- Funding for working capital is provided by The Friends of KTWU, Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and Kansas Department of Commerce.

There comes a time in every adult's life when you have to decide, do I sell my old toys?

Do I sell the old family coins?

Or do I go ahead and buy more because I see so much cool stuff I always wanted?

So today we're with Harley Cook at Jayhawk Coins Games and More.

Harley, welcome to Working Capital.

- How's it going?

- Oh, it's going great, especially being in here.

It brings me back.

Recently I've been going through my mom's old house - Yeah.

- Having - To get rid of stuff and going through my old toys and finding stuff.

So places like this just bring me so much joy, whether I'm shopping or selling.

So first off, Harley, let's just talk about your favorite old toys when you were little.

What, what inspired you down the road that you didn't expect?

- Well, I've always been, you know, I was a product of the 80s, so grew up with Ninja Turtles, G.I.

Joe's Ghostbusters, things like, you know, Motu or He-Man or whatever you want to call it.

Transformers.

Those were all kind of right before me.

But even up until this day, I still collect G.I.

Joe's, Ninja Turtles and Transformers.

It's such a, you know, license over the years.

They've just, everybody keeps making it whether, and they, you know, they'll change it up here and there and it makes collectors like me kind of go bonkers sometimes because there's so much variety out there.

Because - They put out specialized lines, they put, they know the collectors now, so they'll put out some, they'll do crossovers even.

So Ninja Turtles and Master the Universe or, oh wow.

- G.I.

Joe and Ninja Turtles.

- That's pretty - Amazing.

Yeah, this is something that came out when it first came out.

I was like, "Eh, I don't know."

And then I saw them and I was like, "Yeah, I got to have them."

So there's another rabbit hole I've gone down.

- And, and there's something to be said, you know, it used to be considered, well, I guess maybe we're geeks and nerds.

That's fine.

- Yes.

But - You know, it used to be considered really nerdy or different to keep your toys later in life.

My, my dad kept some of his, but they weren't, they didn't come out.

He didn't look at them.

- Yeah.

- But there's a different culture now because I think it's the imagination.

What do you think it is that has just stuck with - Us?

Very much so.

I mean, back, you know, when I was in my teens and sort of, it was very, almost kind of like you wanted to, you weren't very vocal that you were a collector that like, you know, I'm an 18 year old that collects toys or games or it was so kind of like hush hush and now that culture with the, you know, San Diego Comic-Cons and even here locally, I mean, I swear between Kansas City to, you know, surrounding states, there's a show every weekend that has something to do with whether it's Pokemon, sports cards, toys, anime, you know, it's just, it's such a huge culture right now.

Cons - In general.

- Cons in general, yes.

I mean, especially when it comes to what's cosplaying, where people can dress up like their favorite characters.

It's insane when you start watching the lengths and the money and time people spend on these costumes just to go to a little weekend event and dress up like their, you know, favorite characters from, you know, their favorite subject matter.

- So the store, where did the inception come from?

Who, whose idea - And how - Did this start and - It's - Kind of a crazy background.

The owner originally started this whole endeavor out of his vehicle.

He was buying like scrappy old and coins and jewelry.

Oh - Wow.

And - Then he got into where he was literally at a desk in the back of a sewing shop because, you know, when you precious metal dealer, you have to have a, a business address outside of your personal.

And then it went into, he had a little small shop right down the street from where we're currently at.

And when I came to the mix about, let's see, seven years ago now, we just were able to start getting all of our ducks in a row, started looking around because we knew we had to expand.

And then COVID hit and like a lot of people, you know, either put them under or put them behind.

And fortunately for us, it just put us behind because at the time we were such a small operation that it, you know, it wasn't going to hurt us to be out of commission for a couple months.

But you know, in the long run, it just, it benefited us greatly because we got to do some more thinking about what we were looking for for our next facility.

And you know, we just passed our four year anni- anniversary mark here back in May and to say we're already outgrowing this place is insane.

