The AFC World Story
AFC World was founded in 1999 by Collectors with a vision to change the way we use the internet for collecting. Our story doesn't exactly begin in 1999 though. Before there was AFC World, back in 1996 there was "Action Collectibles". It all started at a small
toy show in Stamford, CT. Our Founder, Gil Mikita started in the business as a Toy Dealer. After growing up an action figure
fan, Gil sought out to make a living out of his hobby. So, after gathering together a truck load of figures, toys and other
collectible odds and ends, he set out on his first toy show. After 3 years of running around the North East circuit, it was
apparent that the internet and the age of Ebay was taking over the once popular toy show scene. It was also apparent that the
secondary market was an extremely cut-throat business. It was time to move on to something bigger and better. On July 12th, 1999 the domain name, ActionFigureCollectors.com was purchased and with that, so came the birth of AFC World. AFC began with a very humble web site sporting collectible news, a very small online store (with no shopping cart mind you, just an email address), and a section dedicated to Star Wars. It was a fan site at best. After many redesigns of the site and restructuring of the company itself, ActionFigureCollectors.com came into it's own in 2002. We had direction and we had sponsors. It was time to make something of this "fan site" that had slowly grown into an actual business. New features and designs were added to the site and we officially became AFC World.
Throughout the next three years AFC World became one of the most popular action figure and collectible news web sites on the internet. With rapidly growing viewership and hits skyrocketing, it was time to make another big move. It was time to go beyond the news. It was time for a new era in collecting on the internet.
Today the AFC World staff are working hard to bring you, The Collectors, new web sites and tools to improve the way you collect and how you use the internet to grow your collections. Our first new web site, The Action Figure Network gives collectors the opportunity to network with each other in a community based format. The AFN is not only a community for collectors, but also a marketing tool for the Toy Industry. Collectors will now have the opportunity to better communicate with industry pros within the network as well. This is just the beginning.
AFC World has identified many needs for collectors on the internet today. We are working now to bring you new and innovative web sites and tools to better your collections. ActionFigureCollectors.com remains your #1 source for action figure news, and The Action Figure Network is your ONLY online community for collectors. Next up is for AFC World is "Figure Street". Although we can't say too much about it just yet, we can promise you that you've never seen anything like it ever before! Stay tuned for more.
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Gil Mikita, Founder and President of AFC World
Gil grew up in Monroe, CT during the 80's boom of toys. Since the day he was born, Gil was an action figure fan. It was all about Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and all those great lines from back in the day. As Gil grew up, the toys he played with as a kid became the treasured collectibles of today. In the mid-90's Gil took advantage of the growing popularity of action figures and collectibles by starting a part time business as a Toy Dealer in the North Eastern United States. Gil's professional career lead him into video production in the late 90's and soon after into the world of computers and the internet. When the age of the internet brought the days of Toy Shows to a hault, Gil turned his technical skills to the world of collecting and created ActionFigureCollectors.com. This once fan created web site has grown into a successful company known as AFC World! Today Gil's creation has brought us web sites such as ActionFigureCollectors.com for collectible news, The Action Figure Network, a community for collectors and AFC World's next creation, "Figure Street" which promises to be one of the most ground breaking web sites for collectors ever created.
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