My local card shop makes me sick

easttexascardsandgames

I usually don't go in there, but I needed some holders for some thick jersey cards I have. He has used screwdowns for 2/1.00. Anyway when I was in there I was noticing some of the prices he had on boxes.

2005 Topps HTA boxes 110.00
2005 Topps Chrome 130.00
I just had to ask if he had any Heritage coming he said he could get me all the boxes I wanted for 165.00 a box. I told him I would think about it and left laughing my ass off.

Everytime I go in there he tells me how sales are good, usually I am the only customer in there. I do know several collectors who do buy often from him only because they are the only game in town. I am getting more and more serious about trying to get some good capital together and opening a shop again. I know I could bury him.

Axtell

I've found most card shops have just closed up shop if they don't have an online presence-it's nearly impossible for a brick and mortor store to compete with the online shops.

Unless it's a huge shop with tons of clientele, it just can't compete.

Lothar52

there used to be a guy on these boards from Vegas who had a shop....where did he go?????? How much does it cost to get a shop going..inventory is the big deal...when someone walksin u want them to see lots of diff cards fromdiff years...what do u think?

loth

wick70

That was Jason (Kallmalonesay).. last word was that he was going to try and open up a second shop by the end of the year. That was around Sept. I think.

Wick

fsjeter

Jason is still here. As far as I know he is still over by UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas). No word on a second location yet. Matt & Mike are also on these boards from time to time and they are still here as well. They moved the shop down the street about a half mile. Diversification is key for Matt & Mike as they also do framing. They've got some nice displays in their shop!!

Scott

easttexascardsandgames

Well I am thinking if I give it another go I am going to do like an old friend of mine Cleve Howard from Springdale, Arkansas. Cleve33 on Ebay. He runs weekly live consignment auctions from his store these are big money makers for him. He also keeps a good stock of new products and sells most new boxes at about a 15 to 20% markup on his costs to his regular customers and about 35% for others.

Axtell

Inventory is the biggest issue (I'd think) in starting up a card shop. You need to have inventory, but you also don't want to sit on a bunch of junk for years and years.

Boxes like the heritage make it sound easy, but there is tons and tons of product you have to decide whether or not to buy...really, quite a tricky business to get into.

Knuckles

Getting stuck with inventory is the sucky thing.. I local shop is going out of business here. It's amazing how many boxes of left over crap he has from between 1990-now.

easttexascardsandgames

That is why I believe you presell as much as you can...

easttexascardsandgames

Also when I ran a shop in the early to mid 90s I did alot of COOP buying me and 2 other the other shops(1 being the one that is still open) would go in and split our direct orders.

WinPitcher

hmmm i c

DirtyHarry

Of the 3 shops I have frequented over the last dozen years (I live near Annapolis, MD) - only one is still in business. Each guy got started up because his house was busting at the seams with stuff he had collected, and this became a big part of the initial inventory. Besides the start-up business expense, most of their immediate inventory costs were only for modern issues. But this can eat you alive, if you want to appeal to kids and lottery seekers on the plethora of modern.

The guy still operating has far less vintage, little memoribia, a handful of supplies.. What he expanded on is gaming cards, comics, snacks, soda and resale of used video games. He also sponsors weekly gaming nights to keep the kids coming in. He is still quite knowledgeable on sportscards, but butters his bread differently at retail now. The majority of his sportcard sales are online auctions .

Knopfler

There is a shop in the KC area that I have gone to since I was a little kid, around '76 or '77. I pulled two Brett rookies out of the '75 commons box one day, and paid 60 cents total for them. I then went straight home and sold one to the kid across the street from me for 30 cents! I went in there a year or two ago just to pick up a Beckett, and when I walked in I didn't see any cards, just a bunch of mini Nascar cars, Nascar stuff and some type of mini track in the middle of the shop. I saw the owner and asked him where the Becketts were, and he said he had given up on sports cards and was doing strictly Nascar stuff. Too bad, but I guess everyone has to do what's best for them.

Stone193

easttexas
What town are you from?
Starting a card shop sounds great....how much start up capital do you think it will take? Just curious.

your friend
Mike

ctsoxfan

The local card shops are a Catch 22 - I hate to shop there, but I would hate to see them close.

Case in point - wax box prices. When Contenders came out last month, I headed to the local shop to buy a few boxes. The young owner says to me, "Hottest stuff out there, selling like wildfire...I need $185.00 a box". What? Granted, it is a hot product, but to be that far off from what I could buy them for at shows or on Ebay? I bought some supplies, and left. At a show that weekend, I bought 4 boxes for $120.00 a box. Not to mention he was selling Ultimate Collection Football for $475.00 a box, and Leaf Limited for $300.00 a box (to whom, I have no idea). I know when you have a brick and mortar store you have overhead, but the internet has really exposed a lot of these stores and how out of whack their prices are.

