The boy inside was pacing frantically back and forth, clickity clacking away at the keyboard, hoping it would speed the computers to start up faster. Eyes like a vulture staring right back at me as he noticed me, hand ready to be drawn out from within my pocket.

He must really be regretting that burrito right about now.

Sorry, Jimmy. Lady Luck is getting ready to spin PokeStops right about now.

Which one of us was really on the outside?

I had always been a fan of a mystery, whether it was watching Lester Holt or Keith Morrison on Dateline, showing us the real life surveillance footage of the last sighting of a young man, regretting some life decisions during his morning shift at work. Or the sleuthing of a teenage girl, diving her way underneath the criminal and scandalous underbelly of an affluent town during lunch break. Also, growing up with comic book heroes as friends, it would come to no one’s surprise that I too was a fan of the newly released Netflix show, Jessica Jones. There may even exist writings of a team-up between her and one Master of the Dark Arts and Demonology with a Lucifer cameo in the dark corners of the internet… It’s a work in progress.

I was organizing a small display for the best crime sleuths and when I discovered that there was a figure of Jessica, I knew I had to get her.

Tick.

Tock.

Jimmy just done ran out the clock… Now, let me in.

You may be wondering what sets this post apart from all the thousands of other blogs and quick Google searches of what Funko Pops! are and where to get them. You know, besides the terrible attempt of a Western Noir introduction — I am, I am still on the outside.

What do I have to contribute that others cannot? Why was I personally asked to contribute to this subject? It’s certainly not for my writing prowess. No, no, don’t make me laugh.

That, my friend, is experience.

It is one thing to do research and have knowledge about a certain subject. But there is a whole other layer of new knowledge that can be shared and expressed by someone who has gone through the trenches.

Not only will I be telling you what they are — otherwise, this blog wouldn’t be a one stop POP article. But I will delve even further into what it means to collect, how to collect, where to buy, addictions, etc.

If this blog was My Hero Academia centric, which it is, we would be going Plus Ultra, so let’s begin!

Funko Pops: What the Heck Are They, and Are They for Me?

Now, you may have seen them at your retail stores or local comic book shops. The rows and columns of chibi-esque, big headed figures that stand roughly 3 1/4 to 4 inches in size, staring back at you through a clear plastic window inside a cubed box. With, some would say, soulless, big round eyes.

These adorably kawaii little figures that resemble countless iconic characters spanning decades of pop culture material are known as Funko Pop Vinyl figures. Or more commonly referred to simply as “Funko Pops”. And they’re another form of collectible that can be displayed for the whole world, your visitors, or simply just for you for as profound a reason as finding nostalgia in the things that define you to this day. Or, as pedestrian as liking a particular character on a show and having had some spare space next to the vase and photo frame with the random smiling family insert it came with on the nightstand.

For me personally, after a ten-to-fourteen hour workday, it’s nice to open up the door and see a reminder of the things I enjoy the most. And with a motto of, “Everyone is a fan of something”, Funko sure doesn’t lack much when it comes to variety. Except for the legendary Nintendo Master License, as of the time of this writing. But then again, who doesn’t. From as broad a range of categories like film, television, animation, music, and sports to the specific franchises and fandoms like Star Wars and Harry Potter, Funko literally has hundreds of licenses and thousands of Pops it can sell. Well, it seems daunting to know where to even start.

Hand-in-Hand, Not All Pops are Created Equal

Have you ever wanted to stroke Bob Ross’ seemingly majestic hair without a shovel in the dead of night and time in prison? No? Never thought of it before now? Well, you can!

You go to the store, a new Funko Pop! just released. One that you really like and have had your eye on for a while. And better yet, it is said to glow in the dark! You get there early to make sure you get one. The store opens and you go for gold to the V.I.P section, pinpoint the Pop after scanning rows and rows of them. You grab it, pay and slither your way back home, sliding on the tears of the unfortunate late-comers only to find out yours doesn’t glow. What gives?

