Screw this show
I own a independent toy store that specializes in vintage toys as well as contemporary, and I have to say, I dread this show and all that it brings with it.
Because of this show, you will now see waves of people who think that they are instant toy experts, and will all be thinking that they will be next in line to hit it big selling toys. They will hit garage sales and flea markets, all convincing themselves that they are the 1st to do this and that they are falling into easy money, just like all those jack holes who behave similarly following the debuts of Storage Wars, American Pickers and the like. Now, every body thinks that they are experts, and everybody is thinking that they got what it takes to peddle collectibles.
This show only makes it worse with painfully staged segments that show the host "playing" with toys (seriously...that was so deliberately staged it made me almost nauseous to watch it), and downplaying the actual amount of work it takes to get something like this up and running.
The host himself...he has no love for toys, or if he did, it has long since flamed out. He would discover a toy in a box and get excited, but not because of the toy itself...he would exclaim, "Do you know how much I could get for this?!". Sad and disgusting.
You may ask yourself if my strong emotional reaction is only because I fear so much competition. That is part of it, but not all. See, I do get kids in my store...and I will occasionally reduce - sometimes drastically - my asking price for a toy, simply because I know that this kid will take it home & play with it and love it. Once this show hits the airwaves and everybody decides that they are going to be the next Toy Hunter, I will be unable to do these sorts of things because A) competition for said toys will be too high and B) what's to stop the next toy scalper from sending their kid in to take advantage of me?
I got into this business because I love toys, and I also like to share that love. I especially enjoy fanning the flames of love for toys i the hearts of kids (if you notice, the overwhelming majority of kids don't play with toys any more. They play with game systems - thus jeapordizing the future of toys all together).
Toy scalpers like this host will eventually kill the toy industry. Brick and mortar toy stores will become even more obsolete as this army of unrealistic, too lazy to geta real job douches all make the pilgrimage to E-Bay, and kids will be unable to discover the joy of toys as they will now be priced out of their range.
The only solace I have is that these despicable opportunists will soon discover how difficult it really is (to wit : I work a full time job in addition to running my store), and not figure out the tricks of the hobby, and soon jump onto the next big thing.
I just hope that they take this damned TV show with them.
SUCKER PUNCH > INCEPTION