Pop Collectors Alliance Podcast

The Day That Funko Killed the Queue Welcome back alliance members, in this week’s episode the team discusses how Funko Decided to kill the short lived Queue software. Apparently Chris Hardwick sold 10,000 items of a 1000 piece limited edition Pop! of himself, Toys R Us loves to send Pop! in bubble envelopes, and the team will be LIVE on Facebook SUNDAY 12/17 @ 630 PM CST / 730 EST for our FIRST Cost Plus Shipping Event. The team closes the podcast with Finders Series Vol 4: FYE, Rick’s emotional rant on a unnecessary witch hunt in a Facebook group, and TONS of Funko items releasing in the collector’s corner. Finder’s Series Vol 4: FYE Overview and Rating * Disclaimer – When we rate these stores they are out of our experiences, our friends and people we see online in the groups where we are members. This is not singling people or store out for their good or bad treatment of Funko Products. PROS * FYE has and HUGE selection of Pop! Compared to the size of the store often makes up anywhere from 20-30% of shelve space. EASY TO FIND. * Exclusives tend to be average, but FYE tends to have a great selection of convention exclusive Pop! * Online sales of exclusives are great here primarily because you almost always get a chance before it’s released in-store. * Employees are very familiar with the product and take great care of items. Unfortunately, they have to deal with the mail / UPS and often get damaged Pop! * FYE also sets up booths at local conventions and often hold select stock for these events. Pennywise and GITD Reptar note. CONS * Organization is typically sloppy and you have to dig for Pop! you are looking for. * Exclusives consist of a large number of two-packs that are just bundled common Pop! * Inventory tracking is non-existent forcing collectors to rely on store employees and waiting outside of store for exclusives. * Online store is also sloppy tons of items have no images and site is not well maintained. * Release dates are sketchy and you never know when Pop! will hit shelves. * Rarely offer deals on exclusives and can be expensive compared to other stores. * Select number of stores and unless you are located in a larger area stores maybe hard to come by. RATING * FYE is a surprisingly good retailer when it comes to Pop! With a large selection of Pop!, availability to pre-order exclusives in store and online, and a larger than average exclusive selection FYE gets a good amount of positive points here. However, poor organization of the product, a below average website, and with little or no deals on exclusives FYE receives a total score of 6 out of 10. FYE: Where to Find Them * Store layouts vary but generally they are located in the same areas at the front and left side of the store. * Most stores also place Pop! on the sales floor in dedicated sections ie Harry Potter, WWE, Horror, or Dragon Ball Z. * Convention Exclusives are often place at the front of the store on release days with customers waiting outside. * Mystery Mini’s / blind boxes are typically kept on a display on the sales floor typically adjacent to the register or spread throughout the store in dedicated sections. Hunting Tips * HUNTING TIP: Get to know your FYE employees and rely heavily on Facebook groups and friends here. With the limited amount of stores, you may need to phone a friend when you need something. * HUNTING TIP: Cover the ENTIRE STORE. FYE likes to put Pop! everywhere mainly because it makes up a large portion of their products. Always remember to check everywhere even in the discount bin. * Expert Hunting Tip: Get to know the delivery schedule. Most stores in the mall receive daily deliveries this means you should try and figure out what time ...

