On February 15, 2014, Alex Kuvish celebrated the 13th anniversary of his store, Fantastic Toyage, located at 5288 Merrick Road, Massapequa. Despite competition from online stores and the decline in mom and pop shops, this storefront continues to strike back.
Fantastic Toyage is known as Long Island’s Star Wars headquarters and is known throughout the Massapequa galaxy as the best nostalgia and collectible store, hobby store and toy stores. Kuvish’s success in the collectables industry is merited through hard work, honesty, passion, and incentives for shoppers.
As a child, Kuvish traded toys with his friends. Over time, he built up a collection of vintage items. In 2001, he decided to take a chance and buy a store front, creating Fantastic Toyage. His inventory consists of toys made in the 1920s to toys that are popular among kinds today. Most of the products are Star Wars themed, but there are also old wind-up cars, decorative plates with images of Marilyn Monroe, and enough science-fiction movie replicas to fill a universe. There truly is something for everyone. The shop is in complete order, with products displayed neatly behind glass cases. He takes pride in his inventory, buying and selling items only in pristine condition.
Kuvish enjoys his 72-hour work week because he feels blessed to do what he loves for a career. His passion allows him to support his family. He has become close friends with some of his customers through a shared interest for collectables. People trust him and continue to buy from him because he is honest. If a collector is seeking a toy and Kuvish does not have it, and is unable to find it, he will recommend one of his competitors. This shows his primary motive is to help the customer.
With his main goal is to satisfy his clients, Kuvish wants everyone who enters his shop to have a wonderful experience. He keeps his store clean, collectables are arranged neatly, and he is welcoming to every customer. Kuvish even joked that one of his customers compared the store to a museum.
“We don’t know how long we have on this earth…my main goal is to make people happy. I just want everyone to be happy,” he said, adding that he believes he is truly lucky and wants to share his good fortune.
Fantastic Toyage offers perks to help customers in these trying economic times, including a free layaway plan, which is useful for those who are interested in an item but do not need it immediately or lack the funds. This program is a great way to do holiday or gift shopping with the ease of making payments in installments. The product is held at the shop for up to six months. Kuvish also offers an incentive that encourages kids to save for toys they want. Depending on the child’s grades, he will match what they saved to motivate them. He believes that as a result, the child will take better care of their toy, since they were diligent in saving with their own money. Because Kuvish takes pride in keeping his own collections in prime condition, he wants to teach this responsibility to young future collectors. He is truly a family man, who is looking out for the community.
Kuvish’s hard work, honesty, passion, and incentive plans have helped him earn success. People can enter the shop knowing they will be treated warmly and with respect. He is constantly thinking of ways to help clients in this tough economy while expanding his business to make more collections available. He is looking to increase his clientele by attending science fiction seminars to showcase his collections and offer advice to fellow collectors.
Fantastic Toyage is a great place for anyone interested in buying, trading, or selling collectables and vintage toys. For those who are curious, but unfamiliar with buying authentic collectibles, there is no need to worry. Kuvish offers high quality items for fair prices and his primary objective is to make everyone happy with their purchase.
