When I’m not writing about music on the internet, I pass my free time with a fair amount of “nerdy” hobbies like collecting Pokémon cards and Funko Pops.
When I first entered the world of no shelf space, I came across a YouTube channel called Grown Kids TV. The couple, Mike and Lindsey, seemed so genuinely kind and were so open in sharing their hobby of collecting with the world.
In the beginning, their channel was almost exclusively openings of Funko Pop mystery boxes.
I’ve been watching their channel consistently for over a year now, and their content has only gotten better and more diverse. It’s been amazing to watch their channel and video quality grow so exponentially.
Mike and Lindsey were kind enough to take the time to answer some of my questions so that we could all get to know them a bit better:
Nick Teal: When did you start collecting Funko Pops?
Mike: “We have had Funko Pops as early as 2013 (as I found out looking through old photos). We didn’t really collect them as much as I liked a character and bought the figure because it was cute. We started aggressively collecting (a term a viewer mentioned and we loved) right before we started our channel.”
NT: Why did you originally begin filming YouTube videos?
M: “We have always liked mystery boxes and that seemed like a great way to have fun with them. Not to mention being able to get something with actual guaranteed worth that we were interested in.”
NT: Do you or Lindsey collect anything outside of Funko and Chomps?
M: “Lindsey has collected a lot of Toy Story related items and I’ve had some Ninja Turtles stuff myself. Not much else in terms of a specific company or collection…well, maybe some Legos!”
NT: What’s been the biggest challenge in running your YouTube channel?
M: “Our biggest challenge is finding fun mystery boxes that our viewers would want to see from us. We really like the ‘higher end’ mystery boxes because of the more rare Pops you can find in them. But then we also have to wait to find a higher end mystery box that has hits we would genuinely like to pull. Sometimes the hits are pops we already have or something we are not too interested in, even if it is awesome.”
NT: What is your favorite Pop from the Rocks line?
M: “We have never owned it, but Jimi Hendrix with the burning guitar from the Monterey Festival! Everything about it is perfect, the colors (with the purple box), the pose/mold, the guitar and fire…and it’s Jimi Hendrix!”
NT: What’s one you wish that Funko would make?
M: “There are so many awesome ideas that they could do, especially now with the album covers they’re doing. Stevie Nicks would be awesome, Rick Ross, Drake, and Lindsey just said “I love Mumford and Sons”
NT: What’s the next line of Pops you want to complete?
M: “I am one away from the Elvira set being complete. We did have The Office set complete, but it seems they are making newer ones faster than we can get pre-orders in, so we slowed down on that line. “
NT: What are a few of the pieces you’ve been debating pulling the trigger on buying?
M: “I’ve actually been back and forth on two pieces a lot recently, both Freddy Funkos. I may or may not have just bought both of them though! One is the Freddy Flux that we have loved for a long time, and the other is a Freddy Funko as Scott Pilgrim!”
NT: What’s one of your favorite pieces in your collection that you’ve never shown off on your channel?
M: “We love to show off everything, but we just got a three foot cardboard cutout of a Freddy Funko Spoon from DesignerCon that we haven’t shown yet. It’s ridiculous and silly, but it really makes everyone smile that sees it!”
NT: I’ve heard you mention Metallica before. What other music are you and/or Lindsey into?
M: “We mainly stick to Hip-Hop and Rock that you would find on AltNation and anything 90’s. Outkast, DMX, Drake and more recently Da Baby. On the other side, I’m loving Manchester Orchestra currently, Modest Mouse, a lot of mainstream music and a couple groups on the outskirts of mainstream like Neutral Milk Hotel and as mainstream as you can get with someone like Billie Eilish.”
NT: What’s the last concert you went to?
M: “It’s been a long time but Lindsey went to Elton John and Journey one summer. My last concert must’ve been Alice in Chains, but we did get to see Lynyrd Skynyrd perform at the State Fair. “
NT: When did you start reselling on eBay and what led to that decision?
M: “We have been doing that for a few years. I wanted to pay off some debt I had built up while searching for a job. The irony is my debt is probably bigger now, but the good news is we have a way to pay for the mystery boxes we get for YouTube.”
NT: Were there any big purchases that you made to resell where the value surprised you?
M: “We were at a going out of business sale of Saks Fifth Ave and we ended up spending a few thousand dollars. This was great because not only did we make a good amount of money back, but it led to our eBay store seeing a lot more traffic and consistently selling more items every week to this day.”
NT: Any advice for someone new to collecting?
M: “Lindsey says to collect the things you love regardless of value, and I agree. At the same time, don’t let others make you feel bad about what you collect. They may say that ‘new people like you’ are ruining collecting, or “you’re not a real collector because of…” and even though that is rare and not a good representation of the collecting community, it can really make you feel rejected and not want to collect. We collect all sorts of things that others may think are stupid or a waste of money, but it really comes down to how it makes you feel. Also, don’t go overboard, don’t get wrapped up in a fear of missing out.”
NT: Any advice for someone new to reselling?
M: “Watch some established resellers on YouTube. We learned so many things about shipping, pricing, storing, etc. from YouTube. Be honest with what you’re selling. It’s better to be honest and straightforward with buyers and build a large reselling store, than to try to make a quick buck by hiding a stain or calling something “new” that isn’t. And remember, things aren’t necessarily worth what you think they would be. When we first started we bought some Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren shirts because they are good quality brand name clothes and couldn’t sell any of them. After doing a little research we learned more and knew which Ralph Lauren clothes to buy that could make great money back for us. Long story short, do research ahead of time, be honest, and always move forward.“
NT: Are there any YouTube channels or companies you’d like to shout out?
M: The four channels of Pop Fource One (The Poppin Duo, Professor Josh, Slapshot Pops, and RocknRowe. Great group, very real and fun to watch all their channels. We love to watch the up and coming younger fans get into collecting like What the Pop and What did Dada Buy Today. As well as the veterans who have been incredibly positive and always willing to say something nice, or help you out in any way, like Dr. Applesauce. Some of the best companies have to be SmeyeWorld and of course PopKingPaul.
Check out some of Grown Kids TV’s videos below: