Cards in new store in Columbia, South Carolina!

Fandruw25 said:

I've driven by that place a few times but never stopped. Next time I'm down that way I'll be sure to stop in and say Hi. Always great to see new card shops/spaces opening up nearby.

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game****fanatic said:

where are you ?


i'm 2 miles from 2429 main myself....2 other locals are joing me in a return to the flea market/show circuit (set to begin in 2 weeks) after a 15-year life-mandated hiatus....we used to have well over a dozen shops and 20+ full time flea market dealers here (MAJOR oversaturation for our small town and that meant everyone kept cutting prices to be competitive at the cost of bankrupting themselves) , but we haven't had a full time shop here in 4 years - as such we figure that the town could use a few more sellers as long as they are at least semi-well stocked and halfway reasonalbe in pricing....as i've told brian via pm , i've got quite a bit of inventory and a few solid contacts so i'm going to at least try to help him get things going.....

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Fandruw25 said:

I'm on the Lexington/West Columbia border off Augusta rd. I used to go to flea markets (The barnyard and Rt1, the one with the castle) but it's the same sellers, same inventory and mostly 80's junk. I've been in W. Cola for a little over 4 years and hadn't really looked for a shop however if I see one, I'll have to stop in.

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loveitcards said:

There is a store in Columbia Mall called "The Art of Baseball" but his main focus is gaming cards. The only other shop that I know of in South Carolina is in Rock Hill "Grand Slam". I have dealt with Glenn from the Barnyard many times. You have Ron Carpenter at the Stamp Shop on HWY #1 between the flea markets but he's mainly a coin/stamp guy. I used to buy alot from Jenny/Billy Bob's at the Barnyard back in the early 90's. By the way I heard that the older Rudy passed away. Also I helped manage 2 shops in Lexington from 1998-2000. I lived in Red Bank from 1992-2012. Looking forward to seeing some folks pop in. With funding, ideas, direction, team work and commitment who knows where things could go!?

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game****fanatic said:

just a few from the barnyard -

jeannie and billy bob were pretty cool.....they bulked out a ton of very nice wax before leaving the market and said whatever didn't sell by their final day there was going to their storage shed forever....i recall buying the last of their 2002 pristine along with a few other random boxes....

you had mike mauldin and his son carey (their store/business was M L tees)....i know carey had major issues and i think the entire family is out of the business now....

rocky who passed away shortly before i left the market (i want to say around 1997 ?)

big ron (carlucci)....his last shop was out by richland fashion mall.....weighed in at close to 600 pounds when he finally passed away.....

robbie rabon and his dad (forget his name)....both out of cards now i think....

glenn and cathy leaphart....they were 50/50 on cards and coins , but they "retired" the card side of it and are now pretty big on coins...they still set up most of the year but they also do 15-20 coin shows per year all over the southeast....

tom (and his partner whose name i never knew) from sumter....aside from glenn , they were the last full-time dealer there....i think they packed it in around 2007 or 2008....

don whitely and his son donnie....ran into don a few times at the bowling alley and was told that they'd given it up when donnie went off to school and om a mission somewhere....

jon...can't recall his last name , but he was a dwarf who always had his wife and disabled daughter with him....i ran into the wife and daughter a few years back and was told they were no longer together and he'd given up cards too...saw HIM a bit later and he didn't even remember me despite setting up at the table besdie me for 4 years....

3-4 others whose names escape me at the moment were fairly regualr most of the 90's as well....

not sure about rudy passing , but it wouldn't surprise me....technically the place was his son's (michael) , but both of them HATED being in the store....unfortunately almost everyone they ever hired robbed them blind (or in the case of one guy , had multiple fedral charges filed stemming from serious credit card theft/fraud).....they were big in the early 90's , but they dropped off bigtime....even when they were the only game in town , they didn't fare so well becasue they were just so damned high priced....by the end , they were selling top loaders at 4.96 a pack for 25 regular ones or 10 thick ones.....wax you could get for as little $40 online they refused to budge off their triple-digit prices (they had lost their dealer ties and had to go through middlemen for their last 8-10 years there).....in the end , that meant most of their wax was either retail blasters , low-end garbage hobby , or so overpriced it wouldn't move....they did at least finally mark down some boxes from the early 90's back in 2010...blew them out at $10 each...some still had price tags of up to $125 on them....had they not been so stubborn , they could have moved them for much more years earlier instead of taking such a bath on them....


what shops did you work in ?

if you've been in the area since 1992 , i'm assuming you know (or least heard of) these :

pj's bullpen (2 different locations on broad river - run by paris lytle who also owned the mad hatter bar)
the dugout (2 stores , one on st andrews and one on 2 notch , run by john threatt , the big hawaiian)
dad's dugout (across from allied and irmo high - forget the original owner , but i think wade davis took over before it went out of business)
the antique mall (at huger and blossom ....conrad - they tell me he still has cards just doesnt really sell them anymore)
the baseball card shop (may have had a more specific name....started off in triangle city then moved to the danwood shopping center across from the august road wal-mart....run by a middle-aged couple but i think the man had health issues and his wife eventually closed up)
sport classics (garners ferry just before the VA hospital....run by bill palmer and his son.....i was told his health issues led to his closing the place....)

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loveitcards said:

Wow lots of facts there. I'm familar with most. David was one guy that took Rudy. I worked at the Hobby Hut with Keith Coats and at Lexington Sports Cards with Kenny Stuart. Lexington went out of business because David took Kenny too.

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