Seriously considering opening a card shop...

[cpr1981]

I live in Shreveport, LA (Northeast Louisiana) and have been seriously considering opening my own card shop here with a couple guys for a while now. There is one local shop here and 90% of his shop is dedicated to comics with the other 10% being sports related stuff. Since he is the only gig in town he mark up his packs (50% more than mist) and boxes as much as he wants.
He also has very little single cards to buy with what he does have being highly overpriced (Griffey 89 UD rookie gor sale @ $100). My shop would be geared towards having singles for sale and trade while at the same time having te newest releases at market price.

With that said, I am here asking for any guidance in the process that is opening my own shop from the other shop owners and collectors here at The Bench. My parents and I had a shop when I was a kid but things have definitely changed since the late 80s and early 90s.

Thanks in advance!

Colvin

 

[fatrat]

Colvin - all I can offer is my best wishes for a successful little business!! Go for it, have fun!!

 

[BiggioDiogu759]

Good Luck. I am trying to operate an online one.

I hope you make it.

 

[tglg]

If you want some advice, I will give you this......don't be too damn proud to do Magic and Dungeons and Dragons. I say that because we had a plethera of shops around, and almost all of them didn't want to get into that. They said that sports cards was the only way. There was one shop that did the others, but it was the dirtiest and darkest shop around.

Today, there is only one left, and it is the one that did the Magic and D&D. I have never done it myself, but if you are going to run a business, you MUST do whatever it is that will bring you a profit and keep your doors open. Set up a "dead space" that is just tables. No, you won't make any profit off of it as there is nothing in that space for sale. But you can host "gaming nights" which will bring those people in. And they will spend money upgrading their needs. And you will be shocked at how many new people they will bring in who will in turn need to start/add to their "collection".

And you can also use the table area to host sports events as well that will get collectors through the dooors. Host trading nights where collectors can come in and show off and swap their stuff. Does this make you money? No, not directly. But you will find that they will wind up buying boxes and packs while there, and that will generate funds. Especially when some serious "pack wars" break out.

It will take a lot of time, cash, and commitment. But if you are diverse enough, and are people friendly, you can survive. Just don't get too proud to not change with the trends. Good Luck.

 

[cjay101]

Yeah, it has always been a dream of mine as well...I think with a brick and mortar store these days, you HAVE to incorporate over half your business online to help cover the overhead you're going to have to worry about (unless you have a sweet deal from a family member, etc).

Remember--wax doesn't have a very high profit margin over wholesale prices, so if you're selling at 'market' you are essentially going to be making nothing on it and will have to make up for that profit elsewhere in the venture.

 

[Gsk624777]

Ever since I had a card shop open up by my house when I was six that has been my dream! I dont know if it is realistic but it would definately fun to work and be around this hobby 24/7.

Good luck with anything you attempt!

 

[Jeffo65]

Inventory. You must have inventory to bring in customers.

 

[NYMets6986]

Maybe you could have some signed memorabilia there too (baseballs, jerseys, bats, 8x10).

 

[kugelmanco]

the only card shop near me that has stayed open is full of the pokeman or whatever magic stuff those cards are. they have a room full of tables that always has the oddities playing their games. the card shop guy obviously isn't too fond of them and the magic stuff, but everytime i go in i am the only one looking at the sports cards, so they are surely keeping his business afloat. and also he sells a massive bunch of stuff on ebay and that is another reason his actual shop is still open. his boxes and packs are not overpriced like your card shop, but his singles of course are marked close to or above bv! mostly i go there to get supplies/card boxes and will pick up just a few cheap packs and dig through the quarter boxes hoping to find some treasure. i wish you luck if you do start it up, but i would be prepared to pump some cash into your business for a while before you start seeing any returns. do some research on that pokeman stuff or find someone that knows about that that could help you get set up

 

[yank23rulz]

I would say Make sure you have atleast 3 months of overhead put away before you start..This way you have time to build the business..It will take some time to get people to know you are around and what you have...Word of mouth is the best thing for a new store..So make sure to be extra nice to the customers when they first come in... Inventory to start is going to be the next biggest thing..You have to have some good stuff at good prices this will drive your return business.

 

[valediction]

I would say Make sure you have atleast 3 months of overhead put away before you start..This way you have time to build the business..It will take some time to get people to know you are around and what you have...Word of mouth is the best thing for a new store..So make sure to be extra nice to the customers when they first come in... Inventory to start is going to be the next biggest thing..You have to have some good stuff at good prices this will drive your return business.

I'd go further and say 6 months to 1 year of overhead. Take all forms of payment, nothing like losing a nice sale because you don't take credit cards, or only visa/Mastercard and not American express. Have reasonable hours. Frustrating to have a shop not open until 7pm or for only 5 hours on a weekend because it's someone's second job. Be prepared to compete with ebay prices. Have a LOAD of patience. It's not easy to politely decline the 7th collection that day of 1986-1994 Donruss, Fleer and Topps commons with worn corners. Be ready to explain to parents (and the kids) how book value differs from sell value so they can get an understanding of why the $20 BV card they are bringing in is getting an offer of $4 from you. Get involved in whatever you can to keep the money coming in. Most areas can't support a store limited to just sports cards.

 

[jaderock]

Do your homework and reconsider. You have "expecting 1st child in June 2011" in your signature - that right there should end all consideration.

Unless you are financially stable and can survive and support your family for several YEARS without a source of income, then I would suggest - "pass"!

