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Opening a successful sports cards shop these days...
Allen
Posts: 7,165 ✭✭✭
THREAD Okay so here we doged on all the resons shops closed and are closing. But say you just got a buisness loan and you are going to open a card shop. What are the keys to having a successul shop these days? We talked about 707 and how they work the shop, internet and show angles. But what would be the ideal set up to maximize success?
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<< <i>THREAD Okay so here we doged on all the resons shops closed and are closing. But say you just got a buisness loan and you are going to open a card shop. What are the keys to having a successul shop these days? We talked about 707 and how they work the shop, internet and show angles. But what would be the ideal set up to maximize success? >>
Allow neighborhood customers to enter one lot for free to be auctioned off in your weekly auction. Make sure to have a new auction every week. Try to have sports, non-sports, raw, graded, vintage, modern, autographs, UDA type collectibles, unopened material and more! available for your weekly store auction.
Make your shop auctions fun! Low opening bids! All initial bidding must be done in person, then bids may be increased via in person or maybe by phone, internet, or email.
A way for collectors to get rid of unwanted material, to bid on some interesting material offered by other local collectors and hobbyists, and to a steady flow of visitors to your shop, and to get to know other collectors in the area. And who knows? You may just sell an item or two at your shop!
rbd
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Smokestack Lightning (Live) 1968
Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Hat (Live) 1971
This is a good question...in a tough economic climate.
Advertise:
1. External:
a. value packs - have a coupon with a good incentive.
b. local mailer newspaper in your zip - you can do a color 1/4 pager with a full page 1 time for the year writeup on your shop in my area for about 400/mo.
2. Internal:
a. Give a "present" to current patrons for bringing in a new buyer.
b. Send thank you letters to your best customers who refer people.
c. Have your shop on-line - provide message boards - special sales.
d. Send out birthday cards with a present (coupon like 20% off next purchase e.g.) to customers/kids; xmas cards etc.
Promotions: the sky's the limit here
1. Have flipping contests with junk commons - winner gets a prize.
2. Have a saturday morning grading seminar.
3. Local signing - advertise a lesser player to come to the shop for a free signing - in this day and age, may be hard and expensive - just an idea.
4. Have buy one get one free days of some kind.
5. Raffles of some kind.
6. Give inexpensive star cards away at random to kids when they buy stuff.
7. Get email addy's of all customers and send them mass mailings with specials.
8. Send out select letters with promotions - if they come in this saturday and spend 20$, they will get....type thing
9. Make sure people know that you have ebay auction also!
Store items: key is diversify
1. Have other items - especially geared as presents at xmas, father's day etc. - hats, jerseys, plaques etc.
2. Sell not only memorabilia but other related items like statues, glass items like sports related coffee cups, key rings etc.
3. Always keep an eye out for a new niche market for the store - consigned items, oddball items e.g.
Amenities:
1. Have a table where kids can sit and open packs, share/trade cards with other kids.
2. Offer mom/dad a diet coke or coffee while they're sitting there in pain waiting for Johnny to decide how to spend his allowance.
The Shop:
When $ allows - make it look interesting - consider glass enclosed items on display - present items of interest.
Perhaps a small enclosed museum type thing would look good.
KEEP IT SIMPLE - I hate shops with so much out you can't see the forest for the trees!!
Put your inventory on a disc where a kid can sit down at the computer and browse if they want? Stuff that isn't out? Just an idea.
If the shop looks cheesy or disorganized - why come back?
And most import: BE POLITE AND AFFABLE AT ALL TIMES!!!!!
This is my start
mike
2.) Have a good selection of both modern and vintage singles, wax and sets
3.) Be fair on your pricing
4.) Offer a consignment service (small portion of your shop)
5.) Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
6.) Keep a good inventory of "gift" items (displays, autographs, Posters, Standies, Balls, Bats, Gloves)
7.) Be sure to sponser local sporting events, Little league Baseball, PAL Football, Hockey etc...
