Joining The Switch Effect in today’s Owner Outreach is Dan from RetroProtection, an online store dedicated to producing high quality cases and defense for video games, Funko, Amiibos, DVDs, and so much more. Having been in the business for almost seven years, RetroProtection knows the importance of ensuring that your collectibles remain intact, preserved, and protected. As a big believer of maintaining the quality of those cases and boxes, we were excited to have the opportunity to speak with Dan. So without further ado, here we go!

Dan, thank you for giving us this interview. We came upon your Instagram page and see that you own a company that provides box protectors for games, toys, DVDs, and more. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?    

It is my pleasure and I appreciate the opportunity!  I am 43 years old (time is flying by!) and have been married for over 16 years. My Wife Julie and I have one daughter (Sydney) who is 13 years old, going on 20!  It’s crazy how fast they go from being a child to almost being in high school.

Can you tell us how RetroProtection came to be? 

I was messing around buying and selling some other things on eBay and I stumbled onto some old NES video games for sale and I decided to start buying some of the games I had as a kid. The NES was a HUGE part of my life from the age of 12-16 and it holds a special place in my heart. I wanted to protect the boxes that I bought and there was a guy on eBay selling protectors for NES games. I waited and waited and finally jumped in and bought some. The problem…he never sent them to me! He went out of business and so nobody in the world had these anymore. I thought it was a great idea and started doing research to figure out how to get these made and the rest is history. I started with NES, then SNES/N64 then Game Boy and now in a few days I will have around 155 unique sizes and at least 15 more sizes on order after the 14 coming this week!

As there are other companies that also provide cases, could you share with our readers the difference in your product?

There are MANY other people who have decided to try to copy what I’m doing. I would never have started producing and selling these if the guy on eBay would have just sent me my order so seeing all the copycats out there really drives me to continue to stay ahead of them. You won’t find any seller that is even close to the variety that we offer anywhere in the world. We ship faster than anyone else, almost always by the next day and in some cases same day when possible.

You won’t find better fitting protectors anywhere. Box protectors are not the same fit everywhere. I come up with all of my own sizes and over the years have made minor adjustments if needed so that now they are as close to perfect as they can get (in my opinion at least!). Some people like protectors that are extremely tight, but I don’t do that on mine. I make each protector with just a tiny bit of extra room so that they work with sealed games and go in and out easily but no noticeable gap either.

Let’s talk video games a bit. What was the first console and game that you owned? 

NES!  I had a little experience with Atari before that at a friends’ house, but we couldn’t afford one of those at the time so when that NES was under the tree at Christmas it was life changing!  Literally as it turns out.

Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming? 

My grandmother took me to play in a qualifier for the Nintendo World Championships at a local shopping mall. I must have been 15 at the time. I didn’t have any idea of what I was getting into when I got there and it didn’t go as planned! Something I will never forget though.  

Regardless of the size/packaging, RetroProtection has got you covered!

Let’s jump forward a bit. Here’s one to get you thinking. If you weren’t in the box protection business, what do you think you would be doing today?    

I would still be in the box business! I worked for a cardboard box company as the warehouse manager for almost 21 years and finally I had to make a decision of doing this or that. I was getting up at 6:00am and getting home at 4:45pm. Then I worked all night packing orders and doing e-mails and went to bed at midnight and rinse and repeat. I did that for a few years and finally I just had to put in my resignation. It wasn’t easy to do after so long.

I had a company vehicle, cell phone, gas card, etc. but I probably wouldn’t have lived much longer at that pace. I finally resigned in March of 2016. I don’t know what the future will hold and it could have been a mistake but I think that with enough repeat business and word of mouth advertising I will be around a long time and continue to provide these items for collectors.

As you’re aware, technology continues to advance the gaming industry. Have you been a fan of these changes?  

Certainly some of the technology is amazing. What they can do with games these days couldn’t even have been imagined in the past. BOTW is an example of that. Playing Zelda on the NES Classic recently and then BOTW on the Switch shows how far they have come. Digital downloads I can’t say I’m a big fan of. I need to own a physical copy of the game. I bought the Sonic Switch special edition and it came with only a digital download. I am still sick that I didn’t read the fine print!

Where do you think technology will bring us in the future? 

That is a great question. It’s hard to imagine what is going on in the heads of the brilliant minds that come up with these new ideas. I imagine we won’t have to get out of a chair or even move our hands or fingers at some point!

Want to protect your figures? RetroProtection is there for you!

We at The Switch Effect are obviously big fans of Nintendo’s new console. What are your impressions of the Switch? 

Love the Switch! Most of my experience has been watching my daughter play BOTW, but we’ve had some Mario Kart battles for sure. The Switch does what the Wii U should have done.   Being portable is a game changer. What’s not to love?

Which new games are you looking forward to the most? 

It’s already out, but Super Mario Odyssey. I bought it for my Daughter..or me…for Christmas and it’s took all that’s within me to not have ripped the plastic off! I was also looking forward to Xenoblade Chronicles 2; that game looks amazing!

Last question now that I’ve run you through the gauntlet. Is there anything else you’d like to share?  

I would like to say to anyone that has purchased from me before I really appreciate it more than you know. Your support is what’s allowing me to get to all these new sizes. I’m trying to be an asset to the collecting community by doing my best to get as many of the new sizes done.    Supporting these other sellers who have popped up who are doing nothing but the main sizes doesn’t help in that effort. They may undercut me in price here and there by a little bit but please realize it’s not always the same sizes, variety, customer service or quality as you will find at Retroprotection. Thank for your time and feel free to contact me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them at [email protected].

Make sure to visit RetroProtection to get your box protectors and stay up to date!