We’re celebrating National Mom and Pop Business Owner Day with the first in a new series designed to showcase some of our favorite local brick & mortar stores where community is just as important as the collectibles they sell.

If you find yourself inside of Out The Box in Thornton, Colorado, you’re already having a good day. If you happen to find Woofy, your day just got all that much better.

Out The Box is considered a consignment marketplace, but it might as well be your dream basement with shelf after shelf of every collectible you can imagine…and some you never knew existed.

About Out The Box

Ernesto Martinez and Anthony Baca opened Out The Box in May of 2020 inside a 4,000-square foot retail space located just outside Denver.

The consignment shop leases space on a monthly basis to 85 sellers and artists to showcase their wares — at a 10 percent sales commission — in a safe, friendly environment. That includes everything from Funko Pop!, FiGPin and more to skateboards, video games and Hype Streetwear, to cater to a broad variety of fandoms.

Says Ernesto, “for us, it was about finding something that we love and something that doesn’t feel like work.”

Despite opening its doors in May, Out The Box not only survived the pandemic, it thrived thanks in part to community events such as outdoor Pop! Swaps and live auctions.

That eventually led to more community outings, such as Live Pokémon Events at the shop. With an unlimited number of franchises, etc., to choose from, Out The Box can cater its events to just about any fandom.

“It’s been really nice to build a community, multiple communities, all based around our shop,” says Ernesto, a self-professed 90s kid who collected the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers action figures.

Mystery Boxes & Woofy

Out The Box has already exceeded Ernesto and Anthony’s vision for the shop. One of the early surprise successes arrived in the form of the Out The Box Mystery Box.

The promotion was so popular, Ernesto and Anthony fought to keep up with a demand that saw them moving 30 to 50 Mystery Boxes a week. The tremendous demand eventually allowed Out The Box to begin offering the boxes in subscription packages (one time, quarterly and monthly).

One of the biggest surprises in their first year of business, however, was a hidden gem…literally. That would be Woofy, the Where’s Waldo-style plush dog that’s hidden every morning in the store. If you can spot Woofy, you earn a spin on the giveaway wheel.

The hunt for Woofy can get intense, with entire families spending hours in the store on Woofy hunts, laughs Ernesto.

Author’s Note: Take it from us, Woofy is not easy to find.

Do you have a favorite Mom & Pop, Comic or Trading Card shop? We’re on the look-out for the local shops in your neighborhoods that are redefining the collecting experience. Let us know some of your personal faves in the comments below or by messaging us at support@hobbydb.com.