Who We Are & What We're All About

WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT

Quite simply. we LOVE toys!  Remember that favorite toy store from your childhood? Most of us have one or two - mine was "Mr. Big's Toyland" and "Irving's Toys and Cards" in the Boston area. Remeber how you felt visiting it with your parents or grandparents? 

Well, our goal is to help you recreate those memories and help your child create memories of their own!  With this basic premise, we strive to reboot the retail toy business by actually mixing the best of the toy stores of yesteryear with the service, convenience and cool selection of toys we know you're looking for - so you can FIND NEW WAYS TO PLAY!

So, please come, browse our store, either virtually or in West Chester, PA and find cool, unique toys with cool, unique people helping you find them!

OUR HISTORY

Although the name "Monkey Fish Toys" was born in 2013, the team behind the name has been in the toy business for over 20 years!  Here's a brief company history:

  • 2001 - We started the business as The Collectors Depot, LLC, selling collectible toys on-line.
  • 2005 - we changed our operating name to Bull Market Toys, since people seemed to think The Collectors Depot was a bill-collection agency!
  • 2010 - We opened our first retail store, Bull Market Toys, in the Eagleview section of Downingtown, PA, expanding our selection to include more than just collecitble toys.
  • 2013 - Bursting at the seams in our little store, we moved to a space three times the size in Exton, PA, and renamed the store "Monkey Fish Toys"! (Bull Market Toys seemed to never click with customers - nobody ever accused us of being marketing geniuses!).
  • 2014 - We liked our store in Exton so much, we decided to open a bit larger store in West Chester!
  • 2017 - After four phenomenal years in Exton, in our sleepy but loveable shopping center, we decided to move the store up the road to Chester Springs.
  • 2018 - We completed a full overhaul of our Chester Springs store and launched our new MonkeyFishToys.com including local delivery!
  • 2020 - The pandemic and the resulting closures throw us a curveball, but the Team rises to the occasion, pivoting to local delivery within 24 hours of the state-mandated closure! Our survival is a testament to our fantastic Team - and having an amazing e-commerce platform in Shopify!
  • 2021 - We decided to combine stores in May. Our goal was to have a bigger, better West Chester Store - to have it become a true destination for people who love toys & games throughout Eastern PA.
  • 2022 - After a great 2021, we're at it again, continuing to build our business, both at the store level and online, with a total renovation of our online store that launched in July 2022!

Ok, so before we move-on, let's answer the question of how we came up with the name "Monkey Fish Toys" - I asked my daughter, four-years-old at the time, what would be a cool name or mascot for the toy store - she, for some reason, blurted out "monkey fish" (perhaps they talked about monkey fish in school that day!)... The name stuck because whenever anyone hears it they can't help but smile or giggle... the rest is history!

OUR TEAM

Our cool and unique team of toy lovers:

Al - Customer Care...Team Member since 2020

Carrie - Customer Care...Team Member since 2021

Cheryl - Customer Care...Team Member since 2020

Evan - Customer Care / Logistics...Lego Star Wars expert

Julie - Customer Care / Party & Craft Coordinator... Team Member since 2018

KC - Da Boss!... Team Member since 2018

Kirsten - Purchasing & Receiving Lead... Team Member since 2017

Laurie - Customer Care...Team Member since 2019

Mike O - Chief Toy Strategist (i.e. - plays with the toys)... Team Member since 2001

Rich - E-Commerce Wizard & Resident Lego Expert / Logistics... Team Member since 2018

Ryan - Resident Pokemon Expert / Customer Service... Team Member since 2018

Sam - Customer Care / Juggling Expert... Team Member since 2023

Tim - Creative Design / Webstore Boss... Team Member since 2014

Tommy - The LAMINATOR / Toy & Systems Expert / Customer Service... Team Member since 2017

Tyler - Pokemon King... Team Member since 2019

Vivian - Customer Care & Tik Tok whizkid...Team Member since 2020

We hope you get to know us and like what you learn - if not, please email or call us personally (484-885-7285) with any questions, comments, or issues!

Happy Playing!

KC & Mike