Rekindling the joy of childhood through toy collection is a gratifying experience. The Toy Pit, now situated at 3827 North College Avenue in Indianapolis, stands out as a unique haven for toy enthusiasts. Spanning a vast 13,000-square-foot area, it boasts a largest assortment of ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s toys, action figures, games, apparel, and other pop culture artifacts.
Michael Schott opened The Toy Pit in his garage in Fort Wayne in 2009 as a hobby, selling collectibles. He moved the business to Indianapolis in 2014, and the talk of toys spread quickly. The company has since moved as word of mouth grew.
Stockton Repischak says his father instilled the idea of collecting at a young age. He says his dad lined his bedroom with “Star Wars” figures in the original packing since Repischak’s birth.
“I actually met Mike when I was 15 or 16 years old at a toy show,” Repischak says. “That’s how I learned about the store and started going there with my dad. Eventually I realized I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing for work. I saw an ad for The Toy Pit and reached out persistently.”
Repischak’s unwavering passion and expertise in sourcing collectibles, selling them, and leveraging social media played a pivotal role in securing his current role as the store manager. He attributes his success to his partnership with Schott and the shared enthusiasm of the small team of employees, all of whom are avid collectors with diverse interests ranging from “Star Wars” and Marvel to Godzilla, hip-hop, heavy metal, Dragon Ball and more.
“I think because we’re all so passionate, we’re able to guide our customers to the next piece in their collection,” Repischak says. “There are three of us who are always here, and then we have some friends who help us out during busy times.”
Customers can buy, sell or trade items at The Toy Pit. Repischak says they see customers bringing in items they find when cleaning out an attic, or a parent cleaning out an adult child’s old bedroom. He says it’s like an episode of “Pawn Stars” every day.
“We see a lot of people who are just trying to get rid of items they’re cleaning out of their house,” Repischak says. “But, we also see many people who might have been into collecting ‘Star Wars’ figures and then develop an interest in Dragon Ball or ‘Transformers’. We’ll trade items out. We never know what we’re going to have on any given day.”
In addition to collectable toys and figures, The Toy Pit also sells vintage rock and roll and hip-hop records, rare comic books, vintage pop culture T-shirts from the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, and vintage video game and music memorabilia like T-shirts and posters.
“We work hard to keep a selection of items that are hard to find in this area,” Repischak says.
Even with a 13,000-square-foot building, Repischak says they have a huge separate room filled with items that haven’t hit the sales floor yet. They have so much inventory that they could fill a larger space, but he says they like keeping their team small.
The exterior of the building is as unique as the collector’s items housed inside. Repischak says the building needed beautifying when the group found it. It previously served as a Dollar General store and sat vacant for several years. The group reached out to local artists to see if anyone was interested in making over the outside.
“We really wanted to see if there were several artists who wanted to work together on a large, collaborative piece of artwork,” Repischak says. “Unfortunately that didn’t work out, but it turned out well for us.”
Local visual artist Kwazar Martin adorned the whole building with different well-known, collectible toys. Repischak says Martin’s work drew interest from the local community well before they officially moved in and opened for business. He says it drew online speculation about what was moving into the old Dollar General store.
Repischak says acquiring and collecting unique toys is a great source of joy for many customers. However, collecting is also a great source of income for many of their clientele. He says the team works hard to be fair and honest when pricing items customers bring in to sell.
“We try to keep our environment fun but happy and laid back,” Repischak says. “We never want anyone leaving here unhappy.”
If you’re feeling nostalgic for a time when things were a little easier and more fun, visit yourtoypit.com.
