Prop Store L.A.’s first toys and collectibles auction a success

Chuck Costas, Prop Store V.P.Business Development and Operations displays some of the rare, high-grade action figures from the Howard Kazanjian collection which were part of the recent Prop Store Vintage Toys & Collectables Live Auction in February and March. Dan Watson/The Signal
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A Jawa with a vinyl cape. A ride-on speeder bike. A 4-foot Canadian Chewbacca plush toy. Any hard-core Star Wars collector would know these are top items to watch for in an auction. And they were.

Eyes worldwide bid on these and other vintage toys and collectibles in Prop Store L.A.’s first Toys and Collectibles auction held live online from their Valencia locale on Harrison Parkway late last week.

In just the two-day duration of the auction, Prop Store L.A. brought in more than a half-million dollars in toy sales from its selection of 783 items, according to Chuck Costas, vice president of business development and operations for the company.

“We started expanding with our customers into different areas,” he said. “The U.K. side of our business expanded and has done two poster auctions in the last year or so and this was the launch of our first toy auction. It was very successful.”

The top sales in the company’s toy auction consisted of Star Wars items including: the unused speeder bike store display at $24,600; the vinyl cape Jawa at $14,760; a Paploo coin at $9,840; and the 4-foot Chewbacca at $9,225.

“About three-quarters of (sales) was ‘Star Wars’-oriented,” said Costas. “We find that the ‘Star Wars’ franchise really, sort of revolutionized… the modern action-figure market. There’s a huge collector base for that.”

But there was also a selection of other toys.

For instance, the company had a sample of items such as a Japanese Spider-Man, a Mexican Jawa and a 1980s Capitão América — a Brazilian release of Marvel’s Captain America. Toys from other movie franchises included Jurassic Park, G.I. Joe and Batman collectibles from the 1960s and 1970s.

While Prop Store L.A.’s first toy auction proved to be a success for buyers across the world, Santa Claritans just had to travel to the company’s 20,000-square-foot space for a special treat. The night before the auction, some local residents had the opportunity to meet and check out items from the personal collection of Howard Kazanjian, producer for “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”

“We had people ask questions about ‘Return of the Jedi’ and of his appreciation of the toys that were created for these franchises,” he said.

For those who missed this past auction and meet-and-greet, Costas said to tune in with Prop Store L.A. for upcoming live, online auctions, with one planned for the end of the year.

To learn more about the company and auctions, visit propstoreauction.com.  

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