Type Private Founded 2008 Headquarters Atlanta | Industry Toys Founder Warren Royal Products Bobbleheads | |
BobbleHeads.com is an Atlanta-based purveyor of bobbleheads under the brand name Royal Bobbles, the eponymous brand of BobbleHeads.com founder Warren Royal.
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History
BobbleHeads.com was founded in 2008 by Warren Royal, who began selling bobbleheads after purchasing the domain names Bobbleheads.com and Bobblehead.com for $65,000. Sales for the company increased to the point he could no longer handle the business on his own that Christmas season, following the US Federal Election of 2008. Initially the business was run out of Royal’s basement, before moving to its own warehouse. The company sold bobble heads produced by other companies at first, before developing its own line. The first three original Royal Bobbles bobbleheads were those of Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and Ted Kennedy.
Bobbleheads
As of 2010 the site had become the largest source of bobble heads in the world, and that year the company received an equity investment from Digimedia. The company sells its bobbleheads in retail establishments in addition to their online shop, such as those in museums like the Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetery, Ford Theater, Gettysburg, and Library of Congress. They are also sold at gift shops, such as the White House gift shop in Washington, DC.
The specialty line of Royal Bobbles now includes historical figures, modern politicians, and other public interest figures, with about sixty different designs as of 2012. The company also has official licenses to sell the bobbleheads of figures including John Wayne, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, and Elvis Presley. The Bobbleheads.com website sells bobbleheads, but also publishes material on the history of bobbleheads themselves. As of 2013, sales for the company reached about one hundred thousand units annually. The company also produces custom-made bobbleheads for individual customers, including life-sized bobbleheads. The majority of the company’s business comes from custom bobbleheads, requested by customers as gifts or wedding cake toppers, among others.