ot - card store

[EvilKing00]

a new card store just opened a block from my house on long island. I have yet to venture in to take a peek and every time I drive by the place is empty. Feel bad for the guy (looks young) whos in there, I can only assume its the owner. No idea how this place will last very long. Dose anyone here even go to brick and mortar stores regularly? Honestly, im 40 years old been collecting since im a little kid, besides buying packs / cases in the candy store, I have never been in a card shop.

[T2069bk]

I used to go to shops all the time when I lived out on Long Island. I moved to North West Jersey and was happy to find a local shop - not much vintage but enough to get me in twice a month to get some instant gratification.

The guy was gruff to say the least but rather fair in pricing so I kept going then one day he got all out surly and I have not been back since- that was 9 years ago...

I stopped at the bank and took out some cash (as I had none in my wallet) to get a few cards I saw in my last visit, but they were sold. So not wanting to leave empty handed I picked up a box to bust for fun and paid in cash. When I got in my car I opened up my wallet to take out some cash for gas as my next stop home and noticed $20 was missing from what I had left. So I went back in and told him I think I might have given him an extra $20 by accident and when he counts the till that night if he is over please give me a call. I can still remember his response: " Get the F*&^ out of here before I call the cops you aren't gonna steal from me!"

As much as I want my fix I refuse to go back on principle!!! Wish there was another choice near-by but alas - they are a dying breed.

[sycks22]

I remember there was one growing up about 15 minutes away and my dad would take my brother and I to get some packs and to keep dreaming about getting my '90 Leaf Frank Thomas (favorite player). One day around my birthday I came up with a plan that if I got a worse bike then my brother I could get the Thomas as well and it worked. Still have the card and even got it signed a couple months after getting it. They closed the shop in the mid '90's and moved to Cali I heard. Once shinders closed down there's nothing within 45 mins of me anyone outside of picking up a pack at target. Those were the days.

[t206blogcom]

There's a small store near my house I go to a few times a year just to walk through, maybe pick up some supplies or buy an old wax box for cheap entertainment.

There's a store about 15 minutes away from me that I've been to only once. The shop was small and a complete mess. Guy wasn't the friendliest either.

Around once a year I go to a store up in Maryland just to browse, get a few supplies, etc.

When I travel down to my hometown of Williamsburg, I stop into a hole in the wall place down there. Never buy anything; just visit with the owner.

[David Bender]

I'm in Virginia too. I'm guessing the first shop is on Columbia Pike and the second on Duke Street.

Originally Posted by t206blogcom

There's a small store near my house I go to a few times a year just to walk through, maybe pick up some supplies or buy an old wax box for cheap entertainment.

There's a store about 15 minutes away from me that I've been to only once. The shop was small and a complete mess. Guy wasn't the friendliest either.

Around once a year I go to a store up in Maryland just to browse, get a few supplies, etc.

When I travel down to my hometown of Williamsburg, I stop into a hole in the wall place down there. Never buy anything; just visit with the owner.

[abothebear]

There are three stores near me. One is a small dump of a place with stacks of cards everywhere, nothing pre-1950, and bad prices. The owner isn't very warm, but he isn't a total jerk either. Every time I go in there and ask if he has anything old he shows me a stack of early 60s exhibits in average condition and tries to sell them to me for Beckett's high value.

Another shares space with a gift shop. He is a decent fellow and he has some nice older cards, but nothing very old, and his prices are high.

But the one I go to fairly regularly is well organized and has tons of modern stuff for good prices. He doesn't have anything pre-war either, but he hosts a bid board so sometimes you can find some older stuff there. The owner isn't socially gifted, but he is a nice guy and he runs a good clean store. One thing I like about him is that he is often working on a non-sport set. Something that usually doesn't have a lot of value.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by David Bender

I'm in Virginia too. I'm guessing the first shop is on Columbia Pike and the second on Duke Street.

I moved to Fairfax a few months ago. Any advice on shops?

[t206blogcom]

Originally Posted by David Bender

I'm in Virginia too. I'm guessing the first shop is on Columbia Pike and the second on Duke Street.

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

I moved to Fairfax a few months ago. Any advice on shops?

The first one is:

Collectors Corner
47024 Harry Byrd Highway #106
Sterling, Virginia 20164
(703) 450-7280
collectorscornerva.com

The second one is:

AJ's Sport Shop
255 Maple Avenue West
Vienna, Virginia 22180
(703) 938-1688
ajsportstop.com‎

The third one is:

HOF Cards
11325 7 Locks Road
Potomac, Maryland 20854
(301) 299-9201
hofcards.com‎

[mrvster]

for more card shops to open! but, like tim said, some of those guys are real jerks! I live in n.j. and there are 3 baseball card shops still in my town unbelievably(Brick, n.j.).......one guy has been there for like 25 years.......his shop is like an episode on "hoarders" , where cards are literally stacked up all around you....its really wild, but mostly crappy stuff..........the owner is very cool to speak with....I stop in occasionally and talk about T206, and he shoots the shit with me about the 'ol days........

