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Category: Toy Stores [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, RavenswoodWestern (Brown)
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What a fun shop! I had a blast digging through the bins full of old, wonderful toys and seeing all the eclectic and silly things inside. Definitely a wide variety of collectibles, but I was much more interested in the one-of-a-kind oddities. The gentleman at the counter (the owner, I would imagine) was fun and polite and very cool.
A lovely place - I'm glad to have stopped in on a whim. ^.^
Propietor David Gutterman is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He runs Quake with an obvious labor of love. He is always there. In fact, I've never seen anybody except David working in the store.
And, all important: the inventory of superhero, movie, TV sitcom, comic book and action hero memorabilia, ROCKS. I am never here without finding something noteworthy, fun, and fun for big kids, too.
Quake will bring your childhood back in a big memory rush.
If you have kids, this place is awesome; or, if you are a kid grown or otherwise, it is great. The… Read more »
An eclectic kid-friendly toy and collectible store has something for everyone. Reasonable prices ensure that you will not only leave with something you like but something you can afford.
The owner is nice to everyone who walks through the door and willing to let you touch and reminisce.
Did I mention every inch of the store is covered in vintage and some modern toys? Check it out!
Where was this place when i was a kid? It makes me angry that all the figures that i used to have are all here. Plus, the ones that i wanted for so long were here!!! Anyhow, I dig their selection of super-hero figures and their G.I. Joes. The guy who was working there (is he the owner) was a very cool guy. Tried to help me find some G.I. joes (Hahaha.. hey, there were a big part of my childhood), but his place was full of a lot of other stuff, that they were scattered around. No matter, i had fun looking through my past figure by figure. I am definitely coming back here again
Where do you go when your five-year-old must have an R2D2 or for that matter a Punky Brewster action figure? Rather than keep the WONDER-filled eighties to ourselves my husband and I can safely watch any 70s or 80s show on YouTube (Luddites we have no converter box) without fearing we will not be able to provide our children the stuffed and [sic] plastiicized versions of TV characters we enjoyed. Quake has them. All of them, every last one....even ones I had forgotten like those knockoff Care Bears whose name escapes me now. Ten bucks get you the TV tray. For three dollars you can buy an R2D2 and quiet a begging child with - that's the best bargain I have ever found!
PS
On top of everything the owner threw-in a figure said five-year-old begged for. Right off the L too!
I was on a quest for about 5 years to obtain a talking Peewee Herman doll. Whenever I bid on them on Ebay some arse clown would beat me to it. I walked into Quake and purchased not only Peewee, but Chairy AND Billy Baloney. I also was able to obtain a lovely Cabbage Patch Doll drinking set and an unopened box of Mr. T Cereal.
I have an obscene collection of 80s tin lunchboxes and proudly display them in my kitchen- this is one store where I can always find a box I have not yet added to said collection.
This place is brilliantly 80s, kitcsh, gaudy, tacky FUN stuff. I love it and I wish I could set up a cot and live in it.
Who doesn't love toys!!! Especially if they bring back found memories before all of this pressure and responsibility of being an adult (ha!). I swear I get giddy when I walk in here and I'm like look at this and this and THIS!!! Then my friends are like shut up....and check out this and this.
Quake has almost every single toy from the 80's & 90's for boys and girls. I want to by them all up but then I know that I would just be stuck with them in a box somewhere which is probably why my mean mommy threw them out to begin with. He-man, Thunder Cats, Transformers, all of the ACTION FIGURES (not dolls) a boy or girl could want. Jem, Poppels, Rainbow Brite, all of the dolls a girl or... um boy could want. Every time I saw my Nana she always gave me a Poppel when I was little...I don't know why. But my G.I.Joe's would rip them open to get inside to keep warm like Luke Skywalker did and then they use to jump out as a surprise when Cobra was around......sorry sorry flashback. At least I didn't go into how my mother made me dress like Andy for Halloween one year from Raggedy Ann and Andy.
So everything is really cheap here and owner is a very cool guy. Stop on by and have a blast from the past.
My Boyfriend dragged me in here. He loves this cluttered 80's toy haven. All the toys he ever had/wanted/Mom wouldn't buy him from 20 years ago CHEAP! like 50 cents a pop cheap.
I was making fun of him.
Like laughing-at-you-fun-of-him, BUT THEN *lights, camera, action* I saw my childhood hero: Jem! Yes, Jem of the Holograms and 80's cartoons- Shut up- Jem largely influenced my total obsession for clothes (Preferably, new ones for each episode... I mean... day...) and cheesy "truly outrageous" storylines.
I couldn't help myself.
She went home with me along with some quirky Farrah Fawcett and 60's kitsch Batgirl refrigerator magnets.
I outspent my boyfriend... again... and he made fun of me.
Looks like Jem is gonna beatdown G.I. Joe, Mr, T and Luke Skywalker tonight!
(Not He-Man though, he's going to help Jem decide what accessories to wear!) Showtime!
went in and if I still blindly spent money on toys I would have been in heaven. They had everything you could possibly want and not want from the 70's to today. But it was really hard to find stuff in such a squashed location. Cool store, but I don't if a trip out to Lincoln from Rogers Park would ever be worth it.
This place is terrific..Its like being on a treasure hunt. If you take your time you'll fid something very cool at a great price. It is a little disorganized..but so much so that it adds to the charm. Go check it out!!
Quake Collectibles is the absolute embodiment of vintage. Nothing ever changes in this place from the proprietor's appearance, the selection of mostly old toys, the lunch boxes that line the highest shelves and even the one guy always sitting in the corner behind the counter surfing eBay. Always the same scene at Quake.
