How to operate a successful card shop?

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

I live in a town of over 100,000 people that has ZERO card shops. Growing up there were 3 (I'm 29 now). Eventually they all shut down. I'd love to give it a shot because I absolutely loved all 3 of ours growing up.

I just don't know if it's even feasible or smart to attempt it. Now obviously my boxes and packs are going to have to be more expensive.

I also live in Texas so we have HUGE fan bases of Cowboys, Spurs, and Astros.

I don't want anything huge but just a little spot to sell supplies, boxes, packs, singles from our major teams, and I'd have thousands of game used and autos in $5-$10 bins.

Now am I just completely wrong and ignorant that this could work. Or am I strongly underestimating how quickly and easily D&A and BO are gunna crush me?

For me, I'm in a position where money doesn't really matter. I could stand to lose a couple hundred grand and that wouldn't really effect me at all. (Not gloating, just giving info on where I'm coming from.) And no i wouldn't spend anywhere near that much.

Also, i had a card shop for about 3 years (from 20-23ish. 29 now) that was absolutely booming. I was easily clearing 10k a month in profit then the housing bubble hit in 2008 and everyone's disposable income dried up so i saw the writing on the wall and closed my doors.

My biggest fear is something like that happening again. I would just want a small comfortable place this time. My last shop was nearly 2500 square feet. This time i just want room for 2 showcases, place to put boxes and supplies. Simple things like that.

I already know a ton of distributors plus many pro athletes so that's also a plus for me. Guess i just gotta do more research and either **** or get off the toilet.

Sorry for the long musings but i very much so appreciate yalls opinions.

What would be some things that yall would like to see in your local shops?

 

[thePACisback]

I would like...

* Team items for fans (think team flags, pennants, towels, bobbleheads, etc.)
* Group Breaks listed on a website (this would be BIG)
* One touches, one touches, one touches, toploaders and penny sleeves, one touches
* Beckett magazines (I know they provide no help anymore, but I still heavily enjoy reading these)
* Specials for tournaments & events (I.e. Black Friday, Christmas Eve & Super Bowl special prices on a few boxes)

And lots of Al Horford cards for me to spend my money on

 

[Daz]

Its a tough call, I would love to see you succeed mate. I have very little knowledge about how the US market is. I know things are pretty tight here in Oz. Possibly the smaller type venue would be obviously better for overheads.
Having contacts with Pro Athletes could make a massive difference for you. Nothing like a good in-store signing to generate interest

In regards to what in your shop..... I think like you said, a couple display cases for high end cards etc.
Plenty of boxes on the shelves for eager punters. Possibly you could add a little bit of memorabilia or novelty type items that might just add to sales.

Either way you go, I really hope you go ahead and hope it works for you.
GO SPURS!!!!!!

Daz

 

[thePACisback]

Having contacts with Pro Athletes could make a massive difference for you. Nothing like a good in-store signing to generate interest

This.

Having signers would be huge for your store.

 

[Daz]

Most definitely, I would love the ability to go to a store and meet an NFL or NBA player. Should attract plenty of attention.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

I would like...

* Team items for fans (think team flags, pennants, towels, bobbleheads, etc.)
* Group Breaks listed on a website (this would be BIG)
* One touches, one touches, one touches, toploaders and penny sleeves, one touches
* Beckett magazines (I know they provide no help anymore, but I still heavily enjoy reading these)
* Specials for tournaments & events (I.e. Black Friday, Christmas Eve & Super Bowl special prices on a few boxes)

And lots of Al Horford cards for me to spend my money on

Ha, i appreciate the reply. At the first shop I had, i did sell flags, pennants, stickers and things like that but with so many pro tams it was impossible to keep stuff in stock you know. I live in south texas and if someone came in looking for a princeton tigers hat well it just wasn;t gunna happen. I coulnt have it on the spot. I had every imaginable toploader from sleeves to one touches to regular toploaders of every size. I didnt skimp out on the supplies. Im also a lifetime collector so i make sure evrything is up to snuff. I do like the idea of group breaks or pack wars, that would be pretty awesome.

 

[OutlawNinja]

Wish you all the very best if you go ahead with this.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

Thank you! Do you have any suggestions to make it a better experience?

 

[OutlawNinja]

Thank you! Do you have any suggestions to make it a better experience?

Well my local card shop has had to diversify from his original plan.
He sells a lot of card games, Magic, pokemon etc
He gets them all in the shop playing and sells them singles, boosters etc as they need it.
Case of knowing your market I guess.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

Well my local card shop has had to diversify from his original plan.
He sells a lot of card games, Magic, pokemon etc
He gets them all in the shop playing and sells them singles, boosters etc as they need it.
Case of knowing your market I guess.

Thats a really good idea but i know absolutely NOTHING about Magic games and stuff like that. That would be my biggest roadblock.

 

[0kramrajnoc]

Thats a really good idea but i know absolutely NOTHING about Magic games and stuff like that. That would be my biggest roadblock.

