Will we see more card shops opening up?
AFLfan
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A lot of people are comparing the current hobby with the crazy days of the late 1980s/early 1990s. Back then, at least in San Diego, it seemed like card shops were everywhere. They weren't all great shops, but they were open for the sole purpose of selling trading cards and associated items.
My question is this... Now that we are in the midst of another hobby boom, will more card shops begin to open up or are the benefits of online selling just too great to overcome? Or would we see more stores open if not for our current COVID situation?
Discuss...
Todd Tobias - Grateful Collector - I focus on autographed American Football League sets, Fleer & Topps, 1960-1969, and lacrosse cards.
Will we see more card shops opening up?
This is a public poll: others will see what you voted for.
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I miss the days of going to the local hardware store & browsing the card section & picking up hobby supplies
At least 3 have opened up in Fairfield County Connecticut in the last 14 months.
We'll see how long it lasts. With basketball, my instinct is telling me that half the demand is from resellers trying to find product to meet the organic demand. I could be wrong, but, if correct, there may be some pullback when the organic demand is satisfied.
There is one opening up by me just outside of LA. The owner of the Mets just put his own money into the hobby so I think this bull run will continue. The modern card hobby, especially basketball, plays well in the social media era of "look at me".
I’m no expert by any means, so purely a guess... the only store near me seems to be surviving primarily on eBay sales - every time I’m in there, he’s packing stuff up, printing labels, etc. - and the overhead of B&M shops adds a lot to the prices of things in store. If it turns back into a social experience and a gathering, maybe they’ll pick up? Some of the breaks that are done on National Baseball Card days seemed to be appealing to a crowd, but none required in-person attendance, so it doesn’t require a shop. It’s so much cheaper to buy most stuff online.
Jim
The economic costs of a brick and mortar store outweigh the benefits. Online is a better profit center
I believe so. I follow a guy on Twitter and IG who does videos on Youtube and huge part of their business is getting collectors to drop off cards and they submit them to PSA. The card boom will lead to more people trying to replicate this I suspect.
We’ve had at least 2 card shops open up here in the Kansas City metro within the past year I believe, one just a month or so ago, so I’m going with yes!
i had an answer but disappeared for approval.
I think will lead to some. Probably not as many as in the 80's/90's but more than there were 10 years ago. As people get more and more fed up with Ebay and scammers, it might help them visit a local shop instead where you could develop a personal relationship with someone you trust. With all the new youtube breakers, that is a good thing for the hobby. I could see that evolving somehow into a live on-line business but also an in-person business too. They could stream live but then also have a crowd come in and watch too and while they're there, they'll buy cards/supplies/etc.
Unfortunately we will see more card shops closing.
Card shows and in person group rips will increase - brick and mortar will not.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
I'll say yes, in the short term. I think a lot of the recent interest had been due to covid. I suspect as we return to normal things will start to cool off.
Having said that, I think it would be fun to open a shop as long as the goal isn't too make a living at it. If profit wasn't the goal, you could do some interesting things to make it a fun place to visit. Think of wine tastings and educational seminars.
Perhaps a spike in the short term but I voted no. COVID is fast tracking in the demise of what was left of vehicle and foot shopping for many product groups.. I'd bet there are MANY more card shop worthy "stores" inside collectors own homes in dedicated rooms than there is traditional B&M business! I can't think of one card store worth hitting within a full hour from my house in any direction.
Card SHOWS are a different story. Agree with poster above, they will begin to thrive. Many sections of the country don't have any decent shows nearby as of yet like where I live. That void hopefully fills in.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
No. However, I could envision a higher end, clean, modern style establishment with graded cards only for sale. Ideally, operated by a respected and well connected hobbyist that could "find and broker" deals for a commission lower than eBay and the auction houses. I agree that Card Shows will increase.
No. So agree from several posts about rise of card shows. Regional shows, such as the Philly and Chantilly Show, should see a nice increase in attendance. There's a lot of new blood and money in the hobby.
