Pop Freak collectibles. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Run downtown and pick up that Star Wars stormtrooper helmet while you still can. Pop Freak Collectibles, the combo toy and sports memorabilia shop at 65A Broad Street is closing up shop.
Sign on the counter (below) and helmets in the window of Pop Freak Collectibles .(Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
The store opened in 2021 at the southeast corner of Wallace, replacing a long-gone carpet store. But it was struggling to compete with the low prices offered for collectibles on internet shopping sites, according to manager Joe Porta.
“A lot of their stuff they sell at less than we even pay for it,” Porta said.
Besides the competition, interest in Funko Pop! figures – one of the stores mainstays – has trailed off somewhat, Porta said.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” he said of the factors behind the decision to close. ” A perfect storm of bad stuff.”
Signs in the window and inside the store advertise sharply reduced prices on trading cards and Funko figures.
Owners had hoped having the shop located next door to Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash would make for good potential synergy, drawing on like-minded customers excited by pop-culture collecting.
The shop’s last day is May 26 according to signs in the window.
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