Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Toy Economics 101

Morris hung up his paper hat for a roll of bubble wrap. Cha-ching!
Morris hung up his paper hat for a roll of bubble wrap. Cha-ching!

“So far, it’s been $100,000 in gross sales since I’ve been in business, which has been just over two years,” says singer/songwriter Lenny Morris of his side gig selling pop-culture memorabilia online. “I basically started by accident, finding a few valuable secondhand vintage items — some Ninja Turtle action figures, for cheap. When I sold them for much more than I paid, I kind of got hooked and began visiting local swap meets every weekend.”

Morris has been self-employed since hanging up his paper In-N-Out Burger hat in early 2011 to play a series of local residencies at restaurants like downtown’s Hard Rock Café.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Since my first ‘find’ was a toy, my focus was on those types of items. Vintage stuff [such as] Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters.” Later branching out to vinyl records and video games, he says, “On Saturdays and Sundays, there are four swap meets going on at the same time. Lots of potential product to be found.”

“I sold a single Japanese Series 1 Power Rangers Morpher in the original box for $1500. I think I invested about half, winning it in auction a few months prior. I’ve also sold large collections of figures, in the $2000 range. My favorite is when I find an item down at the swap meet for a buck or two and sell it for $300.”

Do sellers ever accuse him of profiteering? “I purchased a Deluxe Talkboy sealed in box, the one from Home Alone 2, from a seller online for $99.99 and then put it right back up for sale at Super Video Games USA [on eBay] for $299.99. He thought this was insulting. I simply explained that, in this business, when it comes to rare items, Economics 101 teaches us that when supply is down, demand goes up.... Talkboys sealed in original boxes are very hard to come by.”

The stay-at-home-dad cares for his 17-month-old son while his wife works.

“He’s been watching me since he was born, packaging items, taping, cutting boxes. He’s at the point now that he’s trying to help me tape the boxes, helps me put in bubble wrap. Bubble wrap is definitely his favorite.”

Morris is also still playing and recording with guitarist Wil Forbis and percussionist Christopher Rubio. “We’ve been planning on releasing a full-band album for a few years, which will hopefully come to fruition soon.” A new single, “By Their Own Desire,” is planned for autumn.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Morris hung up his paper hat for a roll of bubble wrap. Cha-ching!
Morris hung up his paper hat for a roll of bubble wrap. Cha-ching!

“So far, it’s been $100,000 in gross sales since I’ve been in business, which has been just over two years,” says singer/songwriter Lenny Morris of his side gig selling pop-culture memorabilia online. “I basically started by accident, finding a few valuable secondhand vintage items — some Ninja Turtle action figures, for cheap. When I sold them for much more than I paid, I kind of got hooked and began visiting local swap meets every weekend.”

Morris has been self-employed since hanging up his paper In-N-Out Burger hat in early 2011 to play a series of local residencies at restaurants like downtown’s Hard Rock Café.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Since my first ‘find’ was a toy, my focus was on those types of items. Vintage stuff [such as] Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters.” Later branching out to vinyl records and video games, he says, “On Saturdays and Sundays, there are four swap meets going on at the same time. Lots of potential product to be found.”

“I sold a single Japanese Series 1 Power Rangers Morpher in the original box for $1500. I think I invested about half, winning it in auction a few months prior. I’ve also sold large collections of figures, in the $2000 range. My favorite is when I find an item down at the swap meet for a buck or two and sell it for $300.”

Do sellers ever accuse him of profiteering? “I purchased a Deluxe Talkboy sealed in box, the one from Home Alone 2, from a seller online for $99.99 and then put it right back up for sale at Super Video Games USA [on eBay] for $299.99. He thought this was insulting. I simply explained that, in this business, when it comes to rare items, Economics 101 teaches us that when supply is down, demand goes up.... Talkboys sealed in original boxes are very hard to come by.”

The stay-at-home-dad cares for his 17-month-old son while his wife works.

“He’s been watching me since he was born, packaging items, taping, cutting boxes. He’s at the point now that he’s trying to help me tape the boxes, helps me put in bubble wrap. Bubble wrap is definitely his favorite.”

Morris is also still playing and recording with guitarist Wil Forbis and percussionist Christopher Rubio. “We’ve been planning on releasing a full-band album for a few years, which will hopefully come to fruition soon.” A new single, “By Their Own Desire,” is planned for autumn.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Next Article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.