I mean, we just, and now we're becoming more of just a, you know, somewhere, someone brings their stuff to sell to now we're becoming a destination.

And we get people from out of state that come here once a month just because this is where their stop is when they come to Topeka.

Oh - Wow.

- Yeah.

- And hearing that you're overgrowing it and also thinking about how you guys couldn't do much during COVID.

- Yeah.

- Did that help form an online presence?

Was that kind of that - - So yeah, we've always had an online presence through your typical, you know, eBay, Facebook, et cetera.

And we are a power seller on eBay.

We've been doing it forever.

So that kind of kept the, you know, the, everything running and you know, all the bills on per se during COVID.

And you know, we still do it today.

We do it with a lot of the higher end stuff.

Just, you know, things that may get stagnant in the shop or, you know, just stuff that there's not a local market for it.

And we also have online auction houses we deal with.

We have a booth out here at the Al's Nest in Topeka, if you are familiar with that, which is a very huge vendors market.

And that's kind of where we put a lot of our overflow because we just deal with everything from toys to video games, comics, coins, just, you know, anything nostalgic or collectible.

Anything - You had fun as - Growing - Up at any age, you're going to deal with it.

- Yeah.

And it's always interesting seeing people come in here that are here for coins.

And they walk in, they think they walked in the wrong store because there's just a plethora of nostalgic stuff in here.

And then we just, you know, with where we're at here in Fleming Place, the amount of residual traffic we get coming through here, just people see our windows and they're like, oh, they come in here and they just, it's a punch to the face and nostalgia for them.

Well - And it just brings up so many great memories for people.

And - Probably a coffee shop next door, especially - It doesn't - Hurt.

That doesn't hurt, you know?

No, it really doesn't.

And luckily, you know, in the four and a half years we've been here, we've only had one accident with someone spilling their drink because that was honestly a, a very primary concern when we moved here about drinks and collectibles usually don't mix, but it was a one time deal and we've kind of, you know, nipped it in the butt since then.

So we encourage people to go next door, get a coffee, come here, walk off their lunch and, you know, just take a blast and pass down, you know, memory lane.

- And like I said, it is cool because you come in here for one thing.

- Yes.

Whether - It's a video game or whatnot and then everything else catches your eye.

So you're, you're guaranteed to find something else that brings back a memory.

Yeah.

Or makes you think, what is that cool new thing?

- Yep.

- So like you say, you've, you've pretty much outgrown this one already.

- Yes.

- That just means you have a lot of stuff somewhere else.

So that's why you really should also check the online if you've been in here.

But also if you come in, - You'll - Let them know like, oh, if you're looking for this line, we do have some, go check that out.

For - Sure.

And like when people come in here, I might, sometimes they might say I'm over badgering them like, but it's just, I always ask people, what are you looking for?

Because if I don't have it on the floor, there's a high chance I have it in my back room, storage online listing pile, you know, et cetera because there's just, at the end of the day, we only have so much room out here for stuff and when we feel certain verticals have gotten stagnant, we'll switch them out.

And it's always funny when we do that because as soon as we move something out of here, people are coming in here, "Hey, do you have this?"

It's like, "Well, we just put it all in the back because no one was buying it."

Or if someone comes in looking for something and we don't have it, it's amazing how it'll just magically walk in the door within a week or two of someone asking about it.

- Can you think of, you don't know names or anything, but can you, can you think of a certain example where someone came in and, I mean, you made their day, you made their year maybe with what, what you found because they lost.

I mean - It's - Give me a couple of - Those - Stories.

It's everything from video games to toys.

I mean, there's, I can't, I mean there's so many examples.

So many.

Or people have come in here looking for stuff and not expecting to find it.

And you know, that's what I, I think we really shine is we do not limit ourself to one vertical.

We have Pokemon coins, sports cars, you know, like everything I said before.

And sometimes people - - Graphic novels, comic books.

- Graphic - Novels, - Comic books.

- Legos.

I mean - - We just carry vintage electronics.

We have, you know, old CR TV TVs in here.

