About Us

About Shop Retrosaurus.

It would be great if everyone could come and visit in-person at our store, but we know that's just not possible.  So we started this website to offer those near and far the chance to nab some of the neat goodies we get in on a daily basis - without having to make the trek to Hamilton, ON.  It's pretty far for some of you. We hope you enjoy your experience here, and if you don't see it, just ask!

Please note that most of the items available here are NOT available to be viewed in-store. They can be ordered and picked up at our brick and mortar store, but they're packed away in the back. If you want to see any of our online selections in person, you can order and pick up in-store, or notify us in advance of your visit. 

A word from the owner:

If you go back far enough, the seeds of Retrosaurus were planted when I was still a kid playing with toys.  Not just because I was playing with toys, of course, but because this is when I was first exposed to the secondary toy market - via garage sales and toy shows.  For a number of years I was frequently my father's garage sale sidekick, *trying* to help spot cool items and doing my best to fritter away my allowance on the dumbest stuff I could find.  The first things I started to acquire with any focus were Smurfs and MAD Magazines.  My collection grew pretty quickly, and I even started to learn the art of haggling.  Every year in October, we'd hit the main event in local toy shows - The Canadian Toy Collector's Society Annual Toy Show.  These were pre-internet days, and there were really only a few ways to move your toys with any efficiency, so the shows would draw considerable numbers of vendors and attendees.  The shows were huge!  Especially if you're a little kid barely taller than the tables.  It was a fun place to be, even though I really couldn't afford anything. If you like the smell of cigarette smoke and fried onions from the concession stand, you'd be right at home.  These shows are where I made my first actual sales, and some of my first "big" purchases.  

 

Fast forward to my 20's, and I slowly started catching the collecting bug again.  By now the scene had changed.  Ebay was a thing.  The old shows had paved the way for new promoters and shows, some of which were themed specifically for the era of toys I was interested in!  And from there, it all started to snowball.  From collector, to avid collector, to collector-dealer, and then finally - I took the leap - I made it my full time job.  I didn't open a store right away - I started just by selling at shows, online, etc, but the thought was always there that one day a store could be in the works.  

That day finally came in the winter of 2018.  It was time for a change in my business.  I needed to make the next logical step (which some people thought was crazy), so in May 2018 I opened Retrosaurus, at 540 Concession St.  

And here we are, 4 years later.  The store has moved, grown, and we've gotten to meet lots of awesome people from all walks of life, all with vastly different niches within the collecting world.  Some truly amazing items have come through the store, and I'm glad to be able to be a part of this collecting community every day.  

Our goal now is to provide two equally great experiences to our customers - our brick and mortar store in Hamilton, Ontario, and our online store, Shop Retrosaurus.  I hope you like it.  

Thanks for reading everyone!

Jeff