Worst cards store in America!!! hands down!

handyman

Ok, today I went to the card store to maybe buy a wax box and some cases for the hell of it. There are 2 cards stores in my city and I normally only go to the one farthest from me, just bc the guy is very personable and helpful. But there is this one that just sucks. Oh yea, I only went to him today bc the other one was closed(the nice one). So I go in there and Im the only one there. First thing I do is look at all the card case holders and all he had were 1 screw 1/4 inch holders, I asked him if he had any 4 screw cases. Word for word quotes. "All cases there" Um ok so I look more and find none. So I decide to look at all his raw cards. And I see a decent looking 1954 Blanda rookie. It looked like a 6 so I asked him if I could see it. "You buy" yes maybe but I would like to see the card first. I flip it over still in the case and it looks like the card has a tear on the back. I showed him and said is that a tear. "No it dont look like" So he takes it out and says "No only fold, see" But it was a tear. And I went to hold it and he says "no only I hold". And its not that easy to look at a card when the guy behind the case holds it for you. It was still a nice looking card but a 4-5 grade. So how much do you want for it. "This, beckett only". Well what is that. "If you want buy then I look if not I wont" Sure what is beckett. "175.00 card like this 175.00 if you want mint then it would cost you 3xs, it good card". Ummmmm Ill think about it(really I meant F%&* that). Unpersonable and rude! I looked around for another 2 min or so and then I told him thank you for your time and he didnt say a word. And by the looks of his cards he doesnt sell much either, they were all faded by the lights and must have been there for some time. Complete jerk. Never again will I go to his store and I cant see him lasting much longer.
My rant for the day.

CDsNuts

I like to tell people like this that their attitude is the reason their business is such a failure. You could've also pointed out the fact that maybe there's a reason you were the only one in his store on a federal holiday, and that his ridiculous prices (full Beckett for a card with a crease/tear/fold?!) are the reason his cards are so faded from sitting in his store for so long. Sure it's easier to just leave without saying anything, but what fun would that be?

I remember back when I was around 16 or so and went to a local shop who was notorious for ripping off kids in trades (although most dealers did that back then). I picked out a 1990 John Stockton SLU which was priced around $10, which was a bargain. I told him I'm gonna buy it but left my wallet in the car. I come back in with the wallet and the SLU now has a $30 price sticker on it. I just said I didn't want it anymore and left, but I really would've liked to tell him what I thought about his sales tactics. Since then, I have no problems telling a dealer scumbag what I think of him. And there are a lot of dealer scumbags, although it appears a good deal of them have gone out of business.

Lee

drewsef

sounds like the local dealer for me as well. Me and a couple of coworkers whom are also avid football card collectors went into the local store, which has outrageous prices and like yours some cards look faded from sitting there for years. Anyhow, I was already turned off to going back after not finding anything but buying a pack here or there during my lunch break with said coworkers at 2x retail prices(he was asking $7.50 a pack for 2006 topps chrome football during football season.) So we go back, my friend is looking for a deal on a bunch of penny sleeves and top loaders, tell him we need like 500 of each, and he quoted us around $40. Told him I can buy them online all day long for $25 delivered, to which he balked at and said that guy is crazy, he's hardly making any money on the deal, and instead of offering to do it for a few bucks over the $25 and make a quick few bucks and insure that he will have 3 more customers coming in his store(still new in town, me and coworkers both) he just lets us walk right out the door without even attempting to keep me or them coming back.

jmbkb4

LOSER.

Downtown1974

Unbelievable that these card store owners act like that. They ought to be kissing the behinds of customers seeing how ebay has made most card shops extinct.

jimq112

We had a local shop called Bernie's that would always get the best boxes, sell them at the lowest possible price. If you opened the boxes there and got an insert you didn't really want, he would trade you into an almost equal card you did want, and save that card for another customer.

I easily spent $200 there every sunday afternoon opening packs. I was one of maybe 10 regulars, he would hold cards for all of us and shows us what we had bought as soon as we came in. I always had a bag that had my name on it, and cards were always priced fairly.

He got a real job a few years ago and gave up on the card shop.

The only other real stores any more are a place that doesn't carry sports cards, only magic the gathering and pokemon stuff, and a place known within a 50 mile radius as "mel and smell's". The last card I bought from mel/smell was a 73 opc schmidt rookie in thick lucite that turned out to be 2 cards glued together.

There are no local card shows.

Thank the heavens for ebay and places like this!

Goot

Are you sure you didn't go to the kwiki mart or was he just an idiot?

handyman

Complete idiot. He knows nothing about cards. The time before I went. He tried to tell me how great new cards are bc they have 1/1s. And thhat they were way better than any older cards. I said what about a 1952 topps mantle. Id rather have one of those than any modern 1/1. He said there are thousands of those in the world and you cant beat a 1/1. I said yea but next year there will be thousands of different 1/1s from hundrads of others sets. Then he said but rookie cards from that year will always be 1/1s. But what about the other 1000's of additional ones from that year. IDIOT!

