Question for former brick & mortar card shop owners from the '80s

[sreader3]

I could hardly believe my good luck when Sports Gem baseball cards opened in Upland, California in 1981. Fleer and Donruss were introducing sets to rival Topps. Fernando Valenzuela and Tim Raines rookies were all the rage. A remarkable $3 for “Nando” rookies. I got to know the owners and they put me to work in the back room sorting sets into numerical order. They let me pick out a few cards from the display cabinets at the end of the day as compensation. I probably got paid about $2 an hour, at inflated prices. But I loved it. They were out of business by about 1986 when they ran out of inventory.

[SteveWhite]

Homerun Hobbies lasted the longest between the two shops. Jake's Comics had another shop in Groveport, about 20 minutes away. Homerun Hobbies, I think lasted into the 2000's. Jake and his partners, I think still do the Hilliard Sports Card Show in Central Ohio and set up at the National.