Dealer Spotlight

This week - please meet Kirk, a dealer at the Farmington location.

We asked Kirk to tell us a little about himself, what he likes to collect and a little about his process.

Collection Focus:

The major focus of my sales is vintage and current die-cast toy and/or collectible vehicles. Some of the manufacturers that I feature are Mattel Hot Wheels, Matchbox (Lesney and Current), Auto World, Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, Revell, Ertl, Greenlight, Tootsie, Corgi Jr, Majorette, Muscle Machines and many more.

I have had some HO Slot cars by Aurora, TYCO, Auto World and other brands, but not all the time or in as massive amounts of quantities as the diecast.

Why Kirk Collects What He Collects:

I collect myself so I try to select items that I like. Most of the items that I sell I also have in my personal collection of over 37.000 items. I like American first and foremost from the 1940s up to current vehicles. I also favor Porsche, Ferrari, Datsun/Nissan, and anything racing related from the same time period. I do well with Hollywood and TV-related vehicles and have a variety on hand. Batmobiles, Back to the Future, American Graffiti to name a few. I don’t collect motorcycles, boats, airplanes or trains, but I have had those items periodically and it is GOOD to have a variety of items. Farm equipment and construction items have been very good also. There are some great pieces made by Ertl, and Norcross in both categories.

Building a Business

I have been in Ontario Mall Antiques (Farmington) since 2012. I started with only 1 case in 2012 and gradually added the other three over the years as sales picked up or I branched off to family items when my parents were in bad health or died. I had my mother’s dolls and teddy bears, my dad’s military, college and work-related items in and out in one of my cases for at least 3 years now. Getting permission to sell from them was not always easy, but once they saw the items being sold for decent money, they understood and even helped. I try to get into the store at least once a week. Sometimes it is just for me to walk around and see what others have to offer, find a really good bargain and/or get more items into my cases.

I added some consignment items for friends and have done well. I currently have two clients who provided me with CARS the movie items, automotive books and magazines and Britain toy soldiers. It takes some time to move items and I have their permission to adjust prices in order to sell faster or give quantity discounts.

It is difficult to know WHAT to stock in the cases as I have found out over the 25 years of doing some sort of selling either through clubs, at shows and on the internet. I have found that many of the items that I like are good sellers. Hollywood and TV show related vehicles have done well as do Fire, Emergency and Police vehicles. Over a period of 5 years, I have found some items are “dogs” yet, I bring some back months after removing them from the cases and they sell out in a week the 2nd time around. Go figure. ( scratching my head ).

I believe my prices are FAIR and I try to only sell quality used items. If parts/accessories are missing or damaged I price accordingly and state that on the price tag (backside) or on a post-it note. As I have told many people who have asked “do you collect ?”, I sure do and most of the items I am selling I have one in my collection. Not everything, but more than 75% I think. If I find something in the store or in OMA, and there are two at a good price, I buy one for me and one to sell. I enjoy getting compliments on my displays, but when I thank people for the compliment I always mention that a SALE really tells me I am doing my job well!

Kirk owns Case #273 #274 #286 and #288 so please stop in and check his collection out!