Conventions have a rhythm. Saturday is packed shoulder to shoulder, with lines at every booth and the best items gone by lunch. Sunday is the quiet day, when sellers start thinking about packing up and the crowds thin out. So can anything worth buying turn up on a lazy Sunday? Collector Pixel Dan set out to answer that question at Retro Fest Arkansas.

It was the third Retro Fest, and he calls it one of his favorite all-around conventions because it is packed with retro nostalgia: video games, toys, clothing, music and VHS tapes. He had a table of his own all weekend and was busy selling, but by Sunday he was itching to buy something.

His video on the Pixel Dan channel follows the day from the first aisle to the last booth.

Digging The Five Dollar Bin

He started where many collectors start: a loose figure bin. The sign said five dollars each or five for $20. He admitted the bin looked like scraps on a Sunday, and said he wished he had gotten into it the day before. Still, he was willing to spend $20 if he could find five decent figures.

He picked through a bone-crunching wrestling figure that was a little bald, a Ma-Ti from the Captain Planet line, a rough but usable Blackstar and a Kenner Swamp Thing. He turned up a pair of Secret Wars Magnetos and a Monstar figure that would have gone in the pile if it had its chest piece. There was a Merman with a standard orange belt, which he would have grabbed if the belt had been green. That detail says a lot about collecting: variations in color are the difference between a common figure and a sought-after one.

Across the aisle, a booth was selling carded Ninja Turtles figures for $20 each, including Fugitoid, Genghis, Sewer Samurai Leo and General Traag. He liked the idea of buying them with the card backs and complete accessories. Elsewhere were mini Monster Wheels, in bright packaging, and a set of Weird Ball minis at $10 apiece. He noted a boxed Ewok family hut, and mentioned that he had just sold his loose one.

A Blockbuster Built Just For The Weekend

The organizers had done something special this year. They built an entire Blockbuster video store for people to walk through, with shelves of VHS tapes, DVDs, trading cards, candy and signage from the original stores. It was a trip back to the days when families went out every Friday night to rent movies for the weekend. On Sunday, everything inside was for sale. He called it a cool extra thing that nobody had to do.

The One He Could Not Stop Thinking About

One booth kept pulling him back. It had boxed Dungeons and Dragons toys and Toxic Crusaders vehicles, but what he could not stop thinking about was a dinosaur. At first glance it looked like a Dino Riders T-Rex, and he already owns one. But this was a Smithsonian T-Rex. The toy company reused the Dino Riders mold and sold it at the Smithsonian, he explained. The electronics and wheels were removed, but the sculpt is the same. He held the two side by side to compare, then decided it was coming home with him.

Later he also found a toy from the original Nintendo era, a Punch-Out figure, one of the Hasbro trophy figures that were some of the only toys made for the NES generation. They were small dioramas based on video game scenes, with a sticker where a kid was supposed to write a name, a high score and a date. He had seen the Mario and Zelda ones many times but never Punch-Out in person, and he said he had to have it. He summed up his goal for shows now: find something that feels special, something he has always wanted.

Shopping A Convention On The Last Day

His approach suggests a few practical rules if you attend toy, comic or video game shows.

• Go on Sunday, too. Dealers who do not want to haul everything home are often more willing to talk price. Some sell items cheaper by the end of the show.
• Check every bin. Loose bins reward patience. Look for variations, such as belt colors, and for missing parts like chest pieces and accessories that affect value.
• Think completeness. A card back or box adds value. A figure missing a weapon or armor is worth less.
• Set a budget before you walk in. A five for $20 deal is tempting. Decide in advance how many you really want.
• Buy what makes you happy. Resale value is nice, but the best purchases are the ones that make you smile on a shelf.
• Talk to people. Creators and collectors in the aisles often share tips and show you things you might have missed.

As Pixel Dan put it, the best part of the hobby is seeing everyone walking around together, celebrating nostalgia and the things they love. And if your Sunday turns up a dinosaur no one else noticed, so much the better.

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