Can you make $30,000/year in the business?

[Ajax44]

Is it possible to make $30,000/year in the business?

This would be a web/card show/ebay business. No retail location. No warehousing. Taxes and Beckett online subscriptions are your only costs outside of travel and card show table costs.

What do you think?

 

[TJCloutier]

Is it possible to make $30,000/year in the business?

This would be a web/card show/ebay business. No retail location. No warehousing. Taxes and Beckett online subscriptions are your only costs outside of travel and card show table costs.

What do you think?

Eh, you left out...where are you getting the cards? Where are you getting your products (i.e boxes, card supplies you sell, etc) I'm sure without those, and hobby boxes you wont make anything near that.

 

[ilikeautoandgu]

Possible? Yes.
Likely? Not at all.

 

[Mark Wing]

It is possible, but probably isn't the most efficient way for most people to earn money. How much time are you planning to put into this?

Mark

 

[Tim Carroll]

I think you'd run a better chance of making that kind of money if you could somehow HAVE a card shop and sell on ebay during your slow periods of the day/week. A store front would lower your cost of boxes, generate a consistent group of clients, and let's face it........give yourself a little more respectability than the "hit or miss" card show dealer. Having that storefront would allow buyers the opportunity to realize that you have a BUSINESS at stake. Not saying store owners are more honest, but that store let's customers know you can be contacted at any point and time should an issue arise.

If you are depending on selling singles to make your money - you are probably out of luck. You would have to make a majority of your sales from boxes, cases, and supplies. The markup on supplies is pretty good, and it is much easier to sell those to people entering your store - kind of like impulse items at the Wal-Mart checkout line.

The overhead of the store is obviously more expensive, but I think that would be the only way one could come out ahead in the sportscard market. Being from St. Louis, you could probably also line up some Autograph guests at your business to attract the customers.


Tim


Tim

 

[cjay101]

If you had substantial capital to start out with a bang, and nothing time-wise to get in your way of working 60+ hour weeks for quite some time, it would be able to be done.

I agree, a storefront--even part time--while costing more would also increase the chance of success.

The vast majority of people making money have a few things going for them:

1. Years of clients and references coming in (or contacting) to buy wax.
2. Good connections with wholesalers who get them the product they want, on time, without a lot of the product they don't (new stores have a horrible time with this from what I have seen).
3. The ability to break and flip large quantities of the 'hot' items on the market....this is a boom or bust method, but it is where the money is at.

It all takes capital. Good luck.

 

[valediction]

Is it possible to make $30,000/year in the business?

This would be a web/card show/ebay business. No retail location. No warehousing. Taxes and Beckett online subscriptions are your only costs outside of travel and card show table costs.

What do you think?

costs to list auctions?
who is building, hosting, maintaining, updating your website?
how and where are you going to advertise?
where are you getting your product and how much will you stock?
How are you going to get your product to people?
Are you going to accept credit cards?
Are you going to buy from your customers?

$30,000 gross or net?

It's possible, but you're going to need some pretty decent up front cash to get started and keep going until you build a customer base.

 

[ilikeautoandgu]

Side question regarding the topic. Anyone think BurbankSportsCards makes this much or more? I mean, they buy huge collections and then sell them way overpriced.

 

[TJCloutier]

Side question regarding the topic. Anyone think BurbankSportsCards makes this much or more? I mean, they buy huge collections and then sell them way overpriced.

I would say BB does very well

 

[Mark Wing]

Side question regarding the topic. Anyone think BurbankSportsCards makes this much or more? I mean, they buy huge collections and then sell them way overpriced.

My guess is they make much more. I base this on the fact that they have several employees.

I do wonder if you could borrow part of their business model: buy rare cards cheap and use the fact that you are the only one who has them for sale to sell at a premium.

Mark

 

[sgbt4]

I've often wondered this myself, but my fear would be that I would have no self-control to keep from buying every great card or deal for my personal collection.

I do think you could do OK buying vintage sets and breaking them apart for singles ... just a hunch on my part though.

Scott

 

[mlbme22]

I think that it is possible- would take alot of time & effort.

 

[ilikeautoandgu]

My guess is they make much more. I base this on the fact that they have several employees.

I do wonder if you could borrow part of their business model: buy rare cards cheap and use the fact that you are the only one who has them for sale to sell at a premium.

Mark

A company can't have several employees and make only 30 grand? The employees are part of the cost. Plus, don't they have many teenage employees who make minimum wage (maybe even lower-off the books)?

 

[valediction]

A company can't have several employees and make only 30 grand? The employees are part of the cost. Plus, don't they have many teenage employees who make minimum wage (maybe even lower-off the books)?

Not likely. Even at $4/hour and 20 hours a week 'off the books' that's $80/weekx52 weeks $4000/year per person. 4 kids to sort, pack, ship, take phone/online/in store orders, deal with customers, process returns, and you're at over $16,000. They are in business in CA, they have to pay taxes, they have to account for the hours they are open, the money they take in, the money they pay out all has to be documented. Meaning they have to have staff around for the hours they are open. Staff isn't free, the IRS knows this. So they expect to see paychecks, taxes out of said checks. If the owner is out buying collections, setting up at the bigger shows, taking out large ads in Tuff Stuff, Beckett, and/or SCD, those ads can run into 4 figures per issue, someone has to be running the store 'on the record'. If you're spending $200,000 a year on buying, advertising, salaries, business costs, and clearing only $30,000 a year in Burbank, CA, where a quick google search points out a median house cost of $595,000 and a median family income of $61,447 that means you run one of the biggest card shops in the country and you haven't even made half what the average family makes. The math just doesn't add up.

 

[jdshuskers]

A company can't have several employees and make only 30 grand? The employees are part of the cost. Plus, don't they have many teenage employees who make minimum wage (maybe even lower-off the books)?

Absolutely not in Southern California, unless they are already wealthy or have a wealthy spouse. The cost of living out here is way to high to survive off of $30,000 a year, and that would be if there was only one person running the company and getting all of the money. I'm sure they make well over $30,000 per year.

 

[Mark Wing]

A company can't have several employees and make only 30 grand? The employees are part of the cost. Plus, don't they have many teenage employees who make minimum wage (maybe even lower-off the books)?

I know very little about them other than what I read on Beckett. According to Beckett, they have 20 employees. If I was running a business the size of Burbank Sports Cards and I wasn't making at least $30k for my efforts, I would need to either make changes or think about doing something else.

My initial point was that a business with employees is a business that is successful enough to have employees. There are a lot of people who start businesses and don't make any money. Those businesses aren't in the position to hire employees.

Mark

 

[Chavezforprez]

I have been to Burbank Sports Cards and that store is the biggest and most stocked store I have ever seen. I'm sure they are making 6 figures a year after all their costs. You have to be buzzed in like a coin shop in order to get inside (at least that's how it use to be). They have show cases stacked with the same cards. For example, you don't see one Griffey Jr. UD Rookie, you'll see stacks of them, same goes for all the cards. Plus, they have a wall full of packs, from the ceiling to the floor. You ask about it, they have. It's a nice store, but their prices are a bit high. Considering where they are located, I'm sure the customers they have don't mind paying some of those prices.

Billy

 

[ilikeautoandgu]

I have been to Burbank Sports Cards and that store is the biggest and most stocked store I have ever seen. I'm sure they are making 6 figures a year after all their costs. You have to be buzzed in like a coin shop in order to get inside (at least that's how it use to be). They have show cases stacked with the same cards. For example, you don't see one Griffey Jr. UD Rookie, you'll see stacks of them, same goes for all the cards. Plus, they have a wall full of packs, from the ceiling to the floor. You ask about it, they have. It's a nice store, but their prices are a bit high. Considering where they are located, I'm sure the customers they have don't mind paying some of those prices.

Billy

Is it true they make you pick through lists on computers, compile a list, checkout, and pay, before you can even see the cards you are buying? I heard that, once.

 

[Chavezforprez]

Not when I was there. If you want a certain card, they let you go through the stack pick the one you wanted. They even have graded cards in stacks, mostly 9's and higher for modern cards, but again, pick the one you want, then buy. It's been 6 years since I've been there, so I'm sure alot has changed. I know there location moved down the road I believe.

 

[Droubaysports]

OK so let's get back to the intial question.
Can you make 30 thousand a year selling cards? Absolutly but there are a string of caveats that go hand in hand with it. I disagree with having a physical store as if yo umarket right and have a plan you do not need the expenses. I dabble in cards as I have a full time job and still average enough to covr my collecting expenses fo rthe most part. if i were to quit my full time job I am sure that 30K would not be hard BUT I have the inventory to start as well as some outlets most others do not have