MERIDIAN, Idaho — Wealth. It can be measured in dollars, but it can also be measured in happiness and joy. And it is both of these aspects that makes one Meridian toy collector truly rich.
Toys are not just for child’s play they are a source of joy for all ages, they are nostalgic and even in some cases, lucrative. It’s something that one Meridian man has been toying with for a long time.
David Bazan is the owner of Time Zone Toys. KTVB recently had this conversation with him:
“So David, why collect toys?” asked KTVB.
“It was something I grew up with taking care of my toys and I always knew that there was collectable value to them and as I got older I saw the value going up and I kept collecting,” David replied.
“So from a very young age you’ve been invested in toys not just as something to play with as a kid but you saw them as something more.”
“Oh yea, it was a big deal for me to go to Toys R Us and we’d go down there, get a Transformer, I’d always be really careful taking it out. Making sure I kept all the Styrofoam and the stickers I’d put them on perfect, and when I was done I’d always take it apart and put it back in the box. I was that kid.”
“Wow! Very meticulous. Okay so there’s an art to toy collecting. Give some tips, what are some things they should keep in mind when they have toys of their own or perhaps they are maybe looking to see if they can sell their toys.”
“Well, one of the things that’s really important is just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s valuable.”
“Sometimes there’s old toys that might not be worth that much. Condition is really important when looking for collectable toys. Stick with the main ones, Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe and then the odd ball toys are worth something, but you really got to do your research. Look for dates on the toys and just kind of find your niche, there’s so much out there if you try to buy everything you’ll get buried.”
“Alright, so on top of being a fountain of information when it comes to vintage toys and reselling, you’re also a master yoyo-er.”
“Yes, I was a professional yoyo-er, still am, I traveled all over the world between 1998 to 2001, so I got to travel all over, I was part of the last big yoyo boom in America and it was actually worldwide, so I got to go over Europe, throughout Asia and all over the states performing yoyo and I’ve been teaching as well for the past 20 plus years.”
“Oh my goodness, so how does one become a master yoyo-er like you?”
“You just practice a lot and I got good at the right time at the right place.”
“That’s incredible I never knew you could actually make a career out of yoyo-ing.”
“So you mention that you teach here as well, you actually have some of your students here today.”
“Yea, we have a group of kids that have traveled and have competed at the national championships and the world championships here locally.”
“That is so impressive. So you have to explain this.”
“Well we have pretty much the more you yoyo the different styles of yoyos you’ll need. We’ve got one hand yoyos I can play with two yoyos. The shape matters, how they’re designed matters. This is better for looping cause it’s got a really aerodynamic shape right there and these are designed for string tricks. So this one here it’s C n C’d machined and it’s a pretty decent.”
“And the sound too.”
“Yea it’s the bearing, It allows you just to do.”
“That is so cool! You do that with such ease no way! Dave, I had no idea that there was so much to know about yoyo’s.”
“Oh, it’s incredible and these kids that we teach here, they’re really good.”
“I just want to thank you for reminding us how important it is to remain young at heart. Cause that’s the true joy of life, right?”
“Yea, when you find you do something you love, I love toys I love yoyo’s”
Time Zone Toys offers free weekly yoyo and Kendama meetings during the spring and summer months.