She Runs One of the BEST Vintage Toy Shows in America

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Meet Nicole! [00:00:01] Nicole: It's time to party! [00:00:02] Speaker 1: She runs one of the best toy shows in the United States. This is what I live for. All vintage. [00:00:07] Nicole: We're not getting pops in here. [00:00:08] Speaker 1: All fire. [00:00:09] Nicole: I'm gonna give you fire. There's gonna be a lot of fire. [00:00:11] Speaker 1: And all heart. How's your heart rate right now? [00:00:13] Nicole: My heart rate's pumping! [00:00:14] Speaker 1: This... [00:00:15] Nicole: Look at this line, holy! [00:00:16] Speaker 1: ...is Shop the Curiosity. [00:00:30] Nicole: There's underwear that I have to pick up. [00:00:42] Speaker 1: You have to go pick up underwear. [00:00:44] Nicole: I mean, that's kind of stressful. This is gross. I know, right? [00:00:49] Speaker 1: What the heck? [00:00:50] Nicole: The dirty work, you know what I mean? Yeah, this is... You know, yeah. [00:00:53] Speaker 1: When Nicole decided to start a toy show five years ago, she had no idea where it would lead her. And from day one, it's been her world. Her vision. Her dream. Her passion. [00:01:06] Nicole: This is what I live for. Like, I love this sh**, you know? Like, I did this so I can hang out with everybody. Me and you, we used to drive to New Jersey to go to a good toy show. [00:01:16] Speaker 1: Right, right. This is like the show in Connecticut. Now, I've been a vendor at every Shop the Curiosity toy show since the very first one. And it is a day that I look forward to all year long. Partly because it's in my home state, but also because Nicole is fiercely committed to a vintage only standard. [00:01:31] Nicole: What am I looking for? I want moon goons. I want egg monsters. I want boglins. I want mad balls. I want, you know, battle beasts. I want stuff that you don't see. Nobody's going to come to my show to buy stuff they could go buy at Walmart or Target. [00:01:47] Speaker 1: What's like the biggest change from year one to year five? [00:01:51] Nicole: Just the tent probably. The tent. We wanted to expand the show so we could accommodate all the vendors that have been dying to get into the show. 65 vendors inside and then about 36 tables out here. I love the vendors. And without the vendors, the show would never exist. So I will do anything I can for my vendors. This is my dad and without my dad, the show wouldn't be what it is. [00:02:17] Speaker 1: What's your memory from the first show? I didn't sleep for two days. How many people came to that first show? 300. 300 people. [00:02:24] Nicole: Including my vendors. Second show? 300. Like 500. [00:02:28] Speaker 1: Okay. [00:02:29] Nicole: This past one hit over a thousand people. Wow. [00:02:33] Speaker 1: And this is year five. This is the fifth year anniversary. [00:02:35] Nicole: Right. So hopefully we could, you know. [00:02:38] Speaker 3: You're going to make me emotional now. I've seen her from the beginning to the end to now. Five years have gone by. I support her 100%. [00:02:47] Speaker 1: How long have we known each other, Nicole? [00:02:49] Nicole: Oh God. Seven years? [00:02:51] Speaker 1: Eight years? I was set up at the elephant's trunk. [00:02:53] Nicole: You had Battle Beasts and I was like, oh my God, I want these Battle Beasts. And you're like, whose girl knows what Battle Beasts are? Yeah, who's this girl trying to buy Battle Beasts for me? And then it got even better because we figured out that we follow each other. I know. [00:03:09] Speaker 1: I was like, wait, wait, you're Shop of Curiosity? Yeah. You're like, wait, you're a killer car. I'll never forget she traded me a lieutenant leg food fighter, which I still have today. It's eight o'clock. We're about to tuck in all these vendor booths. We're going to get tucked in for bedtime. [00:03:24] Nicole: Yep. [00:03:25] Speaker 1: We're closing up the doors. [00:03:26] Nicole: We're closing the doors. Thank you. [00:03:28] Speaker 1: All the vendors are good. Everyone's where they need to be. What do you do tomorrow? [00:03:32] Nicole: Shop. [00:03:40] Speaker 1: Did you sleep last night? [00:03:41] Nicole: Not really. [00:03:42] Speaker 1: I didn't sleep last night. Yeah. I slept about four hours last night. [00:03:45] Nicole: Yeah, no, I didn't sleep. [00:03:46] Speaker 1: I never sleep the night before a show. [00:03:47] Nicole: This is when I do stress a little bit because now the nerves are pumping. Nerves are pumping for me too. [00:03:54] Speaker 1: So first order of business, get my table set up. I feel like we're all set up. My wife behind the camera, she's the master merchandiser. I just like throw everything on the table and say, make it look good. We got the TV here. I got my mini Trinitron with a top loader set to go for some free play NES. 90% of what I brought is battle beast related. You know, we've got the red Phoenix set, a set of four carded warrior goggles, Greek battle beasts, SDs, carded set, poster. And I'm also giving away goody bags today. I have 10 vintage Mario brown paper bags filled with random goodies, stuff like this. The first 10 people who come to my table and mention the secret password, they're getting a bag. But we're ready to go. Yeah, I love being a vendor at this show. It's the only toy show I set up for all year long. But today it's really all about the other vendors. The ones who've come from far and wide with the most curious of curiosities. And throughout this episode, I'll be checking in with as many as I can to ask them all the same burning question. What's the best item that you brought to shop the curiosity? [00:05:07] Speaker 4: Best item that we brought, I would say, is our working great Garlo. Working. [00:05:11] Speaker 1: He works. Working. Wow. He works. What is the price tag on it? [00:05:15] Speaker 4: I believe we have 600 on them. [00:05:16] Speaker 1: 600. Oh, that's a fair price for a working one. [00:05:18] Speaker 4: That's a fair price. You know, we try to come in fair. Crank's Toys, man. [00:05:21] Speaker 1: You came from a long way away to be here. Yes. I came from the Netherlands. What's the best item you brought with you? [00:05:26] Speaker 5: Probably a carded troll fighter with a monster face over there. Best item I brought with me was a Defensor. [00:05:32] Speaker 1: Was? Was a Defensor. It sold quick. Vintage Chunga. Your best item that you brought with you? Clash of the Titans Pegasus. [00:05:40] Speaker 6: That's like about 180 retail. [00:05:42] Speaker 1: It's more than one item, but it's a full set of Butch and Sundance. What's the value on these? $1.39. Oh, the best item in my booth. I mean, they're not the most expensive, but I think they're the most coolest. [00:05:56] Speaker 7: Got a lot with me today, but I think the coolest item that I brought was this Tomy Omnibot. Oh my God. Look at this thing. [00:06:03] Speaker 1: I'm not familiar with this. [00:06:04] Speaker 7: I wasn't either until I found it. [00:06:07] Speaker 8: Hello, human race. I'm Omnibot 2000 and I've come to serve you. [00:06:12] Speaker 7: And in good condition, they sell for about a thousand bucks, so I'm hoping for $250. Somebody can't live without it. [00:06:17] Speaker 1: Color Val. [00:06:18] Speaker 9: Hello. This is the most exciting item because this is every 90s girl's crafting dream was to have fantastic flowers. [00:06:25] Speaker 1: Low key was a dream of mine. I remember playing with this as a kid. My next door neighbor Stephanie had these. [00:06:30] Speaker 9: It was so much fun because you can make the flowers and they were scented and customizable. It was like having your own flower factory. [00:06:35] Speaker 1: What's the value on this? [00:06:37] Speaker 9: I have it for $50. [00:06:38] Speaker 1: What's the best thing you brought with you today? Mom's store vending machine. It was never put on a machine. I got it right out of the original shipper box. What's the value? $700. $700? $700. Okay, I'm going to check back in with you later and see if you sold it, alright? It's already sold. It's already sold. I know. Already sold. It's a bittersweet moment. Who bought it? It might have been me. It might have been? It might have been. Was it you? [00:07:01] Speaker 10: It was me. You put it on your next video. [00:07:11] Speaker 1: How's your heart rate right now? [00:07:12] Nicole: My heart rate's pumping. Oh my god. Look at this line. Holy sh-- [00:07:20] Speaker 1: That's crazy. Oh my god. [00:07:22] Speaker 3: I'm right here. Two people. $40, please. So right now what we're doing is we're prepaying everybody to