We have VHS tapes, movies.

So, - So yeah.

So if you're look, do you have VCRs also or they come through?

- Yes.

When we have - Them, - Yes.

If you - Have the old media, you might have players in.

- Yep.

Laser - Disc.

- CED, I mean, we literally, and we're all collectors at heart, so - Yeah.

Yes, you're going to find a lot of stuff in here that we may think cool that other people don't because that's what we like.

Yeah.

And there is that culture out there that, you know, will see it and, you know, get as passionate about it as we do.

And that's always the pleasure, you know, between, you know, especially when the young kids come in here and they'll say, "Oh my God, these toys are ancient."

I'm like, "What are you talking about?

These are what I grew up with, buddy.

I'm in my 40s and you're calling GI Joe's ancient toys."

- Yeah.

- But it's, it's amazing to see, you know, the look on people's faces when they haven't thought about certain things forever and they're like, "Oh my God, I used to have this."

And then, or I still do.

And then you hear the horror stories like, "Oh, my mom and dad put all my stuff in a garage sale and - I - Didn't know it was gone.

I didn't have a chance to grab it.

- They went to college and came back and it was gone.

Yeah, - Because some people don't get that kind of bond.

- No.

- Because a lot of kids whether they're single family, going through stuff it's their getaway, their imagination and those memories.

I mean, I still remember my GI Joes and getting mad when my mom would make my bed because I had my blankets just right to have a mountain fortress.

I just wanted it left for three days, you know?

Yeah.

So there's a different connection to this.

And I think there always has been.

I mean, the toys have been around since humans were sitting around the campfire making things.

- Whether it was Jack and, you know, balls or whatever.

It's insane.

I have three nephews and just seeing the, the toys, how they've, you know spiraled with technology the last couple years and evolved they've evolved into is just, this ain't your normal, you know, kung fu grip GI Joe.

This is insane stuff for kids to be having nowadays.

You can - Almost make stop motion movies with the toys you get because of the articulation - And - Just the details - Involved in - It.

- And just seeing, you know, we have kids that come in here that, you know, especially on the trading card side, whether it's Pokemon or Sports, they're, you know, they're whatnoters.

They're 10, 12 years old and they're selling cards for, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars on, you know, TikTok.

Yeah.

Or whatnot or wherever the different verticals are.

And you know, just seeing some of these kids already that are, you know, that mature and know what they're doing.

You know, some of these kids that come in here with their cards, they, you know, they're hustlers and they're doing better than most adults do.

So it's fun and interesting watching that go down just, you know.

And every day's a trip in here.

I mean, you know, one day we'll see nothing but coins.

The next day we'll see nothing but collectibles.

And - The culture kind of creates a family of people that come in.

Oh.

You get to know the people in here.

Yep.

Because unfortunately for the generation now, the toy stores are Walmart and Target.

I mean, we have a, we have a local one also that does, but, but the, the Toys R Us, the KBs, the, I can't remember Circus World toys or anyways, they're gone.

Yeah.

So walking in here, it's like Disney World, I'm sure for them.

Oh - Yeah.

- 'Cause you're surrounded.

It's just not a couple aisles and here's the, the one newest thing and that's it.

Yeah.

- And we primarily specialize in older stuff.

I mean, we carry some new stuff such as anime figures - More - Hard - To find items that - Yeah.

But we really like to specialize in vintage stuff.

And you know, it's amazing seeing families come in here and they're sharing what they had as, you know, when they were kids with their kids.

I mean, there's kids that are, you know, 10, 12 years old that know more about vintage transformers than I do.

Yeah.

Because that's just the way they were raised.

And it's just, you know, as a collector myself, it's awesome seeing that kind of thing.

And - I like being able to come in someplace like this where, where I don't have to worry about other people's opinions.

No.

Because I, I just think back to even in Walmart you know, someone asked me, "So who are you shopping for today?"

20 years ago, it was for my nephew, even though look at stuff too old for him.

And now it's like, I'm looking for my nephew and he's too old for what.

