“ They come into the store and the parent introduces their child to childhood toys from many years ago, then they hunt for them together. We witness this regularly from quite a few of our regular customers. It’ s a beautiful sight.”
Dugan and Eisel both agree that their most prized possession is definitely their Star Wars collection. It includes pieces from the original line released between 1978 and 1985, and all are brand new, never opened. The two friends keep it on display on the back wall at the shop for customers to see.“ It’ s a great conversation piece and it’ s truly a thing of beauty!” they note.
According to Dugan, Star Wars merchandise is definitely the most sought after, with GI Joes running a close second.“ They originally came out with a 12-inch GI Joe figure in 1964 and that line ran until the mid 1970s. In 1982, GI Joe caught new life by creating a highly sought-after line,” he says.“ These figures are 33 / 4 inches tall. We have a very large customer base that visits our store regularly looking for these, and we usually have two to three display cases of them in the store at all times.”
The two most rare pieces D and E Collectibles currently has in stock came from a gentleman who used to work for Zayre’ s
discount store. While there, he acquired two store displays that ended up in his attic and were long forgotten about until recently.“ A store display is unique because it’ s a merchandise display or a special presentation of a store’ s product that is used to attract and entice the buying public,” explains Eisel. One of the items is a“ CHIPs” helicopter made by Empire Toys.“ CHIPs” was a television show that aired from 1977-1983.“ It’ s more than likely one of a kind,” he continues.“ Our research hasn’ t turned up any info.” The other store display is from a line called Legends of the West, also by Empire Toys. There is a little information on this store display but it’ s a very hard-to-find piece.
Additionally, the store stocks a humble video game selection consisting of the original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and Sega, with some older systems like Atari and ColecoVision as well.
“ Basically our store consists of two 1,000-sq.-ft. rooms,” says Dugan.“ One room is pretty much all vintage toys and the second room is all modern toys.”
On the modern side is the store’ s famous $ 2 bin.“ We have a giant bin that has hundreds of figures that are $ 2 each— people love to dig for gold!” laughs Dugan.“ We also have a section of modern Star Wars figures that are brand new and are always priced at $ 2 each. We stock affordable items neighborhood kids can purchase, all the way up to items that might be worth thousands of dollars for the hard-core collector.”
D and E Collectibles is located at 700 Main Street in Sharpsburg, and is open Monday through Friday from 11 a. m. to 7 p. m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 6 p. m. ■
» For more information, visit dandecollectibles. com.
Most people don’ t realize their kids’ childhood toys that are just taking up space in the garage or in the attic could possibly fund this year’ s vacation. Contact D and E Collectibles! If there is too much for you to transport, D and E can come to you.
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