@AFLfan,
Are you including TCG? (Pokémon, etc) in your poll? If you’re going to be successful in opening a new shop, I would think you’re going to have to include this. You’re going to have to appeal to as many people as you can, and having this seems like a no-brainer. Also, if card shops started doing in-person breaks, that would be huge too. Like I said. Appeal to as many people as possible. If your market is big enough, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be successful. Like all business, if you don’t change with the times, you get left behind (blockbuster, toys R Us, etc.)
I know of the one up in Liberty, is there another that’s opened in the last year or so?
I'm not sure large scale indoor shows will be coming back anytime soon. Maybe outdoor under a tent.
The store that opened up by me is located in a lower middle income neighborhood. I'm sure the rent isn't that much for the location. The bigger issue I see is how much business will be driven by new product? I wouldn't expect a lot of people dropping $950 on a box of Prizm at a store.
Too much "I can get it cheaper on ebay" to make most card shops viable, not to mention, the laziness factor of being able to shop for anything while in your pajamas. The only way a local store can be viable is through unopened product and building a clientele for that product, especially for things routinely resealed/searched on ebay
Target and Walmart would be the only “card shops” I see opening new stores. Why have a B&M shop when you are probably pushing more via the internet anyway.
I would love to have a card shop in my city, but there was only 1 in the years I have lived here and it closed a number of years ago. If we would have one I would have to go in with eBay comps and I probably wouldn’t be buying much (at least from what is have experienced in card shops).
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
I say no because I think collectors will take advantage of the internet and do most of their buying and selling themselves, directly with the other end... cutting the middle man out. Most brick and mortars can't compete with online pricing.
since my longer initial reply got "removed pending approval" glitched, i'll give a brief synopsis.
will more card shops open up? yes.
will they be traditional card shops from the 80s/90s boom? no.
will we "see" them? no.
will they be more geared towards online breaking, sales, processing of group subs, etc? yes.
did ibm start in a garage? yes.
are these online breakers who are killing it in their own garages getting claustrophobic? yes.
will these new card shops be in houses similar to silicon valley startups? yes.
has pretty much everything today evolved from the 80s? yes.
should we redefine/rethink of just what exactly constitutes as a "card shop" today? probably.
Yep, in Olathe. Unopened packman sportscards! Great place! Very organized!
No, too much overhead. with the internet, we are all dealers now.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Voted no.
To much overhead, insurance, etc. Internet is the big Kahuna.
People who make their living selling on eBay need a supply of inventory. People who don't need top dollar for their collections and don't have the patience to sell on eBay (need money now) need a place to sell their cards all at once. I'm agnostic as to whether we'll see more B&M, but it definitely has a place.
BINGO.. yep
No
At least not a stand alone card shop. Too expensive to keep up.
No different than any fiat/crypto currency. At least crypto has scarcity going for it.
There is no lack of buyers for a decent collection, a couple quick pics posted to Craigslist will bring them to you, if there's anything of value, and no need to run all over town comparing offers. It's much better than the recent card shop experiences around here, where they are mostly selling consignment space in display cases and there's zero interest in purchasing anything post-1969 from the owners. Card shops in the traditional sense died for a reason and I see no need for a reincarnation. The only reason to have a shop these days is antiquated requirements to be able buy direct from some of the manufacturers.
Fractional ownership does not change the finite quantity of crypto coins (of a given brand) that can possibly be mined. Trimming coins back when they were precious metals to begin with was one thing, but if I gave you a fifth of a modern nickel would you give me a mint penny? Since one can now buy fractional shares of a stock on Robinhood, does that change the total number of shares available in a company? Methinks someone doesn't have much of a grasp on economics or scarcity. I'm off to buy $1 worth of AAPL.
Visit the Precious Metals forum and share your opinions in the Bitcoin thread,. I need a good belly laugh at the responses, I'm out ...
"Confidence is the only thing that gives cards value". Same goes for that paper money in your pocket. We live in a fiat created world of currency.
Amen, and the point I was trying to make.
huh? i'd say well over 50% of my big boy cards go outta the united states.
what a croc.
i'm extremely impartial about it. 😑
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With the advent of the internet (ebay) brick and mortar shops are competing with more sellers than ever before. With that comes inventory of stock, supplies, paying rent, insurance, working hours, and possibly multiple salaries. Whereas the internet sellers only expense is his stock and a computer. Heck you can buy cards at Target!