I’m here to tell you that not all Pops are created equal.

You may have even tried already, buying and collecting your first few Pops only to find out the same Pop you had previously purchased has a furry counterpart. And with terminologies being thrown at you, like “Grail” and “Vaulted”, while researching online, or a sticker labeled, “Flocked”, on the box window, it may loosen the wanting spirit to begin your new collecting hobby.

That’s where I come along.

Below is just a simple list of some of the terms that you may come across through your journey for your first or fifth Pop in hopes that you won’t have to make the dreaded repeat purchase or return.

And many more!

Okay, Okay, Okay… I know what I’m Looking for, Now Where Do I Look? Where to buy Funko Pops?

You’ve now gone and done your research on what Pops you want, whether it has a variant or if it’s an exclusive to a specific retailer. Now, it’s time for your first Funko Pop! hunt!

Here is a list of some brick and mortar stores and online selections where you can find them. There are plenty more, and don’t forget your local comic books shops, too!

This is just some of the basic knowledge you will probably need in order to start your very own collection of Funko Pops, but you could have easily found this elsewhere.

It’s time to go Plus Ultra and delve even further to discuss topics like how and when to buy, what should be preordered and what can wait for in-store. And very importantly, the addiction that may come with it.

Pop Addict?

Every hobby, especially a collecting one, comes with a risk of addiction. And with the affordability and shear amounts of the figures available, it would come as no surprise that Pop collections may go from one to thirty in a span of months or even less. Trust me, it adds up rather quickly in terms of quantity, finances and space as you try to complete that Naruto set or purchase that new Demon Slayer line.

Now, it’s great to have a hobby. But no hobby should ever have you bust bank in order to enjoy it. I will be doing my very best to guide you through even more in-depth details of how to navigate through the rough waters.

Who Are You?

One of the first questions you’ll want to ask yourself before you really want to start collecting is what type of collector you want to be. This will save you time and money in the long-run by specifically targeting ones you want as opposed to whatever you can get your hands on. That is, unless that’s the type of collector you want to be.

And, of course, there can be many more types of collectors out there, some slight variations or combinations of those mentioned above. No two collectors or collections are the same, after all!

When You Should Buy

We’ve learned where to buy, but now it’s time to learn when to buy. You mean, we don’t just go in store and grab it? You certainly can! But I want to help guide you toward saving money, too. And as with almost every other item, you want to wait for sales.

Outside of the retail world, prices also tend to fluctuate based on popularity or major events. New season of a show coming out? Major character arc or story death? Then you best believe it when people are going to want to get the Pop that’s fresh on their minds. And when there is short supply and high demand, the price gouging begins. So, it’s best to stay up with current events.

How to Pre-Order: What to Pre-Order and What Not To

You have been waiting for months. The new line of Funko Pops that have been teased since last year are finally dropping online for pre-order tomorrow. It’s exciting. From the commons to the exclusives, you want them all… and so does everyone else.

In order to prepare, you have your alarm set and credit card in hand. And when it finally comes time, you quickly add everything to your cart and push through the dreaded checkout screen. Your order is placed, and now, you wait again.

One month.

Two months.

Three.

Hit with a series of delays, you finally start to see the Pops you pre-ordered hitting store shelves, and soon yours too.

One month.

Two months.

Three months have passed, and you still haven’t received your order. What gives?!

If you’ve ever experienced this scenario or anything like it, especially when first starting to collect, you know it’s never a good feeling. Coming in first to the pre-orders but receiving it after everyone else at the finish line. You feel cheated and defeated, and them taking your money during checkout is the kick down under that seals the deal. And you still don’t have anything to show for it.

What if I were to tell you that there is a way to actually order Funko Pops that can save you time, money, and hearthache?

One of the most common mistakes I made early on was quickly adding all the commons and exclusives into the same cart without checking when they are scheduled to release and when they receive payment.

Checking each site and pre-ordering policy to find out if they ship immediately or wait until all the items are in stock before shipping will spare you so much time waiting for your products to arrive.

