LCS owner called "Toughest job in sports" by Yahoo...

No new info here for most Collectors, but still interesting to see the General Public's view of it:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...orts--baseball-card-shop-owner-143326636.html

The industry has to make some changes to get the young collector back into the hobby, not the "business".

Long article, I'll bookmark and come back. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for posting the link


Ryan

I wish a LCS owner had the balls to call Marcus Lemonis and go on the TV show THE PROFIT. My gut feeling tells me most of the cases is the LCS owner's fault a shop goes out of business, not knowing how to run a business "if you build it, they will come", not carrying the right product mix, not using online sales or ebay to augment in-store sales, not having an acceptable mix of margin products.

Just read this. Decent read and from an outsider's view at that.

Decent read for sure. Sad bringing back memories of collecting back in the 80s and 90s

They make it sound like the 90s were awesome. I feel like that's when the hobby was at it's peak but clearly started to fall towards the late 90s

Being a shop owner is becoming more and more a thing of the past. Too bad too. I think the article got it right with (1) You need to appeal to kids more and (2) it's a form of gambling today, that needs to change too.

A shop owner can't change the products produced.

A shop owner can diversify.

A stand alone card shop isn't realistic these days and shouldn't be attempted.

Well let's see....

Minuscule margins
Cheaper competition with unlimited selection
Boring repetitive products
Outrageously expensive products
Expensive products which constantly yield crap
Exclusives
Redemptions
Not enough customers
Lack of advertising (company wise)
And so on

Yep, pretty much spot on


Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

The article fails to address the impact internet auction sites, most notably eBay, had in decreasing brick and mortar sales. Probably the biggest shop killer of all, and it's not mentioned.

Many of the same factors that killed shop sales also factored into the demise of sports card shows. And since many dealers displayed at these shows and supplemented their store sales with them, the near-death of card shows is also a contributing factor to store closings.

What's a tougher job these days? Shop owner or sports card show promoter? I'd say show promoter.

gracecollector said:

The article fails to address the impact internet auction sites, most notably eBay, had in decreasing brick and mortar sales. Probably the biggest shop killer of all, and it's not mentioned.

Many of the same factors that killed shop sales also factored into the demise of sports card shows. And since many dealers displayed at these shows and supplemented their store sales with them, the near-death of card shows is also a contributing factor to store closings.

What's a tougher job these days? Shop owner or sports card show promoter? I'd say show promoter.

Click to expand...

The autograph guests are what keeps things like Tristar alive and well. The issue with the shows is...everybody wants to take their heavy hitters and sell them there. 98% of the guys setting up pay no mind to the local teams. And it's stupid. Why the hell would you come all the way to Houston to set up and not have any Houston related items to sell? Especially if you're from a place a great deal away from Houston and you can't sell Houston stuff where you are at. And also, why only bring the super expensive stuff? It'll sell on ebay easier. But hey...go ahead and do what you want. Those guys bringing in the 25 and 50 cent boxes or even the dollar boxes are going to keep raking in the money while you sit there and wonder why you don't make squat at shows.

gracecollector said:

The article fails to address the impact internet auction sites, most notably eBay, had in decreasing brick and mortar sales. Probably the biggest shop killer of all, and it's not mentioned.

Click to expand...

It was mentioned - the article said LCS owners have used the internet and other things to augment their sports card shop. And if done right, I'd say eBay might actually be beneficial to a shop instead of a brick/mortar killer. If a LCS owner acquires a card for cheap on ebay that would sell in the shop quickly because of being a local favorite team or player, a LCS owner should be able to have a great profit margin, or if a card comes in the shop as part of a trade or purchase and you can quick-flip it on ebay for a decent profit margin rather than have it sit in your shop for weeks or months.

good read, thanks for posting

cgilmo said:

A stand alone card shop isn't realistic these days and shouldn't be attempted.

Click to expand...

Do you still carry Comic books, they were great for us back about 5+ years ago...

