Me

My name is Jonathan Francis and I am a buyer, collector, photographer, enthusiast and, occasionally, trader of diecast.

Until six months ago, few of the people who I had traded with in the past knew who I was, what I do or why I do this.

This small section, is for the people who asked.

I'm now 19 years old, and a lot has changed since I bought my first dinky toy... over five years ago. It was a 242 ferrari; red, with a removable engine cowling, which was bought with money from my paper round.

It took 20,000 more newspaper deliveries, 1,000 hours at a checkout, freelance marketing for 4 businesses, and the start-up of two new businesses of my own of to keep this expensive habit alive, but was more than worth the effort!

So, what's changed in this time?

Well, firstly, I'm now at University -studying Management with French at Nottingham.

Any of the people who have asked to meet me for lunch would probably question how long I spend studying, but fortunately they have never spoken with my parents.

Secondly I now have experience - I find new toys, facts, pictures and relics every day.

And lastly, the market has changed dramatically. I now have loyal customers. I can sell in my shop rather than in auction - by working hard to get there. And I can still afford to trade - values have increased nearly 60% in 5 years.

At the moment, although the toys will probably always come first, I am now spending a lot of time meeting with investors and developers on a new software project. The concept did however recently win a £1500 regional prize, so don't feel too sorry for me.

I hope that you like this website, and I will try to keep the pictures and content in a constant state of update.

Get in touch with me using the buttons below if you want to sell a model, get one valued, or just want to get in touch.