More often than not, exclusives tend to release later than the common wave. So, separate your cart if you want to see your purchases come in sooner, and pre-order in store to avoid shipping cost.

Another thing you want to check is whether the retailer requires you to pay now or later, when they ship your purchase. This will save your wallet and bank account from going completely dry. And is a nice way to still have your Pops on pre-order and not pay a dime immediately. Learning the cancellation policies of the online retailers is also a good thing to use to your advantage, especially if you find a specific Pop on the shelves before you have paid and the store has shipped.

A good rule of thumb is to pre-order exclusives and/or bundles. And wait for commons in store or on sale, and separate the in-stock Pops and pre-order Pops into two transactions.

But perhaps the most important thing is to be patient with your orders. It can take months from pre-order to release, and each company gets their personal stock delivered at different times. Some bigger retailers usually get their first over smaller ones, give or take delays.

Spotting Fakes

As with any hobby involving high-value items, expect fakes to be amassed.

I had just starting collecting at a more serious level and was fresh from receiving a GameStop exclusive Geralt with Igni Glow in the Dark Funko Pop from the series, The Witcher, as part of a Christmas gift (thank you Alyssa). I just knew that Holiday Gift Guide would work. I was so excited. I had finished watching the Netflix series and loved the creatures and cast of the show, especially everyone’s man-crush, Henry Cavill. He is one of us, after all!

After being gifted Geralt, I wanted to continue down the line, and was searching for his counterpart, Yennefer, a grail. And being out for a good while and vaulted, Yennefer was sitting at a one-hundred fifty-dollar value.

Real Talk.

Now, like I said before, I love me some Witcher. But he needs to be tossing me some coin instead. Because I will be snatching them right back up from off the ground. I can’t be spending no hundred fifty dollars on something without it loving me back. Or so I thought back then. Silly me.

I had been surfing through Mercari for weeks. There was hardly any posting to begin with, due to the difficulty of finding Yennefer. And those who did weren’t selling, keeping her a part of their collection. All the others were asking ten times above retail. And any reasonably priced ones kept getting snatched up as fast as they were posted. I was beginning to lose all hope until I saw one listed for twenty-five dollars.

Without hesitation, I immediately clicked and bought it. I was so excited that I finally bough a Yennefer, and at a super great price, too! It wasn’t until I started watching a YouTube video about fake Pops that I went to check my collection and found out that the Yennefer I had bought was indeed fake.

Looking back, I realized that I had missed many red flags, that the Pop had a high chance of being fake. But in the moment of competing against everyone else, my reasoning and judgment ceased to exist temporarily. But having since matured in spotting fakes, I can now pass some knowledge on to you all. That way, you won’t have to buy a fake. And I’ll be using the fake Pop to do it!

Common pops will almost never be faked, as there is not a market for a ten-dollar pop. And the same goes for newly released pops, since they’re freshly new and haven’t had time to land value or be replicated.

The Pops that are indeed faked are the ones which have acquired the “Grail” status over time.

One of the most common determinants separating real and fake Funko Pops is the lack of a category in which the Pop is in, as well as the registered Funko trademark. A different font or unusual spacing between the category letters is also a determining factor. The thickness of border or an off-color illustration of the character can also be signs that the Pop may be a fake.

Another identifier is the lack of any Funko licensing or trademark markers on the boxes. A lack of a production date or a mismatching one is a common occurrence when dealing with fake Pops.

Although common, the Pop inside the box isn’t the only thing that’s faked.

Sticker swapping is perhaps an even more common way of faking a Pop than the actual molding itself, and this affects the Sticker Collectors the most.

Funko Pops that are convention exclusives tend to have a retailer that shares that Pop with the Shared sticker. Although the Pops themselves are identical, the value of a convention sticker can be double the price of the Shared sticker, due to its rarity and time stamp for a particular event.