Collecting all cards - Gus Zernial
Post Cereal both raw and PSA Graded (1961-1963)
Good point on the hours of operation!
Dad doesn't finish work till 5pm - so if he's gonna bring Johnny, it will be just after dinner at or around 6 - 8 pm.
Of course Saturday will be a big day!
mike
Best,
Jim
If anyone wants to open - even a small store - I can't think of a better place to come and get input than here!
We have people here from 20 - 100 yrs old!!!
Without the overhead you can create a very good base of customers just doing Ebay. 4SC and DSL come to mind. If i were to start, I would wait until the National hits Anahiem. Take about $5,000 to $7,000 to spend looking for high quality ungraded Star cards from reputable dealers.
Send those in to PSA (expecting good grades) and you should be able to jump start it from there. Example--I bought a 1913 game card from Mike Wheat 4 years ago of Ty Cobb in NM/MT condition. It came back a 9 from PSA. I sold it a couple of years ago for $1,800. Smr is currently $2,500 now. I still made $1200+ off that card alone. It can be done, but it is very time consuming.
<< <i>Without the overhead you can create a very good base of customers just doing Ebay. 4SC and DSL come to mind. If i were to start, I would wait until the National hits Anahiem. Take about $5,000 to $7,000 to spend looking for high quality ungraded Star cards from reputable dealers.
Send those in to PSA (expecting good grades) and you should be able to jump start it from there. Example--I bought a 1913 game card from Mike Wheat 4 years ago of Ty Cobb in NM/MT condition. It came back a 9 from PSA. I sold it a couple of years ago for $1,800. Smr is currently $2,500 now. I still made $1200+ off that card alone. It can be done, but it is very time consuming. >>
Carew
This may be true but it's not answering the question. He asked for input with the idea that a brick & mortar is imminent.
mike
So perhaps a card shop with more than just cards would be the answer for success?
A shop that sells cards, coins, comics, etc. seems ideal. The more you have to offer the more customers you get and the more hope for crossover buisness with comic collectors buying cards as gifts and vis versa. As I said though we have many years of card knowledge and most of us may know about one or two other things, but I would not know where to start dealng coins or comics and would not want to post scans of the few I have on the other board fearing the lashing I would recieve about my trash haha.
<< <i>but I would not know where to start dealng coins or comics and would not want to post scans of the few I have on the other board fearing the lashing I would recieve about my trash haha. >>
Allen
As they say, in life, stick to what you know.
Sports related items are so vast - novelty sports items, clothing, jerseys, hats etc. You don't have to go near coins, stamps or comics IMO.
I know, in my heart, if I had the free time and enough capital and a good location, I could set up a really cool shop that parents would want to stop in just to look around while the kids lay down the cash.
But, since retiring from the Army, I am quite busy with my office to even think about doing that.
But it sure would be fun and a challenge.
mike
Well then, Location,Location,location!!! Check into your local mall and try to get the first 6 months free, but have enough dough behind you for 3 years. Again, time consuming, especially in that kind of market.
Additionally, you simply cannot compete with the raw buying power of a walmart for unopened material and/or supplies (nobody can).
A bricks & mortar store would have to be quite special indeed to offset those competitive advantages. I would think a co-op approach might have a shot at a local level - what I mean is a way wherein customers feel like part of the business and are therefore vested in it's success. Lower margins would be the tradeoff for loyalty, so volume would be essential. Consignment and the auction ideas RBD mentioned are solid. Sill seems like a longshot.
I would think purchasing the store (and therefore making $ on the real estate on the back end), rather than renting would be crucial. To have the concentration of customers you would have to be either in the city or worth the trip. Rent in the city is probably too high to make the margins without seeking to price gouge. To be a destination store is another angle as it allows you to be where the rent/buy prices for real estate are lower.
Those Bass Pro shops are amazing. I recall reading that the average customer drives 40 miles to get there, and stays an average of 4 or 5 hours. That is the kind of magnetism/loyalty/brand power you would need to succeed as a destination shop. But you would need the inventory to make such a drive worthwhile.
