Ippy's began in the mid-1970s as a small toy and hobby shop, opened by Robert Ippolito — trains, model kits, trading cards, comics, and toys that pulled in kids and collectors from all over. A fire in the early '80s forced Robert to close, but he rebuilt on the Jersey Shore, reopening in Sea Girt, New Jersey, and expanding into home video and video game rentals. Robert's brothers, including Joe, worked the store alongside him.

Ippy's stocked hundreds of titles from Nintendo, Sega, Atari, and more — but as bigger rental chains moved in, the small shop couldn't keep up. It closed for good in 2001. Robert boxed up what remained and put it into storage, hoping to sell it down the road someday.

Robert passed away in September 2024. What his brother Joe and nephew Dean found going through his estate was staggering: three 50-foot trailers and a 40-foot container, packed with comics, unopened trading card packs, movie and game posters, and shelf after shelf of video games — much of it still sealed, decades later, exactly as Robert left it.

Rather than see it broken up and sold off piecemeal, Joe and Dean purchased the entire collection from the estate. What they uncovered turned out to be more than 3,000 sealed and complete-in-box video games — the largest video game pedigree collection found to date. Both PSA and CGC have graded titles from the collection, from Mortal Kombat and NHL '94 to Street Fighter II, Streets of Rage 2, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters — many still carrying their original price stickers. Every certified piece carries the Ippy's Sea Girt Collection pedigree, named in honor of the store that started it all.

That's still how we operate today. We buy collections outright, and we take in items on consignment — selling for other collectors and estates who want fair grading, real exposure, and a seller who actually knows what they're holding.