come in for the early bird. Right. They don't have to wait. They can just walk in. [00:07:33] Speaker 1: There's no log jam. Everybody's already paid once nine o'clock, once the clock strikes nine, everyone just goes right in. [00:07:39] Nicole: Exactly. It's time to party. What time do you guys get here? [00:07:44] Speaker ?: Five. [00:07:45] Nicole: Five o'clock. Five. Let me open the door. [00:07:48] Speaker 1: Doors are open. [00:07:49] Speaker ?: *music* [00:08:03] Speaker 11: There I brought some trade bait for you. Oh, wow. Got the Zelda board game. Glimbate indeed. Yes sir. This is all the complete, all in there. [00:08:13] Speaker 1: Dude, I have been after this for a long time. The art is crazy on this. Yeah, it's a pretty sick one. Wow. Here's the board. Oh, yeah. You start at World 1 and work your way around. It's got all the pieces, all the cards, and the instructions. And the instructions, and the dice. [00:08:32] Speaker 11: Of course, in the original bag. In the original bag. [00:08:34] Speaker 1: Yes. For you, I had three beasts. Cool. I had this SD and this God Beast. [00:08:40] Speaker 11: God Beast, which I've wanted to get some of his stuff back into my collection. $150 on the Beast Lock. Yeah, man, I think that sounds good to me. You can throw that in, too. You can throw the ruler in, too? Yeah. [00:08:49] Speaker 1: Absolutely. Unused. This lenticular. Unused. Oh, yeah. That's a deal? Yes, sir. Wow. Love it. Awesome. [00:08:59] Speaker 12: I love getting Battle Beast from Killer Cart. I love getting Legend of Zelda board game sets from Big Cero. I think the best item we've brought is the MTT tank. But it's not just a tank. It's also a cooler. The front opens. The cans pull out like the droids were. Oh, my God. Look at that. [00:09:12] Speaker 1: Wow. [00:09:13] Speaker 12: Oh, the battle droids are in there. You put them on top of the Pepsi cans. [00:09:15] Speaker 1: How much is that? $400. $400? Do you think you will sell that today? No. Scott, what's the best toy you brought with you today? The Lego Forceman set. It's got the instructions all complete. $200 on that. [00:09:25] Speaker 5: When you say best, do you think like most expensive or just like what I like the most? I don't know. What's the best item? I mean, dude, the carded rock lords, like they always get me going. How about the best item for you? Okay, I'm intrigued. I mean, it's got to be this. What? Yeah, this is actually from like an arcade cabinet. Oh, my God, dude. Look at those beautiful studs. Wow. Yeah. [00:09:48] Speaker 1: What's the value on this? [00:09:49] Speaker 5: I was asking $100 for it. I'm seeing them count for more than that. But if you want it, dude, I'd do like $60 for you. Sold. Contra, baby. [00:09:59] Speaker 13: I mean, best is pretty subjective. I mean, if you're talking about financial. What is he from? The droids card. Oh, from the droids. Okay. [00:10:09] Speaker 1: Yeah. What's the value on this guy? [00:10:11] Speaker 5: I got $800 on him. [00:10:12] Speaker 1: $800. [00:10:13] Speaker 5: So I think the best item would have to be this vintage match of the universe display. All 48 cans, still sealed. And we have the original shipper that it was shipped in. [00:10:25] Speaker 1: What are you asking on this item? We're asking $15,000. $15,000! Yeah. This could be the most valuable item on the floor. [00:10:33] Speaker 14: Best item that we brought? Best item you brought. That would have to be the TMNT Shogun Shote that has already been sold. Okay. However, that same vendor did hook us both up with the Defensors. You have to cradle them like children. But I've been to Kane County. I've been to Greater Ohio Tosho. I've never seen one of these in person. And then there was two here today, so. What is the best item that you brought to Shop the Curiosity this year? [00:10:54] Speaker 6: This lovely, complete in box. Punch out! Mike Tyson's punch out. But it's the white dot version. The white dots. Is that the first print, right? Yeah. So it's got the white dots. The cart matches. Everything matches. It's got the letter, everything. [00:11:08] Speaker 1: I've been looking for a punch out. Later this episode, my lifelong search for a CIB punch out would actually come to an end in a way I never could have expected. It's 1240 right