Goot

My card stor is pretty similar as far as making me mad goes. Half of it is cards. 1/4 magic the gathering. The last 1/4 is sports cards. They don't have many boxes and the ones that they do have are about $10-$15 more than you could get them online. They have 5 different hobby boxes that you can buy packs from but the products they have aren't to great. 2007 Fleer, 06 Score football and a few others that are basic brands. No bowman of any kind. That is why Target's small section of Hobby packs has become a good friend of mine.

jmbkb4

would you please go back and take his picture? I am at work today and need a good laugh.

Munson15

Luckily I have had great success in card stores over the years. we had one in NY that I brought my son too when we first tried to build a set of 97 Topps. We bought a box and went home and ripped. We were about 60 short of the set. we came back with all the doubles to trade with and the owner just said to searchthe new bin and take the ones we needed and leave whatever we thought fair.

Last year in my current shop the owner got a Munson rookie and called me. While there we were talking with some other regulars and When I went to pay I noticed i left my wallet at home (in the rush to get there) and only had a 20 on me. I asked him to hold it for me and I would go home and get my wallet. He said not to bother, I was a nice regular and he gave me the Munson (easily a 6) for $15 and tossed in some holders and sleeves to round out the $20.

That is why I always go there for my purchasing needs...

cohocorp

i think that stores now have it so hard competing with ebay that it makes them miserable. after all, each store owner must hear the phrase "i can get it cheaper on ebay" hundreds of times. its obvious that there are alot of additional expenses to having a store front, i.e. rent, electric, water, insurance, etc. that they simply cannot compete. i think they feel that its a slap in the face to hear "supposed customers" say they can get it cheaper elsewhere. after all, how many of the $28 supply deals where they make a whopping profit of $3 do they have to do to make ends meet? in reality, they have to do 100 "deals" per day. thats why they arent interested in making deals for supplies especially. they usually carry them for regulars who buy wax boxes or packs from them. they also have to deal with people who go in just to waste time with no intention of buying anything. then you have the people who steal from them as soon as they look away. so what is the incentive for these guys again? whats the point of having a store where you have to be 40-50+ hours per week to barely make ends meet if you are lucky and to listen to people give you crap? how would these customers feel if their boss came to them at work and said, "hey joe, i realize i can get someone to do your job for $12.50 per hour while i am paying you $19.00 per hour. so will you take $12.50 per hour instead of the $19.00?" i think they would get bent out of shape especially if their boss mentioned it everyday. now i dont condone their attitude but i certainly understand it. basically, the only winning move is to close up shop.

Bosox1976

I've often thought that the only way to make a card store work would be to build a mega-store - a destination that you'd be willing to drive an hour for, loaded with inventory. Like a Bass Pro Shop. Mom & pop little shop is tough - to command full book for most stuff these days requires something special (big inventory - like Levi, good deals - Dave & Adam, or uncompromising standards & fairness - BBC exchange, Mickey's, Setbuilders). A mega store that could be all three would always be worth a trip to. Now all we need is someone with good business skills, deep pockets, and uncompromising ethics...

edit: probably need to have a "back room" to crank out ebay items and keep inventory moving too...

jmbkb4

<< <i>basically, the only winning move is to close up shop. >>



Exactly!

CDsNuts

I can only see 2 reasons to justify the overhead of having a storefront:

1- If you are an active buyer, most people will feel more comfortable bringing their collections into a storefront and get an offer from an "expert". To pull this off, you have to actively advertise that you buy at shows, in the local papers, and everywhere else.

2- If you can wrangle in some local athletes to come in and sign autos for your customers. This will keep your regulars coming in, well, regularly, and you can also build up a reputation as an autograph helmet/jersey/bat/ball dealer and sell to people who aren't really into collecting. Do you know how many $200 auto'd jerseys you can sell around Xmas?


Other than that, I can see no way where it's financially viable to own a storefront.

Lee

sfmays24

Hi handyman,

You are a very patient and tolerant person... I would have left earlier without saying thank you.

FYI... I have 250-300 (4 screw down) holders, they have all been used only one time and are very clean. If you want them, name your price or let me know if you have any Topps Baseball cards 1975-1982 to trade (my Boys and I are working on raw sets).

thank you,

Mike

JeremyDie1

These card shops should bend over backwards to please a customer. Being rude and a jerk just dont cut it. All that does is have a customer go elsewhere or Ebay. BY the way I dont care how nice their cards are if they are a jerk than good riddence.