I stopped by another shop yesterday in my town, just to see if any T206 or ojs showed up, but his store is filled completely with "magic" cards....

third shop has all modern, or just very little selection of vintage........


id love to open up a vintage shop

[SmokyBurgess]

Video killed the radio star....

...and the internet killed the local card shops.

[slipk1068]

My favorite card store in the late 80's was the Baseball Card Collectors Exchange in Hicksville NY. I would stop in when I got my paycheck every Friday to make payments on a card I had on layaway and talk cards with the owner Bob. He closed the shop many years ago and moved to Arizona. Sad day for me when he closed his shop. I heard from a fellow member he passed a few years back. He was a good guy and taught me a lot about the hobby.

His shop had awesome material. A couple years before I started visiting his shop, he sold the Mastro Wagner. Not to hijack this thread, but the Mastro/Gretzky Wagner was never on an uncut sheet according to Bob. It came from a flea market in Florida. Bob's father called him on the phone to tell him he found a box of colorful cards with players like Cy Young and Ty Cobb. Bob told his dad, "I have no idea what you have, but buy it, bring it home, and we will figure it out". Well it was a box of T206 and I believe some T205 and it contained the most famous card in the world-- the Mastro Wagner.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by SmokyBurgess

Video killed the radio star....

...and the internet killed the local card shops.

Funny, but I was having this same conversation with a dealer friend of mine today. He doesn't have a shop, but he does eBay, shows, etc. I think the idea of internet/eBay killing card shops is a bunch of garbage. If that is the case, why do some shops thrive when others fail (in the same city/town)? It's because the ones that survive keep evolving to keep up with the times. The ones that are stuck back in the '90s with Gregg Jefferies, Jerome Walton and Todd Van Popple RCs in their showcase are doomed for failure regardless of eBay/internet.

There are two shops here in Houston that I've been buying from since I was a kid - Sports Collectibles of Houston and Houston Sports Connection. There are other successful shops as well, but I mention these two because they have been around for nearly 30 years. How do they find a way to survive when other shops fail? Simple, because they change with the times. They don’t rely solely on in-store sales. They do eBay, they promote show/signings, they have events in their stores to draw customers. Heck, Houston Sports Connection is having PSA/DNA in his shop this week (usually flies them in twice a year) just to authenticate for his customers at a discounted rate. How many other shops offer a service like that for their customers? That’s why he survives and others fail – nothing to do with eBay/internet.

I'm not saying internet/eBay hasn't hurt shops. Sure it has. Then again, can't that be said about a lot of businesses? All I am saying is that the majority of shops that fail is due to a management issue, not an eBay/internet issue.

[AJR]

Originally Posted by EvilKing00

a new card store just opened a block from my house on long island.

Where is the store located? What town?

I'd be happy to come and shop at his store, we all should try and support local businesses this time of year... Especially a card shop!

Also, I don't think I've been in a "new" card store in at least 15 years. Didn't know that was still a viable business venture.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by AJR

Where is the store located? What town?

I'd be happy to come and shop at his store, we all should try and support local businesses this time of year... Especially a card shop!

Also, I don't think I've been in a "new" card store in at least 15 years. Didn't know that was still a viable business venture.

Its in massapequa park, on merrick road. Dont know address but the corner of merrick and redwood lane.

[glchen]

There are ways to make a local card shop work, but it has to be more than just selling cards or other collectibles. I was chatting with someone that I bought a few cards from a while ago. He was in his 30s/40s, and he said when he was growing up, he made it his goal to buy his local card shop when he grew up. And he did it. He tried to make it an entertaining place where people would go not just to buy cards, but to also hang out. He had regular group breaks, fantasy football leagues, so that there would always be people dropping by. Also, every now and then people would come into the shop with huge finds which he would be able to buy. That's how he was able to make his business work.

[vthobby]

All:

Interesting stories from around the continent. There are 2 main stores in my area of Vermont that I frequent. Jim's Sports in the Burlington Mall (tons of jerseys, hats, posters, etc but gets some nicer older collections of cards from time to time. Being in a mall downtown is the only turnoff for me as parking is an issue sometimes.

The other store I frequent once a week or more is called Main Street Sportscards in Winooski Vermont. Very cool inventory of older to newer and all the new wax products you can imagine. Graded cards from the big 3 and everything in between to include autographs, figurines, and tons of other cool stuff. EVERY time I visit there is at least one or two people in there and sometimes many more. Owned by a younger guy who knows the hobby in and out and is friendly with his customers. I went today with my son and there were 5 or 6 folks there for the hour I was there.

Great small town cardshop. Sounds like they are a dying breed but not so in little old Vermont.

peace, mike