Anyways, you know, so it's, it's nice having this kind of place and keeping this culture alive.

Yeah.

- I mean, I've had my similar stories where I've gone to Target toy hunting and I'm walking up there with a cart full of toys and the lady's like, "Oh, some kid must be very happy."

It's like, yeah, it's the 40 year old right here that's going to be happy.

The nine year old - Me is ecstatic.

- Yeah.

You know, on the flip side, that's, you know, one of the negative things with modern toys is, you know, some of this stuff is so hot that it's become like a very collectible and valuable commodity for people to resell.

Yeah.

Which, you know, it's going to happen with anything.

But yeah, I mean, that's why we love this vintage stuff because it's, you know, it's usually always available whether, you know, different lines.

There's so many great toy lines back in the day and, you know, nowadays, I mean, nothing compares to what, nothing nowadays compares to what, you know, we grew up with.

It's just night and day difference, but it's a real, it's, it definitely blasts being here every day.

And you never know what's going to walk in.

That's - Awesome.

It's time for a short break.

Stick around.

Afterwards, we'll open the toy box once more.

You're watching Working Capital.

To catch up on previous episodes of Working Capital, scan the QR code with your phone or go to www.watch.ktw.org.

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- All right, so we all have our old favorites sitting in our house.

We don't know what to do with them.

If you have these old toys, let's start there.

And the coins actually.

It's always better just to bring them in as is.

Yep.

- Because - If you clean them, you may be taking some value away, whereas you know whether to clean them or not, whether the, you also know how to redo the, say the plastics of the '70s toys.

Yeah.

So tell us a little bit about that and then we'll kind of talk about what happens when someone comes in.

So - We always tell people, you know, because they're, they're afraid to bring stuff in.

It's like, oh, it's in parts and pieces or it's just accessories or it's only figures and or, you know, whatever the case may be.

And we say, you know what, just bring everything in.

We have a vast knowledge of all this stuff of what's, you know, even when it's in terrible state of condition, what we can do with it.

I mean, we have myself and another gentleman that he's been working tirelessly, you know, every time he's in here restoring, you know, some of the toys, whether it's retrobriding, which is essentially bringing the brightness back to some of this plastics because over time it fades or, you know, becomes different shades of colors for whatever reason.

So it brings back the luster.

We do, you know, polishing on the plastics.

Even with the figures, you know, sometimes they have to get a bath.

But yeah, we do all sorts of cleaning and restoration on this vintage stuff just to get it available to put in other people's, other collectors' hands.

And - Even the coins.

I mean, you - Don't want - To take, you don't want to take the wear off.

You want to be able to do that because you, you can really damage those also.

- Coins is probably the number one thing, just to don't touch them.

We have people call us all the time saying, "Hey, what's the best way to clean them?"

And we simply say, "Don't."

Even just using, you know, soapy water and a towel can really damage the patina on these.

It's best to leave everything as is and bring it in and just kind of let the professionals hand up per se, because they think in reality, like in their heads they're thinking, oh, if I cleaned up, polish it up, et cetera, it's going to make it worth more.

And in reality, it's going to completely kill any value.

- And speaking of value, so someone comes in, let, let's say me.

I come in with a couple of my favorite old action figures.

Yeah.

You - Couple - Different lines.

So don't, don't get mad at me for mixing DC and marble.

No, - We just put a bunch of these out there so we can.

- So you know, we have these.

So in my mind, I have'n looked it up.

It might be apparent something.

I'm thinking, oh, I played these for so long.

Those got to be $150 each.

And on that note, even no matter what they're worth, if you're selling them yourself, you're going to sit there and it's going to take forever.

Yeah.

If you do consignment, they're going to get the piece of it anyway.

So you have to deal in margins and profits.

So how do you deal with someone coming in who's overvaluing their stuff?

Is, is, how do you softly approach that?

Cause it is, you know, it probably gets a little - It can be a very - Touchy subject.

You - Might hear anger or some tears or who knows what?

