Three stories, the convergence of which led to the creation of this site that you are now browsing...

And then there were none...

Growing up there were the Big 3 - Children's Palace, Toys "R" Us, and KB Toys.  The first two were standalone and the third was in the mall.  I couldn't wait to spend my allowance on a toy every time I went to one of them!  I specifically remember everywhere I went looking for the X-Men "Ice Man" action figure.  I saw it on the back of all the previous figures I bought and didn't even know if it existed until one day at Toys "R" Us I passed by the action figure aisle and there it was.  I think I even screamed out loud I was so excited!  You could fill his ice board with water and put it in the freezer!  What a mess that made when it thawed all over the play area!  And then one day Children's Palace was no longer there.  The castle-like building stood there and I hoped it would someday reopen, but it never did and a Best Buy eventually took over.  That was cool, but not the same (fast forward years later and now the same property hosts a Walmart).  Later KB Toys had its store closing sale and it was soon gone.  And we all know the sadness that came with the closure of Toys "R" Us.

Disappointment on arrival...

Many of us have been there.  You can't find that certain collectible that you have been looking for in stores, so you place an order for it from a website and are super excited to receive it.  Finally, it arrives and you carefully open the package and your heart sinks.  The item you ordered was obviously thrown into the box by someone that didn't care about the item and didn't realize how it important it was to you.  It's okay you tell yourself, you'll just return the item and ask for a replacement.  Unfortunately that was the last of the item that they had in stock and you're either stuck with the one they sent you, damaged package and all, or you send it back and try finding it again.  While I can't pinpoint the exact instance this occurred to me when I finally thought "enough is enough", I can tell you that it happened enough that I did not want it to happen to anyone else.

From "I think I can" to "I know I can"

As a Pop Culture enthusiast, I have always had a passion for toys, collectibles, comics, movies, music, theater, video games, and more.  As a creative I have always been curious and ask myself, "how would I do things differently?", as I visit stores and browse websites.  I have also always been interested in starting a business of my own, but I never quite knew what type of business it would be.  And then, in late 2019 the proverbial light switch finally went on.  It was Force Friday and the local stores really did not have a lot of new Star Wars merchandise in stock for the upcoming "Rise of Skywalker" and it was disappointing.  I remember the previous Force Fridays were huge and there were tons of new toys and collectibles to browse in stores.  How would I get my toy fix?

So, here's where the three stories merge... no big toy stores left, online stores had questionable quality control, and stores that did offer toys did not meet expectations.  Why not just do it myself?  So, I bought a web domain, stocked up on what I could find and launched an eBay store in early 2020.  It has been very successful so far so I decided to take it to the next step - my own website.  Here I can control the content, delivery, and user experience.  I can't guarantee that I can do it better, but I know I can do it my way!  From collector to collector, this is my passion and I promise you my heart is in this!  

There is much room to grow and I am only just getting started, but I encourage you to join me on this journey and have fun along the way!  I will be regularly updating inventory, the blog, and social media sites, so there are plenty of ways to get involved with Pop One Stop!  By the way, why "Pop One Stop"?  Sure, this isn't TMZ and I am running this show with just the help of my wife, but it's an aspirational goal to one day truly be your "One Stop for all things Pop Culture!"

- Jeff