EP004 – Funko has a QUEge Problem Welcome back Alliance members, in this week’s episode the team discusses The Funko Shop’s apparent que problem and offer their solution to the problem. They also discuss their recent unboxing video where Piper unboxed a mountain of Pop! he ordered over the past six months.  They finish everything off with the much anticipated Finders Series Vol 3: Walmart, Collector’s Story of the Week and the Collector’s Corner. Please note the first LIVE Cost Plus Shipping event is scheduled for NEXT Sunday @ 6:00 PM CST. Be sure to mark your calendars. Finder’s Series Vol 3: Walmart   Overview and Rating * Disclaimer – When we rate these stores they are out of our experiences, our friends and people we see online in the groups where we are members. We are not painting an opinion with broad strokes just from what we have experienced. PROS * Walmart has some of the fastest store to door shipping out there. Primarily pushed by Amazon they have taken the necessary steps to compete. * Exclusives tend to be above average, some are rarer pieces that are highly desired. Especially their blind box mystery minis and pint size heroes exclusives. * Brickseek is accurate and inventory is typically spot on. This can also produce negative results because people know when it’s there and how many there are. * Online sales layout is great due to both the deals and availability of product. CONS * Damage, Damage, Damage, Damage. Everything we said from the Target series applies here but to an exponentially larger level. * Shelf location is terrible and most Walmart stores vary. Items can often be located throughout the store. * Selection and quantities are typically lower than other retailers. Maybe this is due to Walmart is not sold on the Funko product or margins aren’t high enough. * YOU NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER know when a product is releasing. RATING * Walmart doesn’t understand Funko, doesn’t care about Funko, and more importantly doesn’t market the product. They get style points for exclusives, fast delivery and great tracking with Brickseek. All is quickly forgotten though with limited shelf space, multiple layouts, and employees that almost always say (what’s a Funko?). Walmart rightfully earns a score of 4 out of 10. Walmart: Where to Find Them * Store layouts vary but generally they are located in the same areas at the back of the store. * Not a ton of information here, around 90% of Walmart stores place their Pop! in the toy sections. This can be located on the end cap or on the shelf near the action figures in the toy section. * Occasionally they will feature Pop! on a display or place them at the front of the store near the Card / Collector section. Walmart: Hunting Tips * Hunting Tip 1: Always check the front of every Walmart store before you head to the toy section. A few Walmarts in where we are from will place exclusives, mystery minis, or plushies up front in the Card Collectors section. We have even found vaulted Pop! located here because people have forgotten about it. * Hunting Tip 2: Placeholders, Placeholders, and Placeholders. The best way to purchase a Walmart exclusive Pop! is through their online store. Be sure to join Funko groups on Facebook that will assist you in your search for Placeholders. This will give you the link to the product ahead of time so that you are READY when it goes live. As always follow the Pop! Collectors Alliance page to get updated links, placeholders and LIVE notices. * Hunting Tip 3: Clearance. Walmart does an awesome job of pushing products out of their inventory and Pop! is no different in this case. You can almost always find Pop!

You Wanna Talk About Damaged Shipment, Hot Topic and More This episode the Pop! Collectors Alliance team discusses their damaged shipments received from the Black Friday orders, what wrong with the new 10″ Hulk Pop!, some of their Black Friday finds and a special announcement for the first Live Cost Plus Shipping Event! Also this week, Finders Series Vol:2 Hot Topic / Box Lunch, The Collectors Story of the week and ending everything with the TONS of items available in this week’s Collectors Corner. Remember to follow us on Social Media: Twitter: @popalliancepod IG: @popcollectorsalliance Facebook: Facebook.com/popcollectorsalliance Website: Popcollectorsalliance.com FIRST LIVE COST PLUS SHIPPING EVENT 12/17/2017 @ 6PM CST / 7PM EST Finder’s Series Vol 2 : Hot Topic  / Box Lunch Overview and Rating * Hot Topic is an all-around great store to find Funko products. They attempt to meet customers’ demands while preventing as much flipping as possible. We know everyone’s not going to be perfect, but hey at least Hot Topic is listening. We’ve also decided to lump their sister store Box Lunch in here because, they tend to have a similar stock and layout. PROS * Hot Topic has a LARGE variety of Pop! The larger volume stores can get up to 50 of one exclusive. Makes finding Pop! Easier and combats Flippers. * Location in store is easy to find, and since HT’s revenue is driven by Pop! sales they try and highlight newer / rarer items. * Employees are generally friendly and familiar with the product. * Deals are next level awesome. Whether it’s 3 for $30, BOGO 30%, online coupons, or Hot Cash you should always count on getting a deal on Pop! * Pop! is now individually packaged for online sales leaving a large portion of Pop! undamaged. CONS * Damaged exclusives. UPS mainly handles the shipping of HT’s items and they don’t give a crap about a Funko….. Hey what’s a Funko? But newer employees can use the box cutter a little too strong * There is really no inventory checking at HT. No tools you can assist you in the hunt. This is a truly wild beast to try and tame. * Hot Topic can get flooded with exclusives sometimes and generally aren’t the best when it comes to their exclusive lineup. * Constantly changing policy, this can be both good and bad. Trying to meet collector’s needs is generally a good thing, however there is not one “Customer” type. New policies can alienate customers and put them at an unfair advantage also. RATING * Since Funko first arrived in Hot Topic stores they tried to put and emphasis on the product. They always end up with good exclusives, however they can be flooded with them as well. Hot Topic strives to please its Funko customers with change policy to benefit the collect and have spearheaded efforts to fight flipping. Hot Topic is rated a 8/10 because of this. Hot Topic: Where to Find Them * Store layouts vary but generally they are located in the same areas at the back of the store. * Some stores will place Pop! on the sales floor when running a promotion. For example, the Stranger Things items had a dedicated section. * Convention Exclusives are often place at the front of the store on release days with customers waiting outside. * Some newer items can be kept at or around the register area. * Mystery Mini’s / blind boxes are typically kept on a display on the sales floor typically adjacent to the register or at the front of the store on a shelf. Hunting Tips * HUNTING TIP: Follow your Hot Topic stores on F...

