- Funko Pops are collectible figurines of characters from almost any comic, show, movie, or video game that you can imagine. They have big bobble heads and large black eyes.
- Funko Pop fan, Anthony Peeples has nearly 1,000 of these toys in his New York apartment and his collection could be worth thousands of dollars.
- In the video above, Anthony shows us his collection and tells us why he loves collecting "Pops."
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Following is a transcript of the video.
Anthony Peeples: We have between 800 and 1,000 Funko Pops, give or take. I'm Anthony Peeples. I'm a Funko Pop Collector. I'm feeling high-five fantastic, and I hope you are as well.
Narrator: Funko Pops are everywhere. They're those small plastic figurines with giant heads and big round eyes. There are pops of pretty much every character you can think of. And fans are obsessed. The company did half a billion dollars in sales in 2017. And has already surpassed that in 2018. Anthony, who goes by the nickname GeekyPeeples, has taken his obsession to another level.
Peeples: Funko Funatics is definitely a common term that we all use to refer to ourselves.
Narrator: Anthony and his partner, Raul, have been collecting Pops since 2015. And they can be found all over their home.
Peeples: They're displayed in all the various places that we can find room in our New York City apartment. We have one room that is our room that we've kind of transformed into a Pop den. My DC wall is dedicated to "Batman the Animated Series," which was very important to me in my childhood growing up. I'm a big Marvel boy, so I collect a lot of the Marvel lines. I have one wall dedicated to Freddy Funko, the Funko mascot. The other wall is kind of, "storage." It's a slow process so I'm building the room up.
Narrator: His kitchen is decorated with Pops that are food related.
Peeples: A friend of mine, he actually displays his Mr. Freeze Pops in the freezer.
Narrator: And when we visited in October, his living room was decorated with Halloween-related Pops.
Peeples: So all of the Pops that are horror based, or fun, or scary. And we also have Pops displayed in our bedroom.
Narrator: Anthony keeps track of his Pops using several online apps. Which estimate that his collection could be worth thousands of dollars, based on market value. But the prices can change over time. His first Pop was a Storm figurine given to him as a gift from friends.
Peeples: And then from there, it just took fire in side of me and I just wanted to collect as many as I can. I actually still have that Storm, it's right there on the wall. I keep it right where I can always see it.
Narrator: His collection includes many rare Pops that were released as limited editions. Including some ultra rare ones called Chase Pops.
Peeples: A Chase Pop is a Pop that you can find, kind of like the golden ticket that Willy Wonka was giving out. It's very rare, and there's only a certain limited amount of them. And they also have a special sticker on them. Also, if you collect comics, it's like a variant cover.
Narrator: In 2017, he went to the grand opening of the Funko Headquarters in Washington. And got his hands on one of his most prized figurines.
Peeples: It's the Emerald Freddy. It has the flagship sticker on it, which was also very rare. I also have another very rare Pop. The blue chrome Batman from San Diego Comic Con. I slept for four days in front of the San Diego Convention, and I ended up getting into the booth. I cried a lot because I was so happy and so excited. The chrome Batman is worth a lot of money. I've seen it go up right now, currently, as high on Ebay as $800.
Narrator: He and his partner also placed in a lip-syncing contest at a Funko Event. And chose two giant Robin and Joker Pops as prizes, that he estimates are now worth about $1,200 each.
Peeples: I do also have just a couple rare Proto Pops.
Narrator: These are basically prototypes of Pops before they're massed produced. Anthony doesn't just collect Pops, however, he also organizes events with fellow collectors, including fundraisers for charity.
Peeples: I host here in New York, periodically, events that I call Peeples Pop!Swap. Those events have been major, major moments where I've gotten to meet so many collectors and have so many wonderful friends because of that.
Narrator: In addition to swapping, Anthony often sells Pops to help fund his trips to various conventions around the world to buy new ones.
Peeples: Cause it's very expensive. The expenses do mount up.
Narrator: He's active in the official Funko Forum, a message board for fans. So he always knows where to be to get the rare Pops for cheap.
Peeples: I try to get them as close to the
Peeples: So it's best to just be on your game. Know your information. Know where the Pop is you want. Know how much it's going to cost. And be prepared to line up and hopefully score some wonderful Funko Pops.
Narrator: And he says he has no desire to stop collecting anytime soon.
Peeples: Whether I collect Funko Pops or not, the one thing that is a constant, is that the people I've met and the relationships I've established from being in the Funko Pop community, they're not going anywhere in my heart. I will keep in contact whether I collect Funkos or not.
And there's a story behind each one.
Some people identify themselves as "I'm a fiend!" and they'll be wearing the fiend patch. Or they're a Funkero. There's Jersey Funko and there's Chicago Funko. So many across the country and they identify themselves in that way. But we're all Funatics, we're all Funko Funatics.