I can't find it in myself to actually buy stuff here, I just browse and reminisce. They have all the classic GI Joe action figures as well as a surprisingly comprehensive Star Wars selection ranging from the old 80's Hasbro line all the way to the newer Power of the Force releases.
Another fun section is what I've dubbed The Island of Misfit Toys, basically a bin or two of action figures that have lost their way. Some are missing their limbs or head, others just a head without a body. If you ask nicely enough, the owner might just let you take a piece for free to complete that art school assignment of yours.
I wish I had not gotten rid of all my Star Wars, Gi Joe, He-Man and every other toys I had when I was a kid.
Luckily Quake has kept them all for me to come and visit.
I like to come here and reminisce. And once in a while buy something. If I had more money and space, I would just buy back all my old stuff.
It's like the museum of my life, and probably for many other kids my age.
Matt W summed it up best for me. I love walking into Quake, but can't seem to find anything I must have. Everything makes me remember my younger self and GI Joe play dates at Albert Finn's house. I never liked actually playing with the GI Joe's - just setting them up in massive battle scenes and staring at the scene from different angles. But that's a different story.
Quake has an immense amount, a crushing amount of toy goodness going on. It's not your standard toy store where the toy in the front of the rack is the same as all those behind it. If you're drawn to a place like Quake, then you'll have to physically peek behind each one to discover new things.
The first time I went into this store I was on sensory overload. trying to take in every action figure crammed onto the shelves behind the register. A great selection of GI Joe and star wars figures. Don't be afraid to describe a toy you remember as a child to the dude there, he can usually point you in the right direction. For me it was starcom miniature figures with magnetic feet that I was denied as a child.
Ah, my childhood. There you are!
Everything in this place that isn't in its original packaging I swear I played with 20 years ago or more. A great trip down memory lane. I drop in from time to time to see if they've acquired any "new" Atari video game cartridges that aren't "E.T."
Took my boys here today after Spidey3 @ the Davis.
Walked out with like 7 mostly complete transformers for them and a handful of very weird and cool patches I just had to have since they cracked me up. About 18 bucks total, SCORE!!!!!
Loved seeing the stacks and stacks of craptastic pop culture.
Owner is friendly.
B.K. (before kids) I was too embarassed to shop here. . .not dignified enough, ya dig? Wow am I glad I got over that uptight attitude today. Thank you Quake!
We'll be back for the dollar comics.
If I could marry a store, it'd be this one.
This is the greatest action figure and collectible store that i have ever encountered and i like action figures and collectibles so that is good. It is so stacked with magic that it is more or less a museum of good times and star wars figures. It also don't hurt that its in Lincoln Square and Lincoln Square kicks human butt. Take the time to dig through the loose action figure bins (4 for $10.00), for they can be a secret gold mine for overlooked toys of supreme importance to the world - i grabbed a Rocky III figure of the Fabulous Thunder Lips and an Over the Top stallone figure out of those bins and those figures are special and awesome and i like this store.
Thanks quake for letting me buy-back the toys i blew-up all those years ago. Jesus, I love this place. I have to disagree with some reviews saying that the inventory never changes. It always changes...people bring new items all the time, and take others away. Thats why trips to this place are always different, always some old memory waiting. I promise Quake, I will really try this time not to blow my toys up. Too much.
A fun stop. As someone else mentioned, it's a little place, but it's packed to the rafters with action figures, dolls, lunch boxes, weird board games.... you name it. Rainbow Bright, Welcome Back Kotter, Battlestar Galactica, M.U.S.C.L.E. Men. I'm not a collector, so I don't know how it stacks up in that world, but I do know it's a fun place to duck into, have some nostalgic laughs and maybe buy something you used to have when you were a kid.
This place , I can really sink my teeth into. I am an uber toy freak , and am a hardcore child of all toys from the 80's. They have a tre' bitchin selection of older and newer Star Wars stuff , older and newer Transformers stuff , GI Joe and He Man stuff. If I had some more discretionary income , I would probably contribute greatly to the owners kids college fund. Sadly , I can't fathom spending a ton of cash on any 1 toy. They do have some cool bargain bins where if you are not too uptight about condition or missing parts and pieces, you can find some cool stuff. If you do have a need for a rare figure , and have a little cash to spend , you have a pretty good shot here.
a time machine disguised as a collectibles store.
every memory from your youth is stored here, ready to be reclaimed to replace what your mom sold at the garage sale or pitched to clear up space. but you're a big boy now, and if she never bought you that transformers lunchbox you wanted because brown bagging it was just as good, you can find it here and finally claim it as your own.
This store is one of a kind. They have all kinds of stuff that most of us around 20-35 played with as kids, from GI Joes, to Star Trek to Star Wars action figures. The store is fairly small, but it is well laid out to fit all kinds of toys and t-shirts inside.
Great toy store. they have almost anything your looking for from old to new. I have known the owner of quake for years 10yrs almost and he by far has the best in toys in chicago.
Star Trek dress-up night coming up? Looking for that Posh Spice doll, still in her original packaging? How about some true metal transformers? Alf lunch box?
Um, well, here you go.
This store is such a treasure! A collector's delight, that's for sure. I was amazed at what I found here - everything from old Barbie dolls, (I even found a Donny Osmond doll!), magazines, posters, and so many toys. I just love toys so everytime I go here, I have to show some restraint, otherwise my credit cards will be maxed out :)
I found this shop on my way to the Davis Theatre years ago. They sell toys and collectibles, both new and used. A lot of rare and vintage items make you feel nostalgic while you look around, a lot of items from 60's and 70's tv shows and movies can do that to you!
A lot of great stuff here. I love looking at the classic transformers. Sometimes overpriced but he gives you a good deal on a lot of things as well.
Oak Park, IL
Category: Toy Stores
Chicago, IL
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Category: Toy Stores
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Category: Toy Stores
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