TLC...and O rings...and knowing is half the battle!!!