• Brook Funko Pop! with Fall Convention exclusive sticker on box
• Funko Pop convention sticker as seen from the side of the box

Always check around the sticker for any glue residue or any attempt to replace the less expensive shared sticker for the more coveted convention sticker through a sticker swap. In addition to any residue, real stickers are also see-through and detailed with specific font and shadows to help prevent replication.

Remember, if the deal seems too good to be true, it most probably is.

Shipping and Selling

When it comes to collecting Funko Pops, you will come to learn rather quickly that shipping is perhaps one of the most important things that comes to mind when buying online. It is the single barrier that’s stopping that elusive Pop you’ve been searching for from becoming the spitting image of your crushed hopes.

One of the most fundamental things about collecting Funko Pops that’s always talked about but never shown or made into a tutorial is how to properly ship Funko Pops. Until today, that is.

First and foremost, you want to pick a size-appropriate box to accommodate your needs while not having too much space for it to move around and bounce during transit. Don’t be like some retailers and ship the product in a bag. It really does suck when you’ve waited so long for a Pop only to receive it poorly packaged and damaged.

Use a Pop Protector or a Sorter, or a Hard Stack case for the more expensive Pops, to help protect the Funko Pop from any sort of damage. And reinforce it will bubble wrap afterwards. This is a great way to further ensure that your product arrives unscathed.

Lastly, always fill the remaining gap space with air bags or more bubble wrap, so that the Pop is snug inside its shipping box.

Sometimes, we need to make room for more Pops and need to let some of your collection go. Especially ones you just don’t collect anymore.

The condition of a box can differ between one collector to the next. When selling Funko pops, taking pictures of all sides of the Pop is one of the most critical things to be done. Finding every dent or ding and taking note is also key.

Another advantageous thing to do is write your selling handle on the day’s date on an index card or sticky note and photo it next to the item, signifying that you are indeed the one selling that particular item in the picture. Because a lot of sellers offering fakes can easily steal someone else’s images off the web or listing.

Display

We made it. The final frontier.

We got our Pops, we saved our monies, and know we bought authentic. Now, we need to show the entire world what we spent it on!

But how the hell are we going to do that? Do we really want someone to find us buried in a Pop crime scene because we had them all stacked atop one another as a fifth bedroom wall? I don’t think so. Especially since they might get damaged in the process.

There are an infinite amount of ways to incorporate Pops into your everyday décor. But I created a list of some tips from the most common used furniture pieces to how to protect your investments.

In Box vs. Out of Box

Depending on the type of collector you are, you might display your Pops differently. In Box vs. Out of Box is perhaps one of the most divisive factors separating the Funko collector community.

Funko Pops aren’t the only things I love to collect, so I try to incorporate them with other or similar things so that everything blends together in both In Box and Out of Box styles of display.

Shelving

Walmart’s mainstays and Ikea’s bookcases and shelves are some of the most well-known and recommended types of displays due to the affordability, durability, and adjustability.

• Critical Role display of Funko Pops on a Walmart Mainstay
• My Hero Academia Funko Pop collection on Walmart Mainstay

Critical Role and My Hero Academia Displayed on Walmart’s Mainstays Shelving OptionsPutting your Funko Pops in Pop Protectors will help increase the longevity of the box’s condition by helping prevent any dents and dings from a fall and help against any sun damage from fading the box’s colors.

Lastly, another common way to display Funko Pops is by using a “Baseball Bat” display case. Many collectors like to set them up with LED lights for Blacklight Funko Pops, so that they light up in the dark.

Stay Konnected and Keep on Track

The world of Funko Pop collecting is ever changing, with new releases seemingly announced every week, price fluctuations, and the latest leaks, rumors, and pre-orders. It can be difficult at times just to keep up with your collection, let alone the latest news!

By downloading the Funko App, you can keep track of your collection and your Wishlist. And now, you can even share it with others too!

Do you have anything that could be added to this article, or any suggestions about what to write next? Maybe you even just enjoyed the read? Let me know by connecting with KokoConnect!

I’d love to hear from you!