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The Time Capsule
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The Time Capsule has two retail locations that sell comic books, toys, records, movies, video games, and all sorts of collectibles. Rob Yeremian tells his story of how he started collecting comic books as a young kid, to owning two stores, and was once in the top 50 sellers on eBay.
By L.A. Reilly
I really wanted to interview a record store for my next article. I googled records stores in RI and The Time Capsule came up as one of the most popular stores. After reading about Rob Yeremian’s store, I discovered it was much more than just a record store. Along with records, he sells new and old comics, records, classic VHS tapes, gaming consoles, and vintage toys. Definitely a trip down memory lane that can easily put a smile on someone’s face, remembering the fun times of your childhood.
“I’ve always been a collector of comic books, starting as a young kid, and by the time I was 15, I started developing more expensive tastes so I started selling off the ones I had to raise money to buy older, more expensive stuff,” Rob said. It then turned into a business. He started at age 15, setting up at comic conventions. The promoters at the conventions were so impressed that a 15 year old kid wanted to set up that they gave him a table right by the front door. “What happened was someone walked through the door with a big bag full of comics, and since I had the first table, he asked me if I wanted to buy them. I was looking for older, more expensive comics, myself. I looked through the bag and bought them, realizing I could make a profit.” Rob started thinking about buying comics and reselling them so he could buy the comics he really wanted. Before graduating from URI with a degree in Economics in ‘93, he opened his first store selling comics and toys called “Time Capsule Comics,” in Warwick. In 1998, Rob decided to liquidate and sold what he had left to one of his customers. He decided to go to Los Angeles where he attempted to sell comics & collectibles on the West Coast. He ran into two problems. One was the cost of living and second he came to realize that in New England, people had attics and basements where they stored old stuff. People saved things. Out in LA, most houses didn’t have attics or basements so people didn’t save stuff. After 7 months, he came back to RI.
Back in late 1998, he joined eBay and it changed the whole game for Rob. After he came back he had no inventory and had to start over. He pieced together enough money to open a store in Warwick. When he came back to RI, someone had taken his “Time Capsule” name. So he opened as “Recycled Memories.”He spent the next 5-6 months building his inventory back up and selling on eBay. He sold comics and VHS tapes that hadn’t been released
on DVD. They became collectibles. The store in Warwick had a storefront where people could come and shop, but it was more of a base of operations for his eBay business. His good friend Anthony Balasco owned an online wrestling superstore which was one of the biggest mail ordering wrestling companies in the world. He originally started the The Time Capsule Comics store with Rob. Around 1999 at “Recycled Memories,” Anthony gave Rob all his non-wrestling inventory to merge with Rob’s inventory and use of his old warehouse to set up in. “It was a great deal for me because his inventory was huge and we were good partners. “It was a good match,” Rob said. So he closed down his store and did internet sales only until 2002. At one time, they were in the top 50 sellers on eBay. Eventually Rob went off on his own again and opened “The Time Capsule” in Cranston, in 2003. After about 5 years, he was confident about the business so he bought the building.
Record selling started by complete accident. “When I had the eBay business, I bought out the estate of the guy who owned Strawberry Records in downtown Providence. I bought all his comics and toys, but he also had tons of records,” Rob explained. He put the records out to help fill up his new store, and he wasn’t sure how much to sell them for. He was selling them for $3 a piece. Collectors were coming down buying them all up. “I had no idea what to sell them for. I was a comic book guy,” he said. One of his customers told him he had some valuable vinyl and they were worth more than he was selling them for. “I realized that this was a thriving subculture. I basically spent the next 10 years studying vinyl and really learning vinyl,” he continued. He went to people’s garages that were getting rid of vinyl. Someone had 10,000 records sitting in their garage that they wanted to get rid of. He bought them. He went to one estate sale that had 100,000 albums. He bought those too. Rob’s favorite is Pink Floyd. He had a gigantic Dark Side of the Moon cassette custom made. It’s the only one in the world that size and it’s sitting in the window of his store.
Rob buys and sells. “If people have a large enough collection I will make a house call. I do about 3-4 a week. I’ve been doing this for about 35 years and I’ve sold a lot of stuff in my store and on eBay. I have a general idea of what things are worth and also the cost of doing business,” he said. Hot items change as the years go on. Collectors’ tastes change,” he added.
“Everyone wants to relive their youth and that’s what really fuels a lot of people to collect. By the time you get to your 30s and 40s, most people have a little disposable income to start collecting. It’s a 20 year rule for what people want. I started in ’87 and people wanted things from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I used to be able to sell the Three Stooges and Shirley Temple items. Now you can’t give that stuff away. Now they want Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters. They want the things of their youth,” he explained. When I asked Rob what the most popular items were, he replied, “For comic books: ‘Amazing Spider Man’; Records: Pink Floyd, Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix; and Video Games: Classic Nintendo.”
I wanted to know what Rob’s “Holy Grail” was. It’s a comic that he bought 5 years ago. “Zap Comix” issue #1 by Robert Crumb. His personal collection focuses around underground comics of the ‘60s and’ 70s. He’s always enjoyed reading those. “One thing we never have enough inventory of is Godzilla toys. We can’t seem to get our hands on enough Godzilla stuff to satisfy the demand,” he stated.
What’s in store for the future for Rob? “I ask myself that all the time. I would certainly like to open up another store, but I feel like I wouldn’t be able to stock it like I want to. I’ve road tripped around this country multiple times and 70% of the stores that are out there are all identical. They have brand new comics and aisles of collected editions, and a couple sections of hot toys. That’s what most of the comic book stores out there are like. They might be profitable, but they aren’t fun. When people come into my store and find comics from the ‘60s and ‘70s, or they find old toys and records, it’s exciting and it’s fun for people to experience the past. Most of the comic stores around the country focus on new products. They are “mini Walmarts.” It’s a lot more work to do what I do, dealing with vintage stuff,” he explained.
When he first opened, the eBay sales were probably 70% of his overall sales. Today, it’s 50/50. Half the sales are from his store and half from eBay. “Most hobby shops are usually owner-operated and it takes a lot to do both. I am very ambitious and at the end of the day, I’m making a living and I’m happy. That’s all that really matters. Every day I can’t wait to get out of bed and see what the day brings. For me, buying collections is the best part of the business.
Over half the collections I buy come from recommendations from people who I have already bought items from. It pays to be fair with people . I’m having a good time for sure! I get to be around people I like and buy and sell things that I enjoy,” he said with gusto.
Time Capsule has two locations:
Video Games
537 Pontiac Ave. in Cranston Open 7 days a week 11-7 401-781-5017
1732 Fall River Ave in Seekonk MA Open M-S 11-7 and Sunday 10-6 508-336-4790
Wednesdays: Both locations are restocked with new comic books
Fridays in Cranston: Massive restocking of vinyl
Both locations restock their video games every week, as well.
