The History of Amok Time Toys
"The Beauty of a Dream"
Amok Time began officially in the summer of 1992. What started as a way to pay for a Law/Education Degree led to owner Paul James Lazo being swayed to the “Dark Side”. Pursuing the glamorous life, That's a joke kid's, selling vintage Star Wars, Super-Hero and Monster Memorabilia, Paul realized at an early age what collectors have a need for. As with many small business success stories, Amok Time started small. Home grown from a bedroom in his parent’s house, then a warehouse, then a small store, then a larger store, then breaking down walls of surrounding stores, then the move to a retail location of respectable size, then moving to a larger retail location of even larger size. Thru years of diligence and customer service Amok Time is one of America's largest collectible stores.
This year, 2024, marks our 32nd Anniversary.
What does “Amok Time” mean? Originally Amok Time Inc. was “Amok Thru Time for Toys”. That was a mouthful, also it didn’t fit on a t-shirt so well, so it was shortened to just Amok Time Toys. Later it was shortened further to just Amok Time. So back to the question at hand, what does Amok Time mean?
According to most dictionaries “Amok” or “Amuck” as it may be referenced is as follows:
- A psychic disturbance characterized by depression followed by a manic urge to murder.
- In a frenzy to do violence or kill: rioters running amuck in the streets.
- In or into an uncontrolled state or a state of extreme activity.(my personal favorite)
We all know what time and toys are, so if you put it all together you get a loose meaning of “An uncontrolled state of extreme activity thru time looking for toys”.
Our mission is simple, supply customers with what they would “Run Amok” for at the earliest possible time at the best possible price. We back this policy up with a Satisfaction Guarantee on every purchase, friendly customer service and the fastest order fulfillment time in the business.
GO AMOK GO!
Paul James Lazo
President
Amok Time Inc
To read more about Amok Time Toys follow Paul's blog here