now. [00:11:19] Nicole: And we're hustling. Those people are still coming in the door. [00:11:21] Speaker 1: I haven't been able to leave my table because I've just been going the whole time. I just wanted to see how you're doing. Yeah. Temperature check. You seem like you're cool and you're good. [00:11:29] Nicole: I'm good. This is great. Okay. [00:11:32] Speaker 8: How can I not be good? What's the best thing you brought to Shop the Curiosity? The best thing will probably be the dark winged duck. Sealed in box, 12 inch dark winged duck. What's the value on that? About 500 bucks. Best item? Uh. The goose bumps. Bean bag. [00:11:44] Speaker 1: Chair. Kind of don't want to sell it, but what's the I don't want to sell it price? $600. Best item? Toxi on card. Oh, clean Toxi on card for $250. Wow. Yeah. Thad, what is the best item you brought to Shop the Curiosity? Personal preference would be Invisible Man Mike, but then Creature Leo. Oh, and the Creature. Wow, man. These are going to sell today. I think so. Look at this thing. Oh, look at this thing. Wow, dude. Yeah, that thing is pretty awesome. What's the price on this? I'm asking $175 on that. $175. Right. What's the best item you brought to Shop the Curiosity this year? Oh, the Tiamat. It's LGN Tiamat. My price to move it today is $800. This is your original X2? I think my interest in video games, that was more towards the end of it. Yeah. And so it probably came out the box, went on a shelf, and I never touched it for years and [00:12:26] Speaker 5: years. [00:12:27] Speaker 15: So the best item that I got this year is this original 1971, which is the original X2. Yeah. And so it probably came out the box, went on a shelf, and I never touched it for years and years. So the best item that I got this year is this original 1971, which is the original X2. 1971 Red King. Wow. Made by Bullmark. The paint on it is beautiful. And what's the price tag on that? I got $800 on this one. [00:12:51] Speaker 1: $800. And I also noticed something over here. [00:12:55] Speaker ?: This. [00:12:56] Speaker 1: Oh, my God. I don't have this baby. [00:13:01] Speaker ?: $20. [00:13:02] Speaker 13: Can I give you $20 for it? $20. It's yours. Thanks, brother. You got it. The best item. Well, the most expensive item is probably the Zelda shirt. Wow. What size is this? It's a medium, I think. Hold it up. Yeah. It's clean, too. Wow. It's super clean. Okay, now that's the best item I've seen so far. I'm definitely very interested in that. Okay. I would love for that to go to you. Okay. 100%. I'm flying around. [00:13:26] Speaker 1: I'll come back later and check on you. I got you. I got you. [00:13:29] Speaker 10: The best item on here. I would have to say, obviously, the Game Boy from Tommy Hilfiger Edition. Wow. In the box. I'm maxing $900 on it. [00:13:37] Speaker 16: I have one of the rarest toys you will see here today. An original Diaclone swoop. Wow. $4,000 on this guy. Probably also one of the most expensive toys in this joint today. [00:13:49] Speaker 17: At Shop the Curiosity, I brought probably the rarest Action Force vehicle. Wow. Maybe other than the Tri-Fighter. I've actually never seen a Tri-Fighter before in real life. We've got the original Pilot, and I have the original instruction sheet. Wow. And an unused sticker sheet. What is the price on the RoboSkull? [00:14:07] Speaker 1: We're ballparking around $850. What is the best item you brought all the way from Pittsburgh here to Connecticut? [00:14:14] Speaker 15: It's a PSA Atom Bomb. Wow. Wow. This is $950. [00:14:19] Speaker 1: Think it'll sell? I hope not. What's the best item you brought with you? Best item? Besides my wife, and you never see it at show. Yes. And we saw this when we did your collection tour. Yeah. This cabinet is crazy. This is sealed in box. Oh, that's really cool. [00:14:35] Speaker 5: I mean, when he gives that sword at the end of the movie to, like, thud butt, everyone cries. [00:14:39] Speaker 1: If you haven't seen my video with Guy, definitely check it out after this video. So what's the best item you brought to Shop the Curiosity? Any S for you, especially. Oh, yeah? But they're in my car. Okay, now, sometimes the best items at a toy show are not actually inside the toy show. Like the Nintendo collection my friend Jimmy had hiding in the trunk of his car. Little by little, Jimmy's been selling me games from a crazy collection he bought back in 2022. Zelda. [00:15:02] Speaker 8: I sold all of this stuff for $10,000. And I bought the, uh, the one I graded. The Legend of Zelda. You had, yeah. [00:15:08] Speaker 1: I had that graded for 9.8. 