A Statement to Our Collector Community

ArtToy Emporium was founded on the belief that art toys are more than products—they are personal collections, creative works, investments, and pieces of a community built on trust.

In recent weeks, we have failed to live up to that trust.

We recognize the distress caused to the collector whose consigned collection was not available for return following the transition of one of our franchise locations. We also recognize that our initial public response—focused on contractual disputes and valuation questions rather than the collector’s loss—was inadequate, dismissive, and inconsistent with the responsibility our brand owes to every person who entrusts property to an ArtToy Emporium location.

We are sorry.

Resolution for the Affected Collector

ArtToy Emporium has reached an agreement in principle to financially resolve the collector’s claim. While the terms of that agreement will remain private, it is intended to provide meaningful compensation and bring this matter to a close for the collector and his family.

This resolution is not contingent on the collector withdrawing concerns, changing his account, or remaining silent. He deserved to be heard from the beginning.

We also acknowledge the serious public questions raised about the circumstances surrounding the franchise transition, including reports concerning activity at the location shortly before the change in ownership. We are not making conclusions about those events in this statement. However, we are preserving relevant corporate records and will cooperate with lawful requests from appropriate authorities and parties conducting a legitimate review.

Regarding Vigilante Vince

We are withdrawing our civil actions, restraining-order efforts, and related complaints involving Vigilante Vince.

Our prior approach escalated a situation that required listening, investigation, and care. While we continue to believe that all individuals should respect store safety, customer privacy, and lawful property-access rules, we recognize that pursuing a public conflict with a creator who was amplifying a collector’s concerns did not serve our customers, our franchisees, or our company.

The withdrawal of these actions is a gesture of goodwill and a commitment to de-escalation. It is also an acknowledgment that transparency cannot be achieved by treating every difficult question as an adversarial threat.

We welcome responsible reporting, consumer advocacy, and good-faith scrutiny. Our focus now is not on fighting critics, but on earning back the confidence we lost.

New Consignment and Franchise-Transfer Safeguards

Effective immediately, ArtToy Emporium is implementing the following system-wide safeguards for all franchise locations that accept consignments, collector inventory, trade-ins, or customer-held merchandise:

• Centralized digital consignment records. Every consigned item will be recorded in a corporate-accessible system with photographs, item descriptions, condition notes, declared value, owner contact information, and a unique inventory identifier.

• Customer-accessible inventory status. Consignors will receive digital confirmation of accepted inventory and will be able to request an updated status report throughout the consignment period.

• Mandatory transfer freeze. When a franchise location is being sold, terminated, relocated, or transferred, all consigned inventory will be placed under a transfer freeze. No inventory may be moved, sold, released, or disposed of until it has been reconciled and documented.

• Third-party inventory reconciliation. Before any ownership transition is completed, an independent inventory professional or corporate audit team will conduct and certify a physical count of all consigned merchandise.

• Joint chain-of-custody documentation. Any movement of consigned inventory during a transition must be documented with time-stamped records, photographs, transport information, and signatures from authorized parties.

• Corporate notice to consignors. Collectors will receive advance notice of ownership transitions affecting the location holding their property, along with clear instructions for retrieval, verification, or continued consignment.

• Dedicated customer-property claims process. We are creating a centralized escalation channel for lost, damaged, disputed, or unaccounted-for consigned items. Claims will be reviewed by a corporate team independent from the local franchise location.

• Required franchisee training and accountability. Franchise operators and transition teams will receive mandatory training on consignment handling, customer-property obligations, and transfer procedures. Failure to comply may result in penalties, suspension, or termination.

• Enhanced insurance review. We are reviewing our insurance and franchise requirements to ensure there are meaningful protections available when customer property is lost or cannot be accounted for.

What Happens Next

Within 60 days, we will publish an update on the implementation of these safeguards, including confirmation of which measures are active across our franchise network. We will also establish a collector advisory group made up of customers, franchise representatives, and independent members of the art-toy community to help evaluate our policies and identify where further improvements are needed.

We understand that a statement cannot undo the harm caused, restore the time the collector spent seeking answers, or immediately repair the trust we damaged. That work must be demonstrated through action.

To the affected collector, to Vigilante Vince, to our franchise partners, and to collectors who expected better from ArtToy Emporium: we are sorry for how we handled this. We are committed to resolving what we can, learning from what happened, and building systems that ensure no collector faces this kind of uncertainty again.