While 707 has built a solid reputation, particularly in the high end market, and therefore earned the respect that allows him to charge higher than average prices, the idea that a newcomer could do that is a longshot. To build an inventory like 707's would take years and a million dollars. And to build a client list would take longer still.
But this is obviously a very, very fragmented industry. Seems like there is still room for a 300 pound gorilla to emerge - just have to be someone with deep pockets I imagine.
Bosox1976
Yes this of course helps in running a business, but the key to success is getting the customers what they want and at the right price. This comic book store seems to me based on its success that it probably has items not available in toy stores or Walmart, and maybe not readily available on ebay, and probably at competitive prices. This guy has a good location to, that is easily seen from a high traffic road. Being new or different is very important and usually vital, especially with a new business - just being knowledgeable isn't good enough. If offering the same products that are readily available on ebay, but at higher prices because of overhead, it doesn't matter what you know about cards, you're gonna go out of business sooner or later, most probably sooner.
<< <i>Slightly O/T but a guy near my neighborhood opened up a comic book store about a year and a half ago. >>
Comic book store owner? We call that one the "widow maker"
<< <i>Comic book store owner? We call that one the "widow maker" >>
To the inveterate saavy collector ebay and specialized shows are the way to go - coupled with the old standard like buying thru SCD.
But the newbies and mom & pops who have to take their kids on saturday are looking for convenience and service not readily available thru the mail.
If anyone wants to take the time and look, I proposed a start to advertising and promotions that may jumpstart a biz.
Many people have talked about the basics which is biz 101:
1. Top flight LOCATION
2. Plenty of CAPITAL
3. Adequate startup INVENTORY
4. Know your TARGET audience and give them what they WANT not need
5. Know how to present inventory and make a SALE
This is tuff stuff guys and ya gotta want it bad - this stuff doesn't sell itself.
mike
Steve
<< <i>do like most do around here to stay in business....be a bookie on the side... >>
As far as 707 goes, I must have missed that thread, but, from what I've seen of some of his ebay auctions, I don't know how he sells anything. Of course, there are always rare items that must have collector may break down and buy, but I would imagine it has to be tough sledding. My point here is, you could have all of the cards but never sell any of them. Having a large inventory is probably the most important and necessary, but as a seller, you need to turn it over to grow and prosper. Finding a good balance that makes both sides happy in the key. That’s how the gorilla becomes 800 pounds
- When you get something new or significant pick up the phone and touch base with collectors in your area. Even if they aren't interested it shows that you are active and turning over inventory.
- We have 3-4 shows a year in L.A., plus the National this year. Do any of them set up there? Nope! Setting up will bring in new customers and allow you to touch base with old ones, all the while improving the collecting climate in general by supporting the show.
- The computer isn't just for playing games while ignoring customers. Have at least a simple website with hours, type of inventory, directions and a link to your ebay auctions. And yes, every store should be running something on ebay (or have an ebay store) to maintain a presence.
- Keep active in your own livelihood. One store doesn't have a Standard Guide, and often has to call when they can't figure out what cards they just bought. Another is still using grading standards from the '70's (unless he's buying from you) and has no idea how the hobby has been changed by the internet, major catalog auctions, grading companies and set registries. If this is your business part of your job is the keep up on every aspect of it.
It's amazing to me that any of these stores stay in business- they seem to be doing just about everything wrong.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
<< <i>As far as 707 goes, I must have missed that thread, but, from what I've seen of some of his ebay auctions, I don't know how he sells anything. >>
Easy. He's personable, extremely knowledgable, has cards you can't find anywhere else, unequalled service, and pays very fairly when he buys cards.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
Best,
Jim
<< <i>Mike, just thought I'd chime in. With ebay providing a limitless supply of non-graded and graded cards, and at always-varying prices, plus wax to the hilt, I don't see how any shop could stay in business. Yes, you could diversify, but as many have already said, it's better to stick to what you know. It's probably a better idea to start a business via the internet first (ebay store, own web site), and possibly branch out to a few of the big shows like tristar etc. and go from there. That would at least give you time to build a solid reputation and eventually build up client lists as well.
