Funko Collector is trading rare Pops for over $150,000 in Cadillacs

Most Funko Pops are worthless and is now being shoveled into landfills. But some are extremely rare and fetch exorbitant prices when met in person. A recent trade illustrates just how bizarre the market for certain Funko Pops has become, with a collector appearing to have traded half a dozen Freddy Venom figurines for two 2023 diesel Cadillac Escalades, each valued at over $80,000. have dollars.

Developed by Funko collector Junot Ignacio in February, the trade revolved around some of the community’s most coveted pops. Freddy is the one the mascot of a bobblehead-like line of toysand he makes frequent appearances in various limited crossovers ranging from Fat To Stand out. While there are tons of Marvel Venom Pops overall, Venom Freddys are among the rarest, with only 24 ever created as part of a Funko Fundays exclusive release during San Diego Comic-Con 2019.

Ignacio embarked on a mission to collect them all, eventually ending up with as many as 18. Hoarding such “holy grails” is largely frowned upon in the Funko community, and collecting hobbies in general, as it affects supply and demand one of the most direct ways to artificially inflate prices. Ignacio managed to conquer the market and thereby seemingly drive up the prices because he was the only one setting the prices.

“Most 24-piece Freddy pieces were selling around $5,000 to $8,000 at the height of his antics,” said Frank “GrailMonster” Giaramita, another high-end collector kotaku in an email. “But since he almost completely controlled the market for this piece, he was able to sell a handful of them for $25,000 to $30,000 each, which had a big impact on the whole Funko market.”

Continue reading: This is actually how it looks like $30 million worth of Funko Pops are ending up in the landfill

More recently, Ignacio, who runs a limousine service, unloads the “Frenom” Funkos in exchange for luxury cars. In December 2022, he reported using the proceeds from the sale of “2.5 Frenoms” to purchase a roughly $70,000 GMC Yukon. Giaramita told earlier this year kotaku that Ignacio posted on a Facebook trade group that he wanted to offload six more for about $240,000, or two Cadillac Escalades, with a substantial bounty to anyone who would help match him with a buyer (Ignacio did not respond to requests for comment).

“Call out to Jesus for facilitating the deal,” Ignacio posted on Instagram in February, with a picture of him, the buyer, six Freddy Venoms and two black SUVs. “Now I can say, from cash to PayPal, to Venmo, to crypto and now 2 2023 Cadillac Escalade Diesel. Super excited.”

Freddy Venom prices have more than doubled

But not everyone else is. While some Funko enthusiasts found the hustle and bustle impressive, others see the speculative investment bubble as a scourge. “I really think stuff like that ruins the hobby in a big way,” said Chuck Rimel, a Disney fan who started collecting Pops in 2015 kotaku. “Funko as a whole hasn’t and hasn’t helped itself in the last year or two, but people and activities like this that you’re talking about are doing so much more to keep people from sticking with the hobby.”

Ignacio’s Escalade trade has been shared several times on the Funko subreddit Now, each time, they solicit the same mix of dollar sign-inspired reverence and criticism of the spectacle as a selfish pursuit of clout. “Junot’s mission has greatly upset the entire community and has been an extremely divisive issue in the community,” said Giaramita, who spent a ridiculous amount of money a golden ticket Willy Wonka Funko last year said.

“Every time he posts or his name comes up, he gets incredibly mixed reviews and feedback,” Giaramita added.

It’s unclear how much of the current Funko bubble is part of a hangover from the pandemic years, when everything from vintage video games to Pokémon cards rose in price. Perhaps the Funko price phenomenon is limited to a few big players hoping to use the momentum to hit a big payout later. Some low-end Funko collectors couldn’t believe someone would trade brand new cars for a few little plastic crates. Others couldn’t believe that anyone would trade rare Funko Grails for cars that would instantly depreciate in value the moment they left the lot.

“Collecting should be about fun and passion, not money and market manipulation,” Giaramita said.