- We've, we've heard a choice amount of words over the years with people.

The first thing we'll do is, you know, we'll kind of give them a once over look at condition, see what's missing, if it's got any damage.

We'll ask them, well, you know, what are you trying to get out of this today?

And we usually know pretty quickly whether their expectations are out of touch with the reality or not.

And to answer your question as far as how do we handle it as respectfully as possible.

You know, if they start talking crazy numbers, honestly, a lot of times just to avoid conflict, we'll say, "Yeah, we're just going to have to pass on these."

And if they say, "Why?"

Well, we'll say, "Well, you're over evaluating their price and I don't want to insult you with my offer because that's the reality of the situation."

And more - Than likely, you probably have some stock of it or, you know, it's one of those things that flow through - So it.

And that's, that's always the conundrum where we stand is I've got to look at things at a percentage base as far as, you know, because I am a reseller.

I'm here to make money.

Yeah.

But at the end of the day, why does it benefit you bringing stuff to us versus you selling it?

Well, one, we do all the legwork.

We take all the res - the, the risk and responsibility and there's stuff that comes in here that, "Oh yeah, this should sell tomorrow."

And then we sit on it for two months.

Yeah.

You, you're, if you're trying to sell stuff, you have to deal with whether it's Facebook market, et cetera, you have to deal with all the people.

You - Already in the channel.

Yes.

You already have the viewers and the eyes on it, whereas yeah, this may take you two weeks to sell it, but you may sit there and have to worry for six months, a year because someone hasn't come across your page or whatnot.

So there really is a reason to still, to come in here and - - Yes.

I mean, we're, it's just, at the end of the day, it's the best way to get a decent value for your stuff and knowing that it's going to go into other collectors' hands and you're not, you know, having to deal with people yourself, which I know is a very, gives a lot of people anxiety.

I mean, we, we're, we do this all day every day and just the back and forth banner can be really ti - taxing with just your overall you know, stress and it can be hectic sometimes dealing back and forth.

Yeah.

- And then, then we get along to, to, to coins and everything else.

So I got in here and you had your first customer today bringing coins in, so it's kind of cool just to see the quick process and how you go through and you let them know like, you know, so someone comes in and tosses stuff in front of you.

Yeah.

And maybe not bills, but even like coins, are you going by silver?

Are you going by, you know, what kind of value do you go by when you see stuff like this?

You know, and some people think, oh, it's a 1950s coin.

What's, it's going to be worth so much more, but it's really the metal price, isn't it?

Another - Thing that we deal with is people's like, oh, this is, you know, however old, it's got to be worth the money.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- It - Is just probably not what you're thinking.

Yeah.

With bills, it's always going to be set on condition.

The year they're made and like this, you have a silver certificate.

But in the condition with all the folds, staining, I mean - It's definitely - Been, been - Put - Throug.

It's probably been through some pockets and wallets.

Yeah.

Yeah.

With this kind of stuff, I mean, it's very minimal where when you start getting to coins you have stuff that's going to be just pocket changed.

Yep.

You have stuff that is going to be silver value and you have stuff that's going to be, if it's the right, you know, date, mint mark condition, then we're talking, you know, vacation money.

Yeah.

It's just across the board.

I mean, it's, it's a scale across the board with coins and bills.

And - Just even in coins, I mean, the thing is one year could have a, a double strike or something else.

And it's just, it's almost a jack, it's a, it's trying to hit a jackpot, but as a lot of us know, sometimes there's too many coins around and you can't get through hundreds of them.

Yeah.

- Has - Anyone ever brought in like a hundred coins, 200 coins and to have you evaluate it?

Oh - Yeah.

I mean, we've done anything with the - What's - The longest time you've had someone stand here with you looking through coins?

Has it been a couple hours?

- No, easily.

Yeah.

So you guys - Are accommodating.

I mean, you get, - This is - And we do everything from buying it outright to we do whether it's insurance appraisals or just fair market for, you know, like let's say grandpa Jean passed away and they had six grandkids and split between the two.

