If this hobby is to survive I believe that following needs to happen. Agree or disagree

8kobe

Ok, in a moral business wholesalers do not sale online. On ebay I see many different wholesalers saleing direct. For smaller card shops to survive this needs to be stopped. The only place I could see this stopping is at the card makers themselves. They need to make it a rule that to become a buyer from them you must own a store and you must sell more then just online. This will return the card market to a competive market. This would make online prices go up and the shop prices go down. People would return to trading because getting ripped off isn't a problem at a shop cause you see what you are going to get and prices won't be as bad.

So what do you think. I personally think Beckett, ebay, and the internet have nothing to do with the degrading of the hobby. IT is the card company's at fault. They are the ones sellign to people who sell at prices that force businesses out of business. I will pay 10% more anytime to keep my card shop here. It is fun and I like to talk to the people.

JErik20

That will help card shops, but since customers will have to pay more for boxes and cases, it will hurt the card companies and the hobby in general because less boxes/cases will be sold

Erik

JErik20

Unfortunately, most card shops jack prices up more than 10%

Erik

Xtrainningscards

As far as I know the card companies do require dealers to own a store. As the owner of a small card shop, I have no interest in dealing direct, we have a direct wholesaler locally, who we get most of the new products..if we want them from, just a little over cost. Would rather do that then put the $$ out ahead of time, and risk the product dropping in days. We also use the Internet to purchase from various dealers across the country. This can allow us to even beat the wholesale prices of the dealer who is direct, I have know problem with the dealers dumping their wax on line, I actually steer clear of 1 or 2 boxes being offered, this could be a dealer who cracked a case, got the strong card out of the case, so unlikely that there will be anything real good in it. I think all small shop owners, just have to get out and use all the resources out there to stay afloat, you cannot survive on the shop alone. I use the Internet for trading, to get the local team cards needed, selling to move the big cards at the highest prices, also do weekend shows, and flea markets to move product and also advertise the store. Also, I would recommend any shops to make sure they are covering the hottest gaming cards, as they bring in an additional form of income. It all comes down to covering all the bases to survive in today's market.

Vincecarder

I go to three shops in Toronto. One guy is with it on ebay and I can tell by his stock (graded cards etc). This guy does internet sales and I think that is a majority of his business...doesn't seem to sell much...maybe some Yugio pokemon crap to the kiddies. I always see guys bringing in boxes of stuff for sale and he sifts through it and tells them he can't use it (mostly early 90's crap like proset) The main guy I talk to is pretty cool and his boxes are around ebay prices, I don't mind paying an extra bit.

The second shop I go to has more expensive prices on wax. He does have quite a bit of vintage wax but the prices are pretty high on that too. The majority of the shop seems to be for Magic, Pokemon or whatever trend is in right now. As for singles, he's got jack squat...maybe a beat up Gretzky OPC RC and some other stuff that is overpriced. Still, I don't mind buying wax from this guy, I paid abit more but he did have SPX Basketball when I couldn't find it anywhere other than ebay (paid around $50cdn more than I would on ebay but you always risk a box being stopped at customs and paying taxes)

Now the third shop is always fun to go in. It's actually a real nice shop but man, the prices are out of this world. Where he comes up with his prices I don't know. Wax, your paying 30-70% more than what you can get it for on ebay. He does have a nice selection of stuff but man, the prices are nuts. Singles, yes this guy has some nice stuff. Carter Sp authentic RC...asking price....$700Cdn...I can pick one up for around $300Cdn without breaking a sweat. Jay Williams SPX auto RC.....asking price.....$300Cdn...I can pick up a Jay Williams for $75Cdn off ebay. This store believe Ebay is Evil and everyone on there is out to steal from you. Graded cards are crap and he knows dealers that are getting killed selling graded cards. Man, I just keep on laughing inside. I use ask the prices of certain cards in the case and then pull out the exact card asking for half of their price. There response? No, no, no, what's in the case is totally different, it has nothing to do with your card. My all time classic in this shop has to be with an old timer in there. I brought in a blazing OPC Steve Yzerman RC and asked him what he would pay for it. His response? What are you asking?....Once again, I asked what are you willing to pay on this card, I want to sell it, give me an offer. This guy simply would not give me a offer, he wanted me to say something first thinking I may be an idiot and say $10 or something. So I told him I want $10 for it....he took his time, "Hmmm, I'll give you $8 for it and pick a pack or two" My mouth nearly dropped open! I ask him why he has the exact card in the glass for $150 and you low ball me for mine, if a guy came in and didn't know a price, you would basically rip him off.....

