By Mark Macreading
Note: This feature is in the August TT&C 2013 issue.
Note: This feature is in the August TT&C 2013 issue.
 Jim surrounded by his trucks.  One of many display cases that fills Jim’s basement.  This was Jim’s first Winross truck. It always starts with just one.  At the same show Jim’s wife, Donna, who works for Hershey, spotted this classic Hershey Winross model.  One of many display cases that fills Jim’s basement. | You wouldn’t think that toy trucks could change someone’s lifestyle, but in fact they have actually changed some collectors’ livelihoods. For example, Jim Brandt has been a faithful regular dealer at our annual Indianapolis National Toy Truck ’N Construction Show. His specialty is Winross models. Like many dealers, Jim started out as a collector. He started collecting Winross models in 1983, which coincidentally is when I started collecting Winross trucks. It was around this time that Winross collecting was ramping up in Pennsylvania and living in Lebanon County, Pa., it was inevitable that Jim would get hooked on them. Jim acquired his first truck at the York Fair in York, Pa. The model was a Winross Acme Markets truck. Jim was working for Weis Markets at the time. He thought the Acme truck would be a good investment as Acme Markets was in financial trouble at that time. It was just by chance that the Acme truck was a Winross as Jim just noticed the Acme name, not who the truck was made by. Ironically Jim’s wife Donna, who works for Hershey Chocolate, noticed a Winross Hershey model on the table. It was the “Try me in Milk” model and also went home with them. That was all it took and the Brandts became Winross collectors. They only bought a handful of trucks over the first year but eventually they started adding many more trucks to their collection. In 1987, the Winross Collectors Club of America was formed. Jim and his dad became charter members with membership No. 28 and No. 29. Jim became a board member and is presently the club’s president. It was at this time around 1987, when Winross collecting exploded in the Lancaster, Pa., area. You almost had to experience this die-cast frenzy to understand the magnitude of it. Winross had to put on another shift of workers just to keep up with the Lancaster orders. For some reason it seemed like everybody in Pennsylvania either wanted to have a Winross truck made, wanted to buy every truck that was made or wanted to sell them. Six hundred-piece runs of trucks would presell out long before they were even produced. What this meant was that in many cases you could buy a truck and sell it the next day for a large profit. It had become an expensive hobby. Jim found that if he could buy two trucks from a run and sell one it would pay for the other. Interestingly what started as a side business to pay for his collection eventually turned into a full-time business. Jim had worked for Weis Markets for 30 years. Like many people in management, the hours are long and unpredictable. Jim was being sent to different stores to fill in when needed. He was getting to spend less and less time with his family working late nights and weekends. He could not even attend church on a regular basis. Finally tired of the rat race, in 2003, Jim decided to see if his part-time business could be a full-time business. With his good business sense, Jim has made it a success even with the dip in die-cast sales and prices. He has developed a loyal customer base with 10 to 15 percent of his business coming from overseas. His eBay store has been very successful and accounts for 50 percent of his business. I must say though, that it is beyond my comprehension how he can manage and track over 1,000 Winross trucks online at once. If any of you have sold on eBay you know how extremely time-consuming it can be. Along with this Jim has roughly 2,500 trucks listed on his web site www.truckcollector.com with photos of most of his inventory. He is putting in more hours now than he did at Weis Markets, but the difference is that he enjoys what he is doing and can work when he wants. Jim says he now has a great boss and loves his job. He also cannot beat the commute to work.  Want to read the rest of the story? It's available in the August TT&C 2013 magazine! Download here: AUGUST TT&C 2013 Call (701) 883-5206 or (701) 883-5206 to purchase or order online at: http://www.toytrucker.com/past-issues.html |
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