W♥M (Archive)

Swapsaturday at Everett McClay VFW Post 1296, Bloomington (23 Nov 2019)

Swapsaturday (23 Nov 2019) Read More Minnesota Toy Posse If you’re looking for a small toy convention or meet/trade toy collectors, check out the Minnesota Toy Posse shows (organized by Dave Wheeler and Mark Seekamp). We attended the MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap at Event Horizon in Minneapolis earlier today (Sunday ...

The November Minnesota Toy Posse show (named Swapsaturday) just took place at the Everett McClay VFW Post 1296 in Bloomington, Minnesota. These local shows are organized and hosted by organized and hosted by Dave Wheeler and Mark Seekamp, primarily via Facebook.

I haven’t attended their show for a while, and decided to drop in on Saturday. The local show keeps getting bigger and bigger (this month had over 100 tables), and it’s evident by the constantly full parking lot (we had to park at the nearby Cub Foods and walked over). That’s just one minor complaint about this show… they really need to book a bigger place or find a place with a larger parking area to accommodate for all their fans.

As usual, it’s free entry, and their dealers had a variety of toys, comics, and nerd-related items. Some prices were really cheap, while some were really high, which is normal for various dealers with different collections.

Transformers and Marvel’s Legends were the two commonly seen toys, but I was happy to see someone who sold exclusively Street Fighter toys.

Personally speaking, I was only really looking for Gundams (figures, not model kits) and didn’t really see anyone selling them. Saw a Mazinger Z statue, but they wanted over $180, which is a little out of my price range.

Overall, we it was still a good toy hunt for us. Found a few things we didn’t know we need, but couldn’t turn it down because the prices were really good.

This might be a last show for me for a while, as driving to Bloomington is a bit of a hike for us. Maybe we’ll attend again in the Summer or make it an annual thing.

Swapsaturday at Everett McClay VFW Post 1296, Bloomington (23 Nov 2019)

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MN Toy Posse Presents: Execute Order 66 Swap! at Knights of Columbus, Bloomington (26 Aug 2018)

MN Toy Posse Presents: Execute Order 66 Swap! Read More Minnesota Toy Posse If you’re looking for a small toy convention or meet/trade toy collectors, check out the Minnesota Toy Posse shows (organized by Dave Wheeler and Mark Seekamp). We attended the MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap at Event Horizon in Minneapolis earlier today (Sunday ...

The monthly Minnesota Toy Posse show (dubbed “MN Toy Posse Presents: Execute Order 66 Swap!”) just took place over at the Knights of Columbus in Bloomington on Sunday, August 26th. This is the local toy show organized and hosted by Dave Wheeler and Mark Seekamp, primarily via Facebook. I don’t believe they have a regular (public) website or other means of communication (they don’t list their email addresses), so basically if you’re not on FB or Instagram, you’re out of luck.

The August show had a larger room, which meant more dealers (66 tables vs 40 tables last month). Tables were setup on all the walls with two sets of tables in a row in the middle. Turnout was incredibly good, once again, thanks to the free entry and word-of-mouth advertisements among its growing Facebook members (a private group). The tiny parking lot at Knights of Columbus was full most of the time, so you had to park nearby at HOM Furniture’s lot.

As for the dealers, as usual, some had “thrift store” vibe (some didn’t bother putting prices on their toys!), while some were seasoned pros.

Popular toys at the show were Marvel: Legends toyline (Build-A-Figure), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars (of course), Masters of the Universe, and Transformers. Between all the toys, plus some comic books, movies/Blurays, they had anything you could really want.

If you’re looking for cheap figures, there were plenty of loose figures in bins or in “baggies”. Loose figures often don’t include accessories, but on the other hand, they were fairly price at $5 (or lower).

Tips for dealers: Please clearly mark prices on your toys (preferably in large font size). Organize your toys (DC in one bin, Marvel in another, Transformers in another, etc.) Be available to sell your toys (it’s not uncommon for these dealers to just leave their tables unattended or bring in more stuff from their car).

Tips for buyers: Bring cash, not every dealer will accept card payments. There is an ATM in the room, but there is a processing fee if you’re out of banking network. Dealers will often give discounts if you buy multiple items or large dollar amount, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask for $5 or $10 off (although, personally speaking, I don’t really like to haggle).

If you were thinking about selling at the MN Toy Posse September’s show, it’s probably best to reserve your table today. Even at a higher dealer table price ($30 per table or $50 for two tables - more expensive than last month’s $20 table), they still manage to sell out pretty quickly.

Anyway, it looks like another successful Minnesota Toy Posse show. They haven’t announced a location or date for the September show, but a good guess would probably be on Sunday, September 30th.

MN Toy Posse Presents: Execute Order 66 Swap! at Knights of Columbus, Bloomington (26 Aug 2018)

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MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap at Event Horizon, Minneapolis (29 Jul 2018)

MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap Flyer Read More Minnesota Fan Fusion Minnesota Fan Fusion (previously known as Minnesota Fan Fest) is coming up on August 3-5, 2018. The event is, once again, held at the Rivercentre in downtown St. Paul. Everything is an upgrade ...

If you’re looking for a small toy convention or meet/trade toy collectors, check out the Minnesota Toy Posse shows (organized by Dave Wheeler and Mark Seekamp). We attended the MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap at Event Horizon in Minneapolis earlier today (Sunday, July 29), and it was a well-attended show, thanks to its free entry and local fanbase. As I’ve previously mentioned, I feel like these type of dealer shows should be free, like going to a yard sale or estate sale (unlike some other local shows like Blizzard World Minneapolis which charges an admission for entry).

Off hand, I heard it was cheap ($20) to get a table at the show. There were about 40 tables at the show, most of them in the main room, while about six sellers (I say sellers since it seems like some people had multiple tables to themselves) were in the two smaller adjacent rooms. Since it was cheap to get a table, they did pass on the savings on to the buyers. Prices were all really reasonable. For example, the harder to find Thanos (Walmart Exclusive) were sold between $25 or $30, which is only slightly above retail.

While some sellers were seasoned pros, most were just ordinary collectors who had excess/extra items they wanted to get rid of. A few times I had to hunt down the dealers (they were usually shopping at other tables) to give them money. Everyone was really nice and friendly.

The next big show I am attending will be MN Fan Fusion, taking place August 3-5, 2018. This is not a free show, it is about $20-$30, but what you get are some out of town guests and a much larger space (plus panels and other activities). If you’re looking for toys, based on my attendance last year, I can tell you that some dealers will have action figures there.

Note: Dave Wheeler, co-founder of Mind Wave Comics, will be a guest at MN Fan Fusion (as previously mentioned here).

MN Toy Posse Summerville Swap at Event Horizon, Minneapolis (29 Jul 2018)

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