How My Love for Star Wars Fueled my Ecommerce Business

By Bob Breedlove, Owner of Jett’s Toy Hutt 

I’ve always been a pulp culture fan who enjoys several different genres. Whether it’s Marvel, DC, Sci-Fi, or Horror – you name it, I love it. But Star Wars has always topped the list.

I was twelve when Star Wars first premiered in my hometown in 1977. And I’m not ashamed to admit that after that day, I watched it over and over again almost every weekend for an entire year. It’s no wonder then that when I retired from the Department of Defense in 2009, I decided to move back to my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia to re-embrace my first and greatest passion. And that’s the story behind my online storefront, Jett’s Toy Hutt, your go-to shop for Star Wars action figures, toys and collectibles.

Jett’s Toy Hutt was not my first business venture, since I did open and run Surf City, Anchorage, Alaska’s first Internet café, from 1996 to 2001. While running Surf City, I bought and sold various computer components to keep things up-to-date through this new online sensation we’ve all come to know as eBay. I still remember standing in line at the post office with a handful of boxes for shipping. It was an arduous task, to say the least.

I didn’t want to go through the same process with Jett’s Toy Hutt. So, after I had custom shipping boxes made and filled my shelves with inventory, I knew I needed to look into a shipping service. After much research, Endicia seemed to be the right choice. It’s everything I was looking for – usability on multiple platforms and operating systems, as well as almost zero downtime and consistent updates to keep up with the ever-changing rules and regulations of international shipping.

As of today, Jett’s Toy Hutt has shipped over 40,000 orders to almost every country in the world, spending more than $130,000 in USPS postage (after $100,000, I started receiving Christmas cards from my postmaster). It’s a relief to know that I have Endicia to help me ship like a warehouse, out of my home.

I’ve been running this business solo going on five years now, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Turning my passion into my career has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

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