Starting a Card Shop... Pro's and Con's

[Guest]

well, i would like to open a card shop here in San Antonio. There are not that many, and i think there is a need for another one as all the Wal-Marts have a huge card section campared to Los Angeles.

We have a NBA, WNBA, MILB, and minor league hockey teams.. not to mention the college football.

now my questions for you guys..

what would you stock your shop with? how would you get your inital inventory.. all advise is needed.

Thanks

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

My advice is simple.

If you are starting a "card shop" you will fail.

Now that that is out of the way, start a "sports collectibles" store and have team licensed items, authentic autographs etc, along with some card related pieces.

If cards are the majority of your stock, you won't make it 10 months. No chance.

 

[donrusscrusademan]

well, i would like to open a card shop here in San Antonio. There are not that many, and i think there is a need for another one as all the Wal-Marts have a huge card section campared to Los Angeles.

We have a NBA, WNBA, MILB, and minor league hockey teams.. not to mention the college football.

now my questions for you guys..

what would you stock your shop with? how would you get your inital inventory.. all advise is needed.

Thanks

my take-

tons of card shops are closing down... its a TOUGH time to be a shop owner. the best deals are online, and the companies make you buy cases in packages. (like you cant only get cases of UD Black, etc)

you really need a revolutionary way to win over people. most shops these days arnt trying to make $$$$$... just survive.

 

[colts1888]

Personally I wouldnt buy it unless you can find a building w/ cheap taxes but assuming you alread yhave a building and are set to go I would have these few things


Nolan Ryan-autos,base and jersey
Dirk Nowitzki-autos base and jerseys
ian Kinsler-^
Tim Duncan-^
manu Ginoblli-^
Tony Parker-^
Jason Kidd-^
Yao Ming-^
Tracy Mcgrady-^
Josh Hamilton-^
Marty Turco-^
other notable players from the 4 major sports in texas

I woud buy Texas Longhorn gear(hats,Tshirts etc)

Texas Longhorn memorbilia-signed footballs,minihelmets etc

Sign up with Topps and upperdeck to get X amount of boxes to sell

Best advice buy cheap autos and jerseys of astros,Rangers,Mavericks,Stars,Rockets,Spurs

I would also have packwars,that weird card game that little kids play night and I would try to do some local player auto signings to draw attention

Best of luck w/ your store

 

[blazers091]

Pros-
It'll be fun
Cons - You'll probably lose money or just barely break even

 

[mchenrycards]

There is an old saying....

"How do you become a millionaire sportscard shop owner? Start wilh a billion dollars!"

Dont do it, seriously. I think its everyone's dream to open a card shop and I lived my dream for a number of years. But that was when the boom in card sales was happening. I closed my shop in 2003 and dang am I happy I did close it. There is almost no way to compete with Ebay, Walmart, online retailers like blowout etc. I know its great to think you can be successful but like most businesses it will take you 2-3 years to be able to live off your shop. unless you have 6-12 months living expense money put away AND about 50 to 100k to use to open and run your shop, dont even think about it. There is a reason card shops have closed in droves all over this country. Please dont take this wrong but ask yourself this question....what do you know about running a card shop that all these experienced people dont know? if you think you have something better then by all means go ahead and lose your money. I just would not do it. Its just not worth it.

 

[donrusscrusademan]

There is an old saying....

Please dont take this wrong but ask yourself this question....what do you know about running a card shop that all these experienced people dont know? if you think you have something better then by all means go ahead and lose your money. I just would not do it. Its just not worth it.

+1

thats what I was going to say. right now theres a lot of good/experienced owners with built up seller bases that are becoming broke.

 

[XdanX]

I haven't been posting recently since Ive been so busy but I feel this is a proper topic for my return. Before I state any opinion or anything I have one question, what is your backup plan?

 

[brouthercard]

I think if I was opening a card shop, I would need to be retired or have plenty of money lying around and just be doing it for fun.

I don't think I would ever own a card shop to make a living. You just can't survive long term unless you have the right clientele with endless disposable income sources. Many of your "whale" customers burn out, or lose their jobs, or are frankly short lived.

You MUST sell things on ebay because very few areas can support specific card sales. You can't maximize your profits by selling cards locally only.

You need to buy really cheap from distributors, do card shows, do deals all the time to stock your shop. You can't just buy from blowout and expect to make money from your shop cause your customers have the same resources. So unless you are buddy buddy with your local distributor, you are going to have problems.

You CAN'T open any wax- you need to sell everything you have sealed.

You MUST be knowledgeable about everything - anything you buy you need to turn a profit, so you need to be educated about the market.

Give your regulars a discount and free supplies- they will continue supporting your shop.

I've noticed that most shops that have survived have about ten-twenty hardcore deep-pocketed collectors that support the shop through wax/case sales- find them and keep them happy.

 

[donrusscrusademan]

I think if I was opening a card shop, I would need to be retired or have plenty of money lying around and just be doing it for fun.

I don't think I would ever own a card shop to make a living. You just can't survive long term unless you have the right clientele with endless disposable income sources. Many of your "whale" customers burn out, or lose their jobs, or are frankly short lived.

You MUST sell things on ebay because very few areas can support specific card sales. You can't maximize your profits by selling cards locally only.

You need to buy really cheap from distributors, do card shows, do deals all the time to stock your shop. You can't just buy from blowout and expect to make money from your shop cause your customers have the same resources. So unless you are buddy buddy with your local distributor, you are going to have problems.

You CAN'T open any wax- you need to sell everything you have sealed.

You MUST be knowledgeable about everything - anything you buy you need to turn a profit, so you need to be educated about the market.

Give your regulars a discount and free supplies- they will continue supporting your shop.

I've noticed that most shops that have survived have about ten-twenty hardcore deep-pocketed collectors that support the shop through wax/case sales- find them and keep them happy.

agreed again.
I think the only way to make it these days would be 10 people on here chipping in and co-owning an online shop. somehow get enough funds to buy bigger orders and sell on a site+ ebay etc

 

[JEA2880]

bump for OP's verdict - curious to know if he still likes the idea or not

 

[HPC]

My advice is simple.

If you are starting a "card shop" you will fail.

Now that that is out of the way, start a "sports collectibles" store and have team licensed items, authentic autographs etc, along with some card related pieces.

If cards are the majority of your stock, you won't make it 10 months. No chance.

Having managed a card shop for 2 years before, I agree with this.

You will never make anyone happy, people will always want to offer you 20% of book value, and you will be selling more to kids and their parents than prospectors/hardcore collectors.

 

[justinmandawg]

Pro's it will be fun

Con's it will be as if you opened the window and started tossing hundred dollar bills out the window.

What i've noticed from local shops is, do some advertising on tv that you buy items. Make sure you are turning tons of product both in the shop and online. A small margin online is better than holding an item for a year.

 

[ChasHawk]

Gotta chime in here. I have 2 local shops near me.

Shop #1 - I know for a fact is hemhoraging money on sports items, but he is retired and doesn't really care.
It's more of something for him to do with his time. He keeps somewhat afloat selling Magic, Pokemon, et al.

Shop #2 - Much nicer shop. Much bigger client base, including "whales" who bust cases, etc. Yet he is
putting money into the shop every month. He sells auto'd jerseys, bats, balls, pics, singles, boxes, cases.
He advertises locally, sells on eBay, gets referrals from local shows, and is still losing money. He keeps the shop open a few days a week because he has another "full-time" business to subsidize the shop, and he
himself likes to collect. He has told me on several occasions that there is no way he could survive on the shop alone.

So I guess I said all that to say, there is a 99% chance that opening a new shop now in this economy
is going to amount to a colossal failure and a financial loss, but if you have the extra cash and a way
to keep the shop up and running, go for it, and good luck!

 

[HPC]

Make sure you are turning tons of product both in the shop and online. A small margin online is better than holding an item for a year.

Here,

This is a huge problem with shop owners.

I know most of them personally, and usually know what they paid for certain items, and honestly, I see the same stuff sitting in their shops for sometimes a year because they wont negotiate even by a few bucks (ie me offering $125 for a $150 item, and they paid $75 for it)

 

[tramers]

only hope you'll have is location near stadiums and LOTS of money.

 

[cmixer]

OKAY - i better chime in.

This is more than a "dream" of mine, too -
I read the books, have a business degree, and have passion.

Now I know I'll have to buy "sealed product" from a distrubuter -
but I'm willing to give my VAST personal collection to the store.
(BTW - how does that work? Do I "sell" my cards to the store?)

Anyways ... I wanted to post, and keep track of this thread.

 

[bouwob]

I would only do this if I was retired and had lots of money to live off of. If you rent, that's automatically $500 (likely waaaaay more) a month that disappears. Throw in utilities and you are down even more.

Make sure you also sell game cards and potentially comics.

Only buy single cards on ebay to resell at the shop if you can make a HUGE profit.

Buy huge player lots of low end cards (minimum 1000 cards). spend less per card than 1/10 of what you can sell them for.

Only buy large, large, large collections. Own a truck and be willing to travel. Buying out closed shops at steep discounts will give you a lot of stock and allow you to fill your displays. The more stuff you have, the more likely you will be able to move items.

 

[XdanX]

I kind of think its funny that people "know what you have to do" but they don't own a shop or have even worked in one. I understand that a lot of it is opinions and the obvious but how could you know? I'm not sure if that really made sense but that was the best way I could get that thought out.

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

I kind of think its funny that people "know what you have to do" but they don't own a shop or have even worked in one. I understand that a lot of it is opinions and the obvious but how could you know? I'm not sure if that really made sense but that was the best way I could get that thought out.

I have worked at one in the past and my one of my best friends owns an extremely successful shop.