Juan Lecaros is a hoarder.

The 31-year-old Union City resident has amassed a collection of more than 7,000 comic books and 1,500 figures. But Lecaros' excessive habit may just be his ticket to happiness and financial success. Lecaros is the owner of Comic and Figure Addicts, a new specialty store opening later this month at 3902 Smith St., right next door to , where hobbyists can buy, sell or trade new and rare comics and collectibles.

An avid toy collector, Lecaros decided to turn his hobby into a business after losing his job as a San Lorenzo elementary school teacher last year. "When the economy started going down the drain, my hours got cut," he said. "I had always thought about doing this maybe 15 to 20 years from now. Maybe this was pointing me in that direction of why not do it now instead of later?"

"It was just the circumstances. You think it's a bad thing, but it turns out being good," he said. Starting this year, he took the leap and started saving up for his business. Though he's secured accounts from comic book distributors, almost all of Lecaros' current inventory is from his personal collection.

"I honestly didn't think it was that much until I started packing it up and brought it to the store," he said.

Lecaros' vast collection includes everything from vintage comics, posters and graphic novels to Star Wars, Marvel, GI Joe, WWE, Transformers, MLB, NFL and other popular figures.

The items at Comic and Figure Addicts are reasonably priced, with many of the toys ranging from $20 to $50 and only a handful of comic books between $100 and $300. Despite being a niche market, Lecaros expects business to do well.