Our Story

I'm a kid of the 80's and 90's so my young life was filled with Disney movies, Lego sets, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Masters of the Universe action figures, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Nintendo games (just to name a few of my lifelong obsessions). The year I turned 5, I received a new Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas which started my obsession with video games, and specifically, Super Mario. By the time I turned 10, I had a small collection of Transformers, Ninja Turtles, and other toys that I kept in a small green duffel bag with Gizmo printed on the side. 

However, acquiring these treasures was no small feet. Growing up in a small town in Montana, we didn’t have a lot of shopping options, especially stores that stocked new and retro toys, collectibles, comics, or video games. And despite my rapidly growing interests, and constant requests to my parentals to help me fill that Gizmo duffel bag, my tiny childhood collection of action figures and games remained meager and incomplete. While I may not have been able to collect all the Lego sets, Ninja Turtles, and Nintendo games that I wanted as a child, I cherished every toy and game stored in my tiny closet and in the little drawers under my twin waterbed.

Fast-forward to my early teens, and like many young people, I made the classic mistake of 'letting go' of most of my childhood trinkets and baubles as I transitioned to becoming an 'adult'. A mistake that haunts me to this day. Fast-forward even further to my early thirties, when I met the woman who would become my wife. For my 33rd birthday, she gave me my first ever Funko Pop! bobblehead. This simple gift sparked a fire inside me, rekindling a long-forgotten pastime, the hobby of collecting, or as I like to think of it, treasure hunting! It was also at this time that I discovered EBay with its vast array of trinkets and baubles, and realized I could both buy and sell on this new platform. From that moment on, I started a new collection first in Funko Pops, then Lego sets, and then all my favorite action figures like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Masters of the Universe, Super Mario, Sonic, and many more. I spent over 10 years searching large retail stores, video game and comic stores, and small, quirky collectible shops in and around where I lived, and everywhere I traveled. I discovered new treasures from other countries like Japan, France, and Italy, that piqued my interest and made me realize I wanted to do more than sell on EBay.

After amassing a considerable pile of loot, I realized I had too much to enjoy, and I wanted to share with everyone the amazing toys and collectibles I found over the years. Thus, the idea of Octopotamus Emporium was born.  We are still in the building stage, so what we have to offer today is only a fraction of what we will have in the future. We are very proud and happy to open this quirky little shop, and look forward to hearing from you about the products we have available, and anything you would like to see on our shelves. Our goal is to find all the world's treasures, and offer them up in one place for people to see. Please enjoy your time here, and feel free to reach out, we would love to hear from you!