Rebel Toys — Local services in Delaware

This is clearly a toy and pop culture establishment that expertly caters to the specifically keen eyes of the collector, with an emphasis on family as a secondary and cherished attribute.

The minute you walk in you are greeted with a sort of organized chaos that clearly indicates that the material is lovely curated and presented in such a way that the vast diaspora of toys and cultural touchstones that defined several generations of childhoods are nearly at your fingertips.

Only the costliest and cherished of items are under lock and key. Shelves and cabinets are bursting with memory begging you to lean in and pick them up, imploring you to smile with the joy of memory.

The inventory focuses upon figures, toys, and games - and rightly so. They were the vanguard of what defined the idea of play up until the digital age. Most items are in excellent condition as well, which is a testimony to the curator's eye and care. That being said, there are also some delightful smatterings of comics that range from the old-school bronze age curled into a weathered shortbox to modern and graded books of various condition and provenance.

The inventory understandably shifts depending on popularity of certain things and also the joy of people reconnecting with their past in the best way, so I recommend stopping in semi-regularly to see what has changed.

Also, when I came in, I believe the owner's daughter was minding the desk, and I really appreciated that it's a family-run enterprise. She is also a passionate collector herself, and I really enjoyed the care she put into my experience visiting the store. I walked away with a comic I didn't plan on finding thanks to her efforts (and nearly left with a Batgirl statue too! Next time...)

I also want to specifically talk and address the reviews of people complaining about being greeted or the tone of service. I don't want to be presumptive, but as a specialized collector myself, I know I have hyper-interests and tend to fall on the spectrum. I am, however, by hook or crook due to society's demands, a high-functioning neurodivergent person. I can converse and commiserate with anyone as needed to fit in.

I'm going to assume some of these reviews may be referring to the forementioned young lady that helped me. She was quiet yes, but in a very Wednesday Adams kind of way that I immediately picked up on. So what did I do? I took the initiative to learn more about the shop, about her, and how she felt about collecting. I learned more about her own collections, and she aided me by bringing out additional short boxes of comics that led to me finding a real treasure, and a sale for the shop.

You get what you put into a moment. Or a connection. Transactions by definition are made by two parties.

That being said - some music would help the ambience of the place a bit. :)

Anway, I digress. These are the kind of independently owned shops we need to embrace and support. I noticed some folks get bent out of shape due to the shop occasionally being closed due to family obligations - that happens when an actual human being, and family, runs the organization. I'm willing to roll with the punches if that means we can buy precious mementos of our past from an actual person than some soulless phone app transaction. People who leave one star because plans don't go their way need to re-examine the bigger picture.

Finally, the shop was clean and eminently welcoming. This is a shop that despite the haphazard and endlessly changing nature of its inventory, showed a coherence of place that was frankly impressive. Any reviews that mention a weed smell or any other objection clearly didn't stay there long or frequent the location regularly. This is a clearly a family-friendly and forward business, and I would have no issue taking my child here, and I intend to, going forward.

Now if only they get more StarCom toys in stock, I'd...

One of my worst local retail experiences. This place had zero atmosphere for what I think should be a really cool place to shop. There wasn’t any music, which would be fine except the only employee present didn’t fill the silence with conversation even when I tried to talk to them. They were so antisocial in fact, that my friend and I weren’t even greeted upon arrival and we were the ONLY customers in the store. After the employee insinuated that my expensive 3rd party unlicensed Transformers are bootleg items, I decided to only have my officially licensed Star Wars items evaluated for Trade and/or cash. I was then met with an insulting lowball of less than 20 percent of their value. I know it was intentional on the employees part too because I claimed I was looking for at least a 50 percent increase in the offer I was presented and they obliged without a second thought. If you like Goodwill and wish it was outrageously expensive then I recommend you come here. Otherwise if you don’t like being taken advantage of, and/or are a collector, steer clear. Also the icing on the cake is that they know their prices are too high because everyone that visited the store while the employee took over an hour to get through my 6 sealed figures received a 20 percent off discount without even asking. Don’t artificially inflate your prices, especially if you can’t keep...

Place seemed tight and no music or anything was on, complete silence and took the employee a long whjle to notice we walked in. Didn't seem to know her stuff all too well and instantly lowballed and then was fine jumping up a crazy amount. Tried making conversation just to be slightly ignored. The lady their seemed very awkward and seemed like she doesn't want to be here. Never checked my ID before I traded in a small item. Prices were alright but overall a...