What in the Funko is Going on Here? Welcome back to the only podcast dedicated to returning collecting back to the Pop! Collector. This week the team discovers a new investigation launched to discover if Funko and its officers committed fraud in reporting financials leading up to the Funko IPO. They discuss what in the Funko is going on with Barnes and Noble, Funimation and Gamestop’s websites when it comes to ordering Pop!, Finders Series Vol 1: Target, the first collectors story of the week, and close with Black Friday Deals!!! FUNKO UNDER INVESTIGATION!?!?!? According to a Bloomberg report Funko may have been committing some “Funhouse” accounting leading up to its IPO and the law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP has launched an investigation. The article concluded that “just $7 million, or 10 percent, of Funko’s $69 million increase in adjusted… [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] was from actual earnings growth. The other 90 percent came from higher costs that the company says investors should just ignore.” Hopefully this is not the case for Funko who has already seen its fair share of problems recently. Finders Series Vol. 1: Target Target: Overview and Rating * Target has been associated with a black cloud hanging over its Pop! selling reputation, employees taking pops, employees hiding pops for customers, employees hiding pops for other employees and the list goes on. * One thing is for certain placing the conspiracies aside Target would still be considered below average when it comes to Pop! CONS * Boxes are often damaged mainly due to the large size of shipments and how they are often lumped in with electronics and other stock on the trucks. -2 * Target’s inventory system is often inaccurate when compared to Brick Seek and employees at most stores are unfamiliar with the product. -1 * Being unfamiliar with the product employees tend to damage pops when opening boxes, using box cutters or rough handling of boxes when removing. -1 * While shelf location is nice their collection size is often small, but this is changing. Lack of variety of pops and smaller quantities often forces collectors to wait for Pop! long before the store opens. -1 PROS * Exclusives tend to be better than other stores, more collectable and better characters. +3 * Location in store is easy to find however Target should consider an expanded collectable section. +2 RATING * With Target receiving more sought after collectables, better characters and a designated Funko area raises its score. However, conspiracies everywhere, lack of knowledge of product, small variety of pops and lack of care for the product results in a 5 out of 10 score from the Pop! Collectors Alliance. Target: Where to Find Them * Store layouts vary and some Target stores recently went through an extensive remodel but generally Pop!s are found in the same place. * Electronics is responsible for holding and stocking collectables and the Funko Section is normally labeled above the shelving located behind the movies and books. Either on a back wall or side wall depending upon the electronics section location. * Some Targets will place Pops! in the toy sections beside toys of the same genre. For Example Marvel Pop! in the Marvel toys section, or Five Nights at Freddy’s in the same section. Some Targets still dedicate an end-cap in toys, often pared with Pintsized Heroes or Mystery Minis. Target: Hunting Tips * Hunting Tip 1: Often stores keep highly collectable pieces at the electronics counter because skilled colle...

Pop Collectors Alliance Podcast Welcome to the Pop Collectors Alliance Podcast where we aim to return collecting to the pop collector. You are now entering the No Flip Zone! Join the alliance on the first episode where the team talks introductions, a brief overview of the podcast, Rick’s three categories of flippers, Funko News, and The Collectors Corner. Podcast Overview * The Pop Collectors Alliance Podcast will supply our listeners with videos, live events, podcasts, and articles dedicated to assisting in their constant search for Pop! * Finders Series that will break down strategies and finding pop at retailers, episode 2 * Weekly news and information on latest trends, releases and Funko products * Build a solid community of collectors (The Alliance Begins!!) Collectors Corner Many items are releasing this week, here is some helpful information to aid in your search efforts. Until next time happy hunting everyone. Walgreens Exclusives: Anakin Podracer with Helmet: UPC 88969821110 Star Wars Movie Moment: UPC 88969829187 Target Exclusives: Grady Twins Restock: DCPI 323-01-0714 Crota Restock: DCPI 323-01-0420 10″ Hulk: DCPI 323-01-0715 Please Like our page on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @popalliancepod  Follow us on Instagram popcollectorsalliance. Please Subscribe Rate and Review our show on iTunes today. Also, check all the other cool shows on AstroPanda Productions