Enough about the last shop, I still get ticked off. Funny thing is I go in there still and I get the same old story from them, Graded cards are crap and blah blah. I go there because it's walking distance from my work so I bust wax at lunch. I still haven't pulled squat from that store......freaking jinx store!

In general, I think all these shops suck big time! The last store is surviving because they have very loyal customers with deep pockets. The way Ebay is going, I think the card shop may be extinct in a few years...if they don't adapt to the internet and ebay, they are probably finished.

battier

if a cardshop is to survive,they need to have certain nights that allow people to come in and trade with other traders...there is nothing like a good ol trade...people dont want to buy all the time,they want to trade..this makes the people become more attached to the cardshop.also brings in more business as well.
but cardshops dont think that way these days.and thats why most of the shops are broke and cant sell half the stuff they have

49erfan33

8kobe, so have you done extensive research on this, taken poles, etc???

8kobe

I know that wholesalers often don't own a store. They own a storage house or building. That is the way it is around here. I am thinking about doing a survey on my website about it and seeing what I can find out. I think it is interesting and I as well as others see the effects. Would like to see what others think. Who owns a store? Thanks ahead of time

Allen

Talk is cheap, mostly because supply is greater than demand.

LOL, sorry but that is what these posts always make me think of. I know everyone always has this type of conversation at shops, shows, chats etc. Everyone always has a big theory and opinion on everything but you can always find someone to argue the exact opposite with them. You hear some good ones about how grading is horrible, game used is fake, eBay is a ripoff, etc.

Vincecarder- I think everyone knows what you mean on those shops. Most shops fall into one of three categories. Either they suck and have nothing and what they have is too much and you know they will go out of business. Or they are really nice but everything is hugely overpriced, but they do sell some because they have a nice store front so they manage to sell some stuff even though it is overpriced. The third is a shop that moves stuff quick, usually a small store and everyone likes the guy that owns it. They get hot stuff, sell it reasonable or cheap and they make a little profit on each item but they sell a huge amount of stuff.

Just my $.02 of B.S.
lol

EHTHOCKEY09

<< <i>Now the third shop is always fun to go in. It's actually a real nice shop but man, the prices are out of this world. Where he comes up with his prices I don't know. Wax, your paying 30-70% more than what you can get it for on ebay. He does have a nice selection of stuff but man, the prices are nuts. Singles, yes this guy has some nice stuff. Carter Sp authentic RC...asking price....$700Cdn...I can pick one up for around $300Cdn without breaking a sweat. Jay Williams SPX auto RC.....asking price.....$300Cdn...I can pick up a Jay Williams for $75Cdn off ebay. This store believe Ebay is Evil and everyone on there is out to steal from you. Graded cards are crap and he knows dealers that are getting killed selling graded cards. Man, I just keep on laughing inside. I use ask the prices of certain cards in the case and then pull out the exact card asking for half of their price. There response? No, no, no, what's in the case is totally different, it has nothing to do with your card. My all time classic in this shop has to be with an old timer in there. I brought in a blazing OPC Steve Yzerman RC and asked him what he would pay for it. His response? What are you asking?....Once again, I asked what are you willing to pay on this card, I want to sell it, give me an offer. This guy simply would not give me a offer, he wanted me to say something first thinking I may be an idiot and say $10 or something. So I told him I want $10 for it....he took his time, "Hmmm, I'll give you $8 for it and pick a pack or two" My mouth nearly dropped open! I ask him why he has the exact card in the glass for $150 and you low ball me for mine, if a guy came in and didn't know a price, you would basically rip him off.....

>>



then go in there one time with a fake MJ rc and ask $300 for it, see what he says...lol