BBCgalaxee said:

Well let's see....

Minuscule margins
Cheaper competition with unlimited selection
Boring repetitive products
Outrageously expensive products
Expensive products which constantly yield crap
Exclusives
Redemptions
Not enough customers
Lack of advertising (company wise)
And so on

Yep, pretty much spot on

Click to expand...

How do you stay in business? I don't mean that as a snarky comment at all. I'm genuinely interested how you've managed to keep your card shop alive all these years despite all the negatives you mentioned.

Austin said:

How do you stay in business? I don't mean that as a snarky comment at all. I'm genuinely interested how you've managed to keep your card shop alive all these years despite all the negatives you mentioned.

Click to expand...

Because its still a people business. If you treat them right you get to live.

cgilmo said:

Because its still a people business. If you treat them right you get to live.

Click to expand...

I think you nailed it here. It's about the human interaction and connection. If people come and enjoy themselves, chatting sports, ripping some packs etc. they will happily return. If a hobby store is "just a place to pick up wax" most will jump online and find the cheapest price.

rsmath said:

It was mentioned - the article said LCS owners have used the internet and other things to augment their sports card shop. And if done right, I'd say eBay might actually be beneficial to a shop instead of a brick/mortar killer. If a LCS owner acquires a card for cheap on ebay that would sell in the shop quickly because of being a local favorite team or player, a LCS owner should be able to have a great profit margin, or if a card comes in the shop as part of a trade or purchase and you can quick-flip it on ebay for a decent profit margin rather than have it sit in your shop for weeks or months.

Click to expand...

No - it wasn't mentioned as a factor. There's no reporting on how the internet made it infinitely easier for people to find cards without setting foot in a store. Or how online sellers could undercut brick and mortar profits by selling wax boxes and card supplies cheaper due to lower overhead. Or how sites like the Beckett Marketplace, eBay and Naxcom took sales away from stores, opening up a national network for buyers who could suddenly choose from thousands of sellers instead of the 2-3 local sellers and their proprietary pricing. There's one line in the article about shop owners using the internet to augment sales in reaction, but the topic of how the internet introduced a 200-lb. gorilla of a competitor to LCS's isn't given a word.

Austin said:

How do you stay in business? I don't mean that as a snarky comment at all. I'm genuinely interested how you've managed to keep your card shop alive all these years despite all the negatives you mentioned.

Click to expand...

His best customers are probably union or make good money putting people's feet in concrete and throwing them overboard into the Hudson River.

Seriously, he's probably expanded his product line to higher margin items so it's not exclusively low-margin sports trading cards. I definitely hope he's not looting his savings or retirement funds to keep the business alive like I bet a lot of card shop owners left are doing nowdays.

rsmath said:

His best customers are probably union or make good money putting people's feet in concrete and throwing them overboard into the Hudson River.

Seriously, he's probably expanded his product line to higher margin items so it's not exclusively low-margin sports trading cards. I definitely hope he's not looting his savings or retirement funds to keep the business alive like I bet a lot of card shop owners left are doing nowdays.

Click to expand...

Doubtful. I think most people still around know better. I don't ever see the hobby even coming close to what it was. Nothing they could do would accomplish this. So I think most people still around have something figured out. And if a LCS owner is based in a big city with little competition, they'll likely always have enough big wax busters and small time guys to stay in business. I think a lot of the guys still in business are actually pretty damn safe right now. Or they aren't worried about money. We've only got a handful in Houston and the greater Houston area and they are very spread out. One of them sells gaming stuff too while another sells some gaming and comics. Two that I know of are pretty much sports and sports only. Both are heavily involved with the local show scene and autograph wheeling and dealing. Plus they have a large clientele base and some big wax busters. The guys at the flea market stay afloat but sell more decoration and knick knack type stuff anyways. But they'll always get enough people to stop in and buy stuff. Not sure how much they make but it most likely covers the rent apparently.