9.8 sealed? Yeah. Sold it for $50,000. $50,000! You wanna relive the Legend of the Night Jimmy's 9.8 Zelda sold at auction? Complete with all his real-time reactions, definitely check out my full-length episode on Jimmy. But there was still a Zelda game lurking in the trunk of Jimmy's car. I wasn't leaving Shop the Curiosity without it. Yeah, the classic series. Jimmy, this one is so clean. I mean... I know, it's sick. So, there's this one, and the Blaster Master. Oh. $225. $225. Thank you. Appreciate it. [00:15:41] Nicole: We are about to pick the winner for the giveaway. The winner gets their choice of the Skullman, or the Hooded Skullman, or the Scare Glover. Or the Scare Glover. Alright, who wants to pick the ticket? Shake, shake. [00:15:56] Speaker 1: Alright. Okay, let's see. [00:15:58] Nicole: Who's the winner? [00:15:59] Speaker 1: No looking. Alright, the winner is Harry. Pick up the phone, Harry. [00:16:05] Speaker ?: Hey, buddy. [00:16:06] Nicole: Hey, is this Harry? [00:16:08] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:16:09] Nicole: Well, you better come out to the front. Where's Harry? Oh my God, are you kidding me? Dude. He won last year. You won two years in a row? [00:16:17] Speaker 4: He won last year. [00:16:18] Nicole: That's insane. Oh my God, Harry. Pick the freaking Hooded Skullman, please. No, it's okay. Pick anyone. Yeah, I do. Okay, cool. Grab it. [00:16:28] Speaker ?: Alright, bring him out. Yeah. [00:16:30] Speaker 1: Okay, Amy, I see a big, a lot of negative space here. Where's the Garlu? The Garlu has sold. What's up, guy? Did you sell it? I did. [00:16:40] Speaker 6: I sold almost everything I brought today. Velocity. And I did sell the Pegasus. Dark winging is gone. I sold the punch out. Did we sell it? Thankfully, no. It's still here. Still here. [00:16:49] Nicole: I'm just like on cloud nine right now. And you hold on. I have something for you. So hold on there, partner. [00:16:56] Speaker 1: I mean, I don't need anything because I just had the most fun day I've had in like a whole year. [00:17:01] Nicole: And I don't even know if you have this. Okay. But here it is. Oh, God. Here is the punch out. It's not sealed. Oh, my God. [00:17:11] Speaker 1: It's gorgeous. Yes. [00:17:13] Nicole: Do we have that? I don't have it. [00:17:15] Speaker 1: Yes, see? I don't have punch out CIB. This is a game that I've been really just waiting on until the right moment happens. Yeah. And sometimes when you wait for the right moment, this is what happens. [00:17:26] Nicole: Yeah, and here it is. [00:17:27] Speaker 1: Oh, my God. [00:17:28] Nicole: Thank you. [00:17:29] Speaker 1: Thank you. [00:17:30] Nicole: Look at that. [00:17:31] Speaker 1: Love it. Mike Tyson's punch out CIB. What a clean box it is. 100% complete with the game and the manual. And of course, the letter from Iron Mike himself. So incredibly grateful for this amazing gift from Nicole. And thank you to Jimmy for this immaculate Zelda classic series with its iconic gray cart still in the original plastic baggie. Plus this Zelda board game from Big Cero with the board, the original instructions, all the Dyson game pieces, this Contra Arcade Translight marquee from Typo Toys, this European bootleg Rambo that I picked up from Crank's Toys, this Luigi coin bank. Thanks, Crypty. And another Kong to join my family of E-tone Donkey Kong plushes, thanks to the Wizard of Slime. Oh, yeah. And the Zelda shirt fits. Kind of. Thanks, Apuzo. That's a grail inside a grail inside a car. And so another Shop the Curiosity is in the books. After months of planning and stressing and pouring her heart into this thing, Nicole pulled it off again. Her passion for the vendors, the shoppers, and curating all the curiosities, once again transformed our little corner of Connecticut into the center of the vintage toy world for a day. And we'll do it all again next May. Please remember to follow Shop the Curiosity on Instagram. And thank you for watching. We'll see you on the next one.