A brink and mortar store has one distinct advantage - personal interaction, but that alone will NOT and can NOT sustain a business. A storefront has too much cost/overhead associated with it...that should explain why the store you describe has high mark ups. When you buy cards at a hobby shop, you are paying for more than just the cards, but all the cost related to that business and a level of service! To think otherwise is foolish.

Just look at your INFREQUENT online listing on ebay...do you think you could have sold Josh Hamilton and Frank Thomas for those prices in Shrevport?

First things 1st, take you time and come up with a workable/managable game plan that includes market research (on the population NOT cards), location, traffic, finances (startup cost and continuing expenses), inventory (levels and what variety), etc. Also, a backup plan is absolutely necessary should 1 or more backers drop out.

Anyway, if you must go in this direction, I would suggest the long path of growing, build/establish your local reputation 1st (in person and online). See how running an online store is like, set up at flea markets where the cost is low, do local card shows...these things will give you a better prespective of how the industry is doing and how successful or not a hobby store may be.

Good luck and this is of course my personal opinion.

 

[Trishlp]

I help a friend who has a card shop and one thing that helps keep him afloat is Yu-gi-oh, pokemon, naruto and magic. He has tournaments 2 nights a week and does pre-release specials on yu-gi-oh. he also has tables that don't have merchandise on them that we can open boxes up at or just sit and talk. He also has soda's and snacks that he sells so people don't have to leave if they get hungry. He also will take want lists from people of new products and get their name and # and let them know when he has something for them. He asks his regulars if they have extras and then gives them store credit of course he has been in business for more than 15 years so he has a following. The most important things though is being polite and helpful to the customers, being reasonably priced and having a diverse inventory.

 

[slavlite]

A buddy of mine who runs a local shop has gone all sorts of directions I never expected him too. He does not have the space for D&D or other gaming tables so he has actually never ventured into the Magic, pokemon, yu g oh stuff, he has a ridiculous amount of singles, Mostly geared towards Vikings, Packers, Wild, T wolves, Twins, brewers, etc MN and WI teams which sell very well and actually tend to sell very close to full Book value because of demand.

He started selling Jersey's and Hats and is doing quite well with those, He also noticed that Our area had no major supplier for Darts, almost all communities have local Bar dart leagues so he started carrying dart sets and different flights etc. Also he noticed that there was a boom the past few years in the popularity of Disc Golf, so he started carrying disc golf equipment as well. All in all he is doing okay but without the supplements of other sports non sports card related items, he wouldnt be around anymore.

 

[The_Glavinator]

Colvin- It is a brave and risky move to open a shop. I myself just opened one in Ashland, WI. I have been open for 4 months and can tell you this; it is a rollercoaster. One week you do well the next your in the hole. I agree with what some people have said, you need to have a stock that will keep for at least 1-3 months in wax.

If, you become direct with any of the card companies watch what you buy for pre-sells because some of the products will drop $20/box a month after it is released. Some go up like Topps series 1, but most fall.

One suggestion I have is to create a "Preferred Membership" program. I give all my new customers a questionaire asking what they collect, brands, sports, players, etc. and keep a card behind the counter with their name on it and everytime the spend $10 in the store I mark their card and when they get 11 marks the get a free $10 in store credit for singles!

Hope I helped

-Jay

 

[BiggioDiogu759]

Maybe try doing something like a private signing with a local athlete.

 

[MattinglysCards]

A friend of mine has a brick and mortar store (going on 20 years now), but still does a number (at least once a month) of card shows a year to make it all work out. When I talked to him about doing the same he gave me a very simple piece of advice - "Card shops are for buying, card shows are for selling." People call him up because he is in the Yellow Pages and people who are looking to off-load a collection (usually from someone who has inherited it). The other piece of advice he gave me was to be honest.

He says he makes a decent profit on supplies (top-loaders and pages mostly) by buying in large quantities (usually large enough to get reduced shipping), but this involves a large up-front investment. I believe this would work better for a standard store versus an online store simply because of the shipping cost.

I've passed on the idea for now, but am planning to do something with a lot of my "extras" in retirement. I think it would be very difficult to be both a collector and run a business.

I know one thing I always look for when visiting a card shop is vintage singles for my sets (and of course supplies). I'm not asking for a shop to have 1000's of 1970's cards, but is having a binder with a 100 or so cards of each year isn't a lot to ask, it is?

My $.02 and good luck,
Marvin

 

[cjay101]

I agree...the local shop here said the only reason he is in business is to buy from customers walking in the door. He gets a ton of walk-ins and yellow pages collections from estates, passed down, etc where people are looking for money. He buys at or below wholesale and flips at retail or online.

That is essentially where the money is, buying and flipping decent-condition vintage. The new wax has such low margins I wouldn't see a lot of people raking in money off of it on a regular basis

 

[Tim Carroll]

The overhead is absolute killer. After paying rent, insurance, and the $$ upfront to stock.....it is too big of a hole to climb out of. With gas prices going through the roof again, online is the only way to go. It would be cheaper to pay the ebay fees of an online store. Quite possibly, one could run an advertisement in the local papers and offer to list sports-related items on ebay for a commission. That way, you would be making money on other person's items without taking on the possbility that you don't flip for a profit.

If nothing else, your buddies and yourself should team up with some internet guru and start up a sportlots/checkoutmycards.com business to compete with ebay. It couldn't cost more than an actual storefront, and then you have the entire world at your disposal as customers.


Tim