Vendor Spotlight: J&S Pops
The world of Funko Pops is vast. Just walking into the Fanboys Marketplace store off of Camp Bowie Blvd and you’ll find that a third of the store (maybe more) are vendors selling Funko Pops. And for good reason, Funko Pops are hella’ collectible. Personally, I focus on comics, and even then I’m less of a “collector” and more of a reader. I’m there for the stories and the art. That isn’t to say if an artist I love puts out a particularly awesome variant cover for a comic I’m not even reading, that I’m above buying it. We’re all nerds at heart right, and we all love what we love.
This concept is exactly what’s at the heart of Funko Pops’ collectability as was explained to me when I interviewed the “S” of J&S Pops. Sam is one half of the father-son duo of J and S Pops, Jonathan is his son. Sam took some time to talk with me about Pops, buying them, selling them, trading them, and a little about how and why they got started.
It all began back in 2018. Sam had been injured and had to have multiple surgeries. He found himself out of the workforce writ large due to them. What with the aftermath that was/is 2020 maybe some of you can relate. Out of work and looking for a sustainable way to put food on the table and keep the lights on he noticed other people were able to leverage the collectibility of these Funko Pop figures and thought he’d give it a try.
He asked his son, Jonathan, who was already familiar with collecting Funko Pops if they could partner up, thus J&S Pops was born. “It’s hard work,” Sam tells me, “You gotta’ hustle and bustle everyday…but it’s fun and you make your money.” That doesn’t mean there weren’t learning curves. Sam had to learn how to check prices, how to tell what was hot, and how to keep a lookout for Funko Fakes.
I asked Sam if he ran into a lot of competiton inside the Fanboys Marketplace store. As I mentioned before there are several other Pop vendors, but he reassured me that there are so many Funko Pop figures out in the market that it’s hard to have overlap. Funko Pops have been said to be “this generation’s Beanie Babies.” Which makes sense, but the thing Funko’s got going for it is that it licenses so many different IP’s that the fandom and collectability could very well go on for decades. For example: say a person collects all of the Spider-Man Funko figures. As soon as a new Spider-Man movie hits theaters, that’s a new costume or a new villain that Funko can make toys from. Which is just another addition to a fan’s collection.
Also, he said, that a lot of vendors focus on the new stuff, the latest figures to come from Funko, whereas J&S strive to have a good mix of older Pops. The rarer and harder the find, the better. Which is why it’s probably a good time to reiterate the buy/sell/trade aspect of the business.
On their website: www.jandspops.com they state, “Do you have a rare pop or a pop in great condition? We can trade with you to help you construct your best collection!” They’ll also buy pops from you if you’re looking to downsize or just need to get rid of some you’re not interested in anymore. Whatever the situation, J&S Pops is customer forward.
Even though Funko Pops are their main focus, you can also find some rare treasures at their booth. They keep a lookout for retro toys that catches their eye that they can add to their booth. You’ll also find a good selection of sports stickers and Sam also said he sells a good deal of Funko Pop protectors-clear hard plastic cases to store your collectible Pop figures in so they stay in pristine condition.
You can find J&S Pops at all three Fanboys locations: Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, Golden Triangle Mall in Denton, and at the new location inside North East Mall in Hurst. You can also go find and follow them online on instagram @jandspops and Facebook as well as online at www.jandspops.com.