SHOREWOOD — After finding success selling toys and collectibles online, Jon Gutierrez is opening up his own storefront in Shorewood on Nov. 13.
The shop is called Cosmic Destroyer's Collectibles. It has a huge assortment of toys from Scooby-Doo to Marvel to Star Wars. Plus there are lots of collectibles, including Pokémon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and more. It's also a place where you can buy, sell, and trade.
“I do like to specialize in hard to find random cool items," Gutierrez, 28, said.
The northern Illinois native said he always loved collecting toys since he was a child.
"I'm thinking it has something to do with my OCD and my addictive personality of collecting," he said.
Gutierrez started doing buy/sell/trade full time about six years ago online. Business started to pick up. He was so successful that he was able to open his storefront in Shorewood on Capitol Drive.
“With the online sales I’m able to cover the overhead here, and I like the storefront. I like that people can walk in.”
There aren't many collectible shops in Milwaukee County. What's more, there aren't many brick and mortar toy shops. It's not an easy business to be part of; however, Gutierrez differentiates himself by the products he carries.
“They buy things that are $5 and they buy things that are $5,000. I’m going to have it all,” he said.
Whether you just like the Star Wars movies or are a die hard and avid collector of Star Wars memorabilia, Gutierrez has a little something for everyone.
Eventually, he plans on having a podcast studio in his store that customers or those passing by can watch live, as well as host Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments.
"I would like to do distribution and wholesale and have a warehouse and just a bigger store - a gaming store specifically. My true goal is to become a top Yu-Gi-Oh! seller in Milwaukee," he said.
The grand opening of the store is Nov. 13.
