WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg Premium Outlets is now home to iCollectables, a new store that specializes in collectible merchandise.
The business was started by Andrew Mooney and his father.
Andrew traces his roots in collectibles to 2015, when his parents bought him the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Funko Pops, which introduced him to Funko. From there, Mooney began picking up characters for franchises he enjoyed. His father was also a collector, collecting vintage toys in the ’90s. Soon, the duo were expanding collecting into a business.
“We would go to comic cons and have fun and we realized that there wasn’t really a market yet for Funko Pops there, and starting in 2015 that year we decided, ‘hey, let’s try it out,'” Mooney recalled. “We went to VA ComiCon in Richmond and we did really well. We went, ‘hey, this is a thing we can do to make some money on the side.'”
Mooney truly began to take the business seriously in 2020, growing it from a side hustle into a fully-fledged business. He began to expland into action figures and plushies in order to make up a full toy store. Mooney opened his storefront on June 1.
In addition to selling the standard collectibles, Mooney and his father also sell signed collectibles in the store. When they sell at conventions, they also pick up autographs from celebrity guests to add to the shop.
“Once again it kind of snowballed, we went from getting autographs in line and doing stuff like that to adding onto props and whatnot, because we realized that the autographs were selling well,” Mooney explained.
On a case-by-case basis, he said the business will consider purchasing items if they have been authenticated by a reputable third party. It also has an online form for individuals looking to sell Funko Pop collections.
Some of Mooney’s favorite pieces currently for sale in the store are an original Aladdin movie poster signed by the Aladdin and Jasmine actors, as well as a green rotary phone signed by Olivia Hussey, who was in the original Black Christmas.
The veteran-owned shop, located in the Williamsburg Premium Outlets, is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. For more information about the business, visit its official website.