Stone193

I think every collector "outgrows" the need for the local card shop when they start to network and see what's out there.
A saavy card shop dealer would find a way to satisfy the needs of everyone that walks in the door.

Off hand, I can think of 10 ways to generate more business with recall emails or bulk mailers. There are many internal marketing strategies that would work really well with "bribe"/thank you presents to people who bring you new customers to "frequent buyer" miles etc.

Now will all this work? I don't have a clue. Just some ideas tho.

your friend
Mike

easttexascardsandgames

I am in Texarkana.. Starting inventory would not be the big problem, it is that start-up cash. I think that another shop would do extremely well here if the right person was in charge of it. I still like the way Cleve Howard run his shop, and could think of a few ways I could tweek it. I do also believe that you have to find some way to get the kids interested, I have ideas for that.

With me getting a pretty good raise at work recently and my wife finally getting her teaching certification, I think I can start building to that goal.

Stone193

<< <i>With me getting a pretty good raise at work recently and my wife finally getting her teaching certification, I think I can start building to that goal. >>


easttexas
I wish you luck. You can always find people here to help.

your friend
Mike

Knuckles

You can't be cheap/lazy about it.. You have to advertise in the mags and you should also have a website with your inventory so you not only deal with locals but with people from all around north america. Should also go to the major card shows as well to promote yourself. A partnership of at least 2 guys would be ideal.

kingraider75

in the LA area about 50% of the shops ar gone from the boom time of the late 80's to early 90's. Three other shops almost closed down. Use to be at least 20 shops within a 50 mile radius, now we are looking at about 10, with 3 or 4 of those that are pretty bad. there are two are really big "old" shops. One guy has old and new, the other caters to new and old set builders. Some other shops are geographically isolated and have survived. One area that has a glut of stores is Santa Clarita, CA, which is about 35 miles north of downtown LA. One street there has 4 stores within 10 minutes of each other. I shop at one of those stores, and he gives me a pretty good deal on wax, because he flips a lot of it and is direct. THe other guys kill you!! I mean kill you. They want at least $35 more than anyone else in the world.

I, too thought about opening a store or becoming a partner with a present owner. However, I think it's not a good idea long term. There aren't making kids buying cards anymore, and in a few years a lot of collectors will be retiring and have fixed incomes. Maybe some of those people will be able to spend money on cards, but I would think a lot of them wouldn't be able to do it as freely as when they were working.

Most local card shops in LA, survive on a few big cusotmers for roughly 1/3 of their business. If a couple of those guys stop buying, they fold.

OK, enough thoughts from a 26 year old here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tennesseebanker

Back in the 80's boom of card collecting there were probably a half dozen around in this somewhat rural area I live in, Today there are about two. One shop I remember foundly was run by an old man back then in his 70's at least. This guy ran his shop out of an old dusty house beside where he lived. Me and a friend stopped in one day about 1986. this guy told us he had been collecting cards most of his life, He pulled out some early 1950 mantles to show us. I asked him what else he had back there and he wasnt in any hurry to show us.(cant say that I blame him) I never knew what happened to that shop but if im in that part of the world again I will stop by, just to see if it is still there(very doubtful) if I can remember how to get there.

Allen

I think the best shops (as far as making money) are the ones in big vacation spots. In Myrtle Beach there is a shop at Broadway at the beach, which is a huge family hot spot, and they have tons of signed photos and things (All by lesser known COAs). But everyone who cares about sports goes in to look and it seems like everyone buys a card or two, but here is the catch. He sell mass produced 80's and 90's stars and semi stars for $3-$5 each! Most of the poeple know nothin about cards but they always buy one or one for each of their kids and such. I am sure some people bite on the Gwynn Rookies for $50 and Bonds for $100.

There used to be a really good shop at Myrtle, the guy had everything you could ask for. He had a library of set fillers from nearly every set in every sport organized by number. Only took me 5 mins to find 10 commons from 4 different sets. He had 4 row shoe boxes stacked up with each being filled with any specific star. His showcases were full of rookies (high and low end) and he had some of the rlly nice "balla" stuff in the first showcase. Also he had tons of waxfrom most every product new and old. He was good to deal with. We were at his shop like 2 or 3 days after Adam Petty was killed in the car crash and my mom wasnted a card of him. I told her they would likely cost $20+ each if he had any. The guy looked through 3 or 4 albums and found 3 Adam Petty rookies. When asked how much he said just take them, they only book for $.10 each.

kingraider75

anyone go to Beverly Hills Card shop run by Matt in LA on Roberstons near pico. He's cool, but not cheap!