W acko has been serving customers with a diverse selection of products for nearly 30 years. From hard-to-find toys to rare books and soaps, the Los Feliz novelty shop caters to everyone from collectors looking for the next big thing to adults searching for that one particular toy from their youth. Looking can be as much fun as actually buying at Wacko. Staff reporter Conor Dougherty spoke with Billy Shire, Wacko’s owner, about the store’s history and his distinctive taste in toys.

“I started in 1971 with my mother; we were called the Soap Plant. After the first year, we started bringing other products in, so we’ve always done toys. At first it was wood toys, ethnic things I guess you could call them retro toys, things I knew in my youth. We had Japanese folk toys, blocks, Russian toys. It was a little more organic back then.

“In 1980 I moved to Melrose, and by that time we’d started doing more pop toys. Japanese die-cast superheroes, Godzilla, robots, sci-fi-type stuff. I kept getting bigger; the store filled out, so I decided to open another store next door that was Wacko.

“It was a continuation of what I was doing, but it became a full-fledged toy store. Toys, cards and novelties.

“What happened on Melrose was my overhead got to be excruciatingly high and business became soft. The clientele on Melrose changed. It became mostly teenagers and tourists buying clothes. So I moved to the current location in Los Feliz. I’ve taken all my stores and put them back together under one roof. We still have soap and gifts, and I think it all sort of goes together in some strange brew. I like to call it a supermarket of pop culture.

“We’re a specialized store, we carry a lot of brands that don’t get into bigger stores. Other stores either find them too fringe-like or not commercialized enough. We still do a lot of tin toys from China, Japan and Europe.

“We haven’t really felt the online stuff (hurting business). I don’t think many people in Los Angeles want to buy that way. I’m up 20 percent this year, so I see nothing to worry about. I don’t get a chance to get out and go on the Web myself, but I know my suppliers have (Web sites), and I hear about people who sell things I have (at Wacko) for $100 on eBay for $300 or $400.

“What’s made the store work for nearly 30 years is the diversity of product and staying ahead. For instance, I ordered Pokemon three or four months before the major guys were willing to commit to it. It’s basically keeping your hand on the pulse, watching all the shows, having young employees and just staying ahead.”