So they'll bring it to us to do an overall evaluation to kind of figure out, okay, how's this going to get split between the family?

And yeah, I mean, we have people bring in shoe boxes of coins and we have people bring in multiple large totes of coins.

There's just, you know, it's like toys and everything else.

Some people collect small, some people - Collect - Large.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Speaking of that note then, what is the most expensive turnaround, most expensive item you guys have had through here?

- Or - Rarest even?

I mean, what, what's one of those holy grails that someone has found through you?

- As far as people's found through us you know, it's, I hate admitting this because stamps.

Really?

- Oddly - Enough, the reality of the situation is 95% of stamps out there are just basic, you know, nothing special.

But we get one lot in, we send it off to an auction house and it was really good money and it made a nice end of the year transaction with an auction house for us.

And it's funny because I always give the owner a hard time about stamps because it's just few and far between there's value there.

And you know, of course, probably the largest turnaround number dollar item that we've ever moved is a stamp collection.

- I mean, it makes sense, but I, you know, I kind of, you wonder too, as we age, those kind of collectors aging out, but.

- And that's, with stamps in particular, that's the problem.

They're kind of just, the collectors are going the way the dodo, meaning they're just few and far between.

Yeah.

You know, with coins, there's always going to be money value.

Yeah.

Whether it's silver.

Yeah.

And there's still people, you know, as young as, you know, five, six, whatever, collecting coins.

Stamps, that's a very niche thing.

And we're probably one of the few people in the surrounding states that actually will look at stamps.

- I probably have two grand in 1976 quarters.

It's probably worth two grand, right?

Correct.

- Yeah.

And you know - I'm, - You know, collecting when I was little, that was one thing.

Oh my god, such different things.

Well, - We see people that, you know, they- They're bringing the state - Quarters now.

State quarters so much.

I have a whole set.

- It's like awesome.

You have whatever that is in face value.

Congratulations.

Take to the bank.

Yeah.

- So you do build a lot of community here, but what all do you do out in the community?

Comic-Cons, do you do - Other - Events?

Where do you partner?

- So we do several events, whether they're Comic-Cons, mainly the couple ones in Lawrence.

We do a big one here that's coming up in November that I definitely recommend people check out.

It's called Topeka Rama.

Okay.

It's a really awesome, just all-in-one encapsulating show of collectibles, toys, comics, every, all the above.

It's at the Ag Hall.

It's been very successful.

We do a lot of stuff with the community as far as here just recently we donated some items to Helping Hands Humane Society for one of their raffles coming up.

We've done stuff with Washburn University's Art Museum.

We've done a lot of stuff with local like homeschools, like when they do it with their sports teams.

Oh, that's awesome.

Or even, you know, just junior basketball teams or whatever.

We've either sponsored or donate stuff for raffles or when they have their fairs.

And we try to be as community involved as we can.

And it's just, there's a lot.

For Topeka being how it is, there's a lot of stuff we get involved in and we can con - we're hoping to continue and expanding in the future.

- Well, this has just been amazing.

I, I want to thank you guys for being here because you guys keep, you keep the imagination, you keep that fun alive and, and really need a little bit of that these days or any day.

Thank you and Harley.

Hey, - Thank you for coming in and seeing me.

- Yeah.

I will be in much, much more shot.

And for me, it was just happenchance.

We were next door at the coffee shop.

Yep.

There was a - Star Trek.

Anniversary Star Trek party and we came in for raffle prizes and everything else and blew my mind.

I mean, I saw the front door.

I knew I was going to like stuff, but I figured 12 by 12 space and there's so much stuff, so much stuff online.

So check this - Out.

We cram as much on the shelves as we can.

It's, you know, and we always tell people do once a round, you know, a couple times because you're not going to see it the first time around.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

We've hoped you'd enjoy this trip down memory lane at J Hawk Coins Games and More.

And we'll see you next time on Working Capital.

Working Capital is provided by the Friends of KTWU, Raymond C. And Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and Kansas Department of Commerce.