General Forum

Saw a new card shop just opened. Based on location I assumed it would be loaded with local team stuff....not so much. Only psa graded cards, (mostly newer cards) no boxes,, no packs, no supplies, barely any local MLB or nfl, but art and photos of local team.  I am wondering if anyone else is seeing "shops" like this (more like an investment center rather than a lcs)

I actually really like the term "investment center"

That is how mine is. But sometimes has boxes but no packs. It sucks but it is what it is sadly. 

I would probably find that interesting to visit to have a look at the cards.

They are not something I would ever buy but would be interesting to see some of these mythical graded cards in the flesh so to speak!

I suppose it was interesting....for about 10 min, even then they only had 1 graded card that I wanted to see. An actual ted Williams card, everything else was 1 to 2 yrs old....just not my cup of tea I guess.

It sounds like a card museum, except you can buy the paintings off the wall.

I hope he has free rent. I can't image getting enough foot traffic to sustain a store front. If you have shows around you he'd be better off there. Most definitely, better off on eBay. Thooooo, maybe, just maybe, he wants a full service store and is just waiting for everything else to settle down so he can actually get those things

Or he has a full eBay store and he is slowly going into a store front while maintaining the eBay store. 

What's crazy about it.....its in an area that's known for high rent and he has no apparent online presence....not even a website, just a Facebook page. I thought maybe the art was a big income source, but it appears he's consigning the artwork. Just seemed really strange.

I remember talking to a store owner a long time back about sales and making it in the market.  He said that though he preferred the older sports cards, he need to stock and sell all the new stuff including the gaming cards and such to make a profit.  Back then, it was the gaming cards that was the biggest seller for him.

Unless this guy expands his inventory or already has so much $$$ that he cannot spend, I would be interested to know how long before he closes up shop.