BobaFett72

1. check this guys Green card.
2. How does this moron stay in business?

yankeeno7

It's real sad to see all of the bad store stories. Thats why they arent in business. A friendly attitude goes a long way. The store I go to in Albany, NY is A+++++++. Very friendly owner, helpful, talkative, treats every customer equally whether they are a seasoned collector or a kid. I moved a bit further away and unfortunately can't make it there as much as I used to (maybe thats a good thing for my wallet!). He has a great selection also.

I also know that he sometimes uses ebay and has a Beckett Marketplace store. He moves a lot of stuff that way that wouldnt sell locally. It's smart business....constant cashflow and accepting that the internet is a part of his business that helps him survive.

Many of these storefront owners are older guys who are either resistant to the internet or just scared of it.

Estil

If those were exact quotes you gave from this dealer, it sounds like he doesn't even speak good English.

jerrywest45

Me make you special deal...me love you long time...me give you VG 79 Bench for 25 Dollah...

tedh111

It sucks to hear this type of story. I just opened my shop recently and it really stinks that there are other dealers out there that will do this type of stuff. It is pretty hard to compete with the internet, but i definatly think it can be done. Our wax prices are about 10-15 dollars higher then internet dealers on some products, but we have to be priced at that to make any type of profit. Singles in my store are all over the place price-wise. We are generally priced at 60-70% on rookies and autographs and seelct game used, but we do have lots of other stuff at 50% and sometimes lower. We also have lots of dollar boxes with cards that range as low as .75 up to 8.00 In BV. I do not think people mind paying higher then internet prices if they do not feel like they are being taken advantage of.

nam812

<< <i>I can only see 2 reasons to justify the overhead of having a storefront >>


It is my understanding that to buy new products directly from Topps you must have a store that is 25% or 50% dedicated to selling sportscards. Im sure that's a reason to keep their doors open.

handyman

Yes he is not from the states.

stevek

Weasel

Morgoth

The store near me is like tedh's, he uses ebay as a weapon not an excuse. He got rid of buying from companies directly and just started buying on the open market. Why? because he doesn't get locked into the stupdid minimums that they make you buy so you can get the actual good products. Why buy 30 cases of UD to buy 1 case of SP? He also can get deals from these dealers that he couldn't direct. He just sold a case of 2006 UD Artifact at 40 bucks a box. You can't get that on ebay that cheap. He specializes in local players and local collectors and will flip hot stuff on ebay to maximize his profit. He is also really nice and will always throw your supplies in free if you spend over 50 bucks with him.

lisu

<< <i>We had a local shop called Bernie's that would always get the best boxes, sell them at the lowest possible price. If you opened the boxes there and got an insert you didn't really want, he would trade you into an almost equal card you did want, and save that card for another customer.

I easily spent $200 there every sunday afternoon opening packs. I was one of maybe 10 regulars, he would hold cards for all of us and shows us what we had bought as soon as we came in. I always had a bag that had my name on it, and cards were always priced fairly.

He got a real job a few years ago and gave up on the card shop.

The only other real stores any more are a place that doesn't carry sports cards, only magic the gathering and pokemon stuff, and a place known within a 50 mile radius as "mel and smell's". The last card I bought from mel/smell was a 73 opc schmidt rookie in thick lucite that turned out to be 2 cards glued together.

There are no local card shows.

Thank the heavens for ebay and places like this! >>



Bernie's sounds like a place where I got hooked on collecting. It was in Hacienda Heights, CA....

Barfvader

I saw this auction and all I could think of was this thread.

1981 DONRUSS # 119 RICKEY HENDERSON A'S(GEM ELITE 10)

RICKEY FIRST DONRUSS CARD
NICE CLEAR PHOTO WITH CONSISTENTLY
APPEARS COME FROM VENTING
YOU LOOK AT SCAN YOU BE JUDGE
ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE DO SO

Goot

That card store that I bad mouthed earlier became a friend of mine today. Really the only thing that I don't like about it is the selection of cards but after reading about these jerks, it made me think about how nice the people are at my shop. I went there this morning, bought 4 hobby packs of Bowman heritage and 3 hobby packs of 2004 topps series 2 for $1 a piece (I love that $1 bin!). The total was $18.07 and I had enough money but the lady was like make it 18 just don't tell Mike (her husband and the owner). Then she says wow you're going to have a lot of cards there, do you need cases or toploaders? Before I could answer, she had put 2 100 count plastic boxes and a 25 ct box of toploaders in the bag. Oh yeah and from those 4 packs of Bowan I pulled a Beltran and a Crosby GU!

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

We have 2 shops here. One knows me and my family well. The other one I go to twice a year maybe. I went to him a few weeks back and when I walked in his small unbusy shop he says " Havent seen you for awhile". I think its the standard greeting until he asks me how my FF mission is going !! Another time my wife who only has been in there once in 2004/05 with me, went to pick up some pages a few years later. He asks her "Hows your husbands FF collection doing?" Wow, small town or good memory. I personally liked it. Makes me wonder if my wife is buying packs behind my back