Meet Tommy Yip of Tom’s Model in Downtown Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Yip.

Tommy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Like most of us in the industry, we first started as collectors. My father started this toy store in the 80’s and has been passed down to me ever since he retired. Once I took over I decided to change our product lines from lower end tier toys to high grade collectibles and hobby grade toys. Not long after, our clientele base grew and I was passionate about the products we were offering. We sell a variety of popular culture items from various license properties such as Disney, Universal, DC, Marvel, and various popular culture themed products. We are still a family owned and operated establishment after 30 years and pride ourselves on our customer service.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was defiantly an uphill battle, having to transition the business to products I was passionate about gave me motivation to take a family business and expand it to what empire it is today. One of the main struggles, like many small businesses, is cash flow. For me, I decided to bite the bullet and dump my life savings into purchasing popular culture products and set us aside from all of our other competitors in our area. Being able to specialize on specific product lines is our advantage, we are specialist in our industry. Another struggle would be updating an out of date business model to the newer outlets of today. Since I have taken over the operations we have secured Exclusive Toys that can only be sold by our establishment (Funko Mulan- Golden Mushu), revolutionized our day to day operations, launched our digital storefront, www.tomsmodel.com, and marketed our brand using social media outlets such as Instagram, Facebook, and Yelp.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Tom’s Model – what should we know?
Tom’s Model Inc. has an array of products which are suitable for anyone ranging from the novice hobbyist to the advance collectors. We specialize in collectible figurines, models, board games, and remote control toys. Some of the brands that we carry are Funko, The Loyal Subjects, Hasbro, Bandai Gundams, AutoArt, Games Workshop, Tamiya, etc. Since we are a single establishment we cater to our repeat customers and work on first name basis with everyone, unlike some of our major retailer counterparts. Tom’s Model Inc. prides ourselves in retaining the personalized service towards our customers, they are our number one priority and always will be.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most important characteristic towards success is having the motivational drive to execute your vision. Being a part of Generation Y, everyone from our era feels a sense of entitlement and demands instantaneous results. I am fortunate enough to have mentors guide me early in my life, they informed me that success is a long road filled with blood sweat and tears. Both my parents immigrated to the United States with nothing and have built the empire they have today. This gives me the motivation to push harder each and every day.

Secondly, I strongly believe in surrounding yourself with those whom you admire. Being able to have a benchmark of where you would like to be allows you to gauge your progresses. They will have advice when you are in need of council and are great support systems in times of need.

Contact Info:

• Address: 501 E 4th street, Los Angels, CA 90013
• Website: www.tomsmodel.com
• Phone: 213-680-0888
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: TomsModel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomsModel/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/toms-model-los-angeles