I agree, to run a successful card shop these days, you really need to stock the gaming cards. Mainly MTG and Yu Gi-oh, Pokemon to, but mainly the other two. Also, host tournaments. Having said that, you would then need the floor space for the gaming area. But you know what they say, "If you build it, they will come."
Having run a card shop in the golden years 1992-96, I wish I had seen the writing on the wall and transitioned into gaming. But unfortunately, I was too young and inexperienced at the time. Hoping I'm a little wiser this time around, and my December shop goal becomes a reality.

Good Luck Aaron.

 

[shawnkemp40]

I wish the card shops in the states and worldwide to be honest, had websites (I mean a good, functional website which had the items in the cabinets on the site) So us guys OS could purchase things. IMO your web presence is equally as important as your bricks and mortar presence if not more so. This also benefits you for a multitude of reasons namely: not being limited to locals only (more profits from a wider demographic) SHOULD the shop become quiet, the E-side could help keep you afloat, it gets your shop exposure worldwide and again IMO has a more professional feel. It will also help you pass some time when the shop is quiet by adding and updating your inventory onto your site. 90% of websites for card shops basically do nothing but state where they are, when they open and a basic blurb of what they carry. Nothing that attracts or enables more than local market. A good small shop with a great website would be awesome. I don't think people in the US realise how many more sales they'd do if they reached out to the OS market. Most of us have US postal addresses so that will even allow you to move some of that cheaper stock to player colllectors. In store experiences like signing sessions etc witn a deal on the website for those of us who can't attend ie 8x10 signed by player abc for $**, card signed by player abc for $**, ball, jersey etc. Keep it to limited numbers and have proof of signing session on your site.
As an example: Tony Parker in store signing session to be held on (date) limited web only preorder deals: 10×Signed parker jerseys limit one per customer $*** personalization available for an extra $** (To abc, or nickname, *x nba/nfl champion etc) if something didn't sell out, again in store or web inventory for the future. I guess if you have the contacts you know what a player would charge you for an instore appearance and an extra 30-60 minute exclusive signing session for your preorder inventory
Just my stone in the pond.
Good luck, I hope it is a huge success.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

^ solid information man. Thanks. The only negative thing i have to say about maintaining a great website is that the turnover rate is crazy. I could list 100 cards in the morning and by the evening, they're all gone. Which is a good thing because they sold but a bad thing since i spent hours for nothing pretty much. It's like a double edged sword, a catch 22, you're damned if you don't, you're damned if you do.

I'd love to have things like pack wars and box wars and once a month give away a box for free.

I had such positive experiences growing up in and around card shops i just want to pay that forward you know.

 

[shawnkemp40]

^ solid information man. Thanks. The only negative thing i have to say about maintaining a great website is that the turnover rate is crazy. I could list 100 cards in the morning and by the evening, they're all gone. Which is a good thing because they sold but a bad thing since i spent hours for nothing pretty much. It's like a double edged sword, a catch 22, you're damned if you don't, you're damned if you do.

I'd love to have things like pack wars and box wars and once a month give away a box for free.

I had such positive experiences growing up in and around card shops i just want to pay that forward you know.

Yeah that's a valid point. Like you say it's double edged i guess. Maybe a mailing list or something would help. Update it once a month or something so you are able to keep both sides in the game. If you have stuff sitting in store for a month pop it on the mailout to people who subscribe to your mailing list (will also let you see who knows about your shop) any instore appearances could be ad hoc mailouts. For guys like me who don't collect the Superstars of the game it would be mutually beneficial. Possibly on the mailing list subscription page ask the simple questions "where are you?" "Who do you collect?" No more than 1 player.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

Yea that would be smart as well. Thanks for the solid brainstorming.

 

[exzibit3]

Hey Aaron, you have a lot of things going for you that would make this a great opportunity for a business to thrive. No competition (big fish in a small pond!), prior success and experience, large enough sports market (unlike Australia), and enough capital that you can ride out the tough times and to not affect your livelihood if it doesn't pan out, or just breaks even. I've been vocal about opposing people in Australia opening card stores as we simply don't have the demand and little purchasing power, and the interest rates fluctuations and shipping reduces a lot of the bottom line.

I would say besides the usual staple business model of boxes, cases, card supplies, singles, you could in addition, source a lot of Upper Deck and Skybox stuff that the older collectors with deeper pockets will appreciate.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

I really like that older boxes option. That would be very unique.

 

[exzibit3]

I really like that older boxes option. That would be very unique.

The sense that I get from reading collecting forums is that there is a proportion of the community that just aren't enthusiastic on Panini products. Ever since Upper Deck lost it's license and Skybox went under, I think that there has been a real disconnection of the people who collected in the 90's and the new products. There was such a hype in the late 90's and mid 2000's with the release of Exquisite that hasn't been matched since.

 

[Mr.Gem.Mint]

Anyone have stories of something their local shop does that you haven't seen anywhere else?

 

[exzibit3]

For me, the most important thing when it came to buying from card shops was inventory. People buy on impulse. We walk through the supermarket, and we end up buying something that we didn't intend to get just because it was featured on an aisle end. No, I don't want to wait a few days for you to order in boxes for me, I can do that myself online. I was in the area, saw your card shop and thought, hey I'd like to try my luck on a box or two. If you have no stock, you've lost a sale and any future potential sales from me. Keep plenty of boxes available and make note of customers requests.