As far as 707 goes, I must have missed that thread, but, from what I've seen of some of his ebay auctions, I don't know how he sells anything. Of course, there are always rare items that must have collector may break down and buy, but I would imagine it has to be tough sledding. My point here is, you could have all of the cards but never sell any of them. Having a large inventory is probably the most important and necessary, but as a seller, you need to turn it over to grow and prosper. Finding a good balance that makes both sides happy in the key. That’s how the gorilla becomes 800 pounds >>
Well you answered your own question on how 707 most probably does it - Levi most certainly has a "cream" client list of wealthy high quality baseball card collectors in which when they want a card, money basically is no object. Keep in mind also that big dealers usually buy and sell from each other. So some large dealer in another city needing one of Levi's cards, probably gets a discount from his retail price, depending of course on the card and the situation.
Bottom line here - It really makes no good sense whatsoever, no matter how good the business plan, to start a brick & mortar baseball card shop in this day & age when there is an avenue such as ebay readily available, plus anyone also can start their own baseball card website. Especially with the waning interest of younger new collectors in the marketplace. The best game plan possible isn't going to help a new small hardware store stay in business next to a Home Depot. And ebay is the equivalent to a baseball card shop as a Home Depot next to a small hardware store.
Best,
Jim
-Accurate, "real world" grading. Strive for grading that's within a half a point of PSA, GAI, or SGC. Listing a NM price for a VG/EX card is tacky. Aarons has a great niche on Ebay selling very accurately graded cards. It can be done.
-Build a customer list! Stay in touch. Reward your best customers.
-Don't just sell cardboard, sell an experience. If someone pulls a Jordan rookie out of an '86 Fleer pack, take a photo. Put it on your website. Document a '54 Topps set that got completed because of your shop. Educate your customer. Create a better customer.
-Advise your customers in their best interest. This is where you'd have an advantage over ebay. You could create a monthly report on how to spot ebay fraud, how to grade, trends in the industry, popular sets being put together.
-Keep a focused inventory. I wouldn't sell 50's topps cards and yugi oh in the same shop. If you sell commons, sell the whole set (or most of the set). You need something for customers to come back to. Focus on the 2nd sale.
And that's another thing- if you live in a fairly big area I'd spend at least half of my advertising budget on 'buy ads'. Get a spot in the Sunday paper now and then that announces you're an 'aggressive buyer for pre-1975 sports cards and comics', or something like that. If people see the ad often enough they'll hopefully remember your name and location when they look to sell that shoebox of '54's they have in the attic. You only need to make a couple huge scores in the buying department to keep the shop afloat for years.
You would be surprised at how much 707 does in fact really sell.
I do not know him personnaly, but I can probably say this with certainty that he had money to begin with and did not have to make a sale to eat. He then could buy whatever he wanted, word got around that he was a strong buyer and he had/has the ability to get his price. Many guys have to do a quick turnover. Levi does not.
Steve
* C. PASCUAL BASIC #3
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* DRYSDALE BASIC #4 100%
* MAGIC MASTER #4/BASIC #3
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* '65 DISNEYLAND #2
* '78 ELVIS PRESLEY #6
* '78 THREE'S COMPANY #1
WaltDisneyBoards
- Advertise in Beckett etc.. don't forget your website url in the ad and your eBay id.
- Have game used stuff, signed stuff.. befriend a framer..
- Advertise on your local sports talk radio station. (Not just to increase sales but a lot of people may end up at your shop to sell their childhood collections to you for a song)
- Get in touch with the morning news people.. (Here in Edmonton all of our morning news shows each morning have someone on location at a business promoting the business..)