2013-The Death of Local Hobby Shops

[Estovia]

What I find even more disturbing are the reports that C&C and DAcardworld held a say in what the outcome would be in the production of rookie cards.

I'd like to see this report. Not that I am dismissing your claim out of hand, but as a frequenter of 3 of the 4 D&A shops in the Buffalo area, I can tell you that they are very not happy about the rookie decision made by the NHLPA. Many MANY customers were waiting for the late season releases to come out.

That, and, I just can't see the NHLPA making any decision based on input from some retailers, no matter how big - the companies that stand to be hurt the most would have been Panini & Upper Deck, the companies paying for licenses to produce these cards, cards that they will now have to not produce or attempt to do so without one of the top reasons people buy them.

As to how much it's going to hurt the shops.. I'm going to say it depends on the area the shop is in. In Buffalo, I would be EXTREMELY doubtful that any of the other major shops will see much impact from the lack of late season releases / RCs.

[jbudny]

I miss the days during the hockey card boom where you could pretty much find an LCS on any main street in town or plenty of vendors at the local flea market.

It's a shame that it was already pretty tough for card shops to survive and now the lockout has made it next to impossible for many of the smaller stores.

While I'm not into the whole rookie card craze or breaking new product, I understand that this is what drives the industry now. I can honestly say that at least half of collectors, if not more are just in the hobby to collect the latest and greatest rookies and break new products.

It's not fair at all that large choices like this are made without hearing the voices of collectors first.

[Wickabee]

There's one shop here (Kelowna, BC) that will do just fine. He's a UD Diamond Dealer,knows nothing about sports cards or the comic books he sells. Only cares about RC toys. He will do fine.

I hate that place.

The other place is an amazing little hole in the wall. They deal almost exclusively in hockey, with a tine bit of football and baseball. Lots of memorabilia and they seem to sell a LOT of ITG and Panini from what I can tell. I love that place and I'm worried they'll be forced to close down shop.

[bprice]

Wickabee can you PM me the name of the store and the owner and I will see if there is anything I can do personally to help him get to the 2013-14 Promised Land.

That holds true for any other stores or dealers that I can do something for.

Brian Price

[RGM81]

There's one shop here (Kelowna, BC) that will do just fine. He's a UD Diamond Dealer,knows nothing about sports cards or the comic books he sells. Only cares about RC toys. He will do fine.

I hate that place.

The other place is an amazing little hole in the wall. They deal almost exclusively in hockey, with a tine bit of football and baseball. Lots of memorabilia and they seem to sell a LOT of ITG and Panini from what I can tell. I love that place and I'm worried they'll be forced to close down shop.

I was talking to Jason & Dean yesterday and they're feeling pretty confident about things. At least that's the sense I got. They mentioned that they are already sold out of SP Game Used and will be looking for more. I've always been a big supporter of theirs, in no small part because they have been a HUGE source of a lot of the nicer cards in my Gorges PC. Good guys, lots of knowledge and insight.

The other place - I dunno, maybe it's just because I'm not a regular there but I've always felt a bit off-put by something about the guy. It's odd, but it is what it is.

Nice to see Dr. Price step up to offer his helping hand to the store, because it is a really great place. Jason was telling me that they have had a few people bust a lot of History of Hockey, so I know that the offer would be warmly received.

[Wickabee]

I was talking to Jason & Dean yesterday and they're feeling pretty confident about things. At least that's the sense I got. They mentioned that they are already sold out of SP Game Used and will be looking for more. I've always been a big supporter of theirs, in no small part because they have been a HUGE source of a lot of the nicer cards in my Gorges PC. Good guys, lots of knowledge and insight.

That's good. I was in a couple weeks ago and Dean was telling me they've taken a pretty good hit this season. Of course, the next day I went Back and Jason had just sold all his 12-13 Series 1 stock. Kind of up and down for them, but they're smart guys, I'm sure they'll get through.

The other place - I dunno, maybe it's just because I'm not a regular there but I've always felt a bit off-put by something about the guy. It's odd, but it is what it is.

My dad went in last Christmas just to get me a tin. He told me he didn't like it. I went a couple weeks ago. All singles are priced at full BV and he doesn't haggle. He's got a decent stock of boxes, but knows nothing about hockey cards and is about $10 more expensive than spending the money to ship it from CnC. That comic section in the back he doesn't seem to care about either. I was in there 10 minutes. He spoke once and played with his RC toys the rest of the time. Tinkering, fixing or building I could understand, but he was literally playing. I'm pretty convinced never to walk in there again.
If I was into RC, though, that place would likely be my Meca.

Nice to see Dr. Price step up to offer his helping hand to the store, because it is a really great place. Jason was telling me that they have had a few people bust a lot of History of Hockey, so I know that the offer would be warmly received.

I asked Dean about HoH when I was in there. He basically said they're having trouble keeping any on the shelves (I don't like the product, but good for them). Dr. Price, I'll PM you right away.

[HockeyCardsPlus]

I am hoping to open a LCS in the next year in my area. There isn't one within 150 miles and with Sault Ste. Marie, Canada right acorss the bridge I hope maybe its a good location. I just wish card companies wouldn't make ya have to have a actual brick and mortar place to buy directly from them.

[comfortably9numb]

Have a question though, and before I ask it, I wanna say that I'm not doubting you, I've never worked at a card shop, never owned one, merely a collector. But here goes...

I was about 15 when the lockout happened, and it really made me get out of collecting. I took about 5 years off or so and got back into it when shortly before I finished undergraduate. So I don't know how the stores reacted right after the lockout, but I do know that all the stores I used to frequent (about 4-5 small shops in Buffalo) are all still here. If the complete lockout in 2004-05 didn't the stores, how would this one be different? There have been 2 other lockouts since 1993, and neither "killed" the LCS's in the area. Like I said, I'm not doubting you, the first lockout caused me to stop collecting, and the current one made me work on my LPGA collection, so I'm evidence first hand on the lack of spending lol but I just don't see whats different about this year than 2004. Neither year had rookies, and given the fact that we actually have a season, won't that promote the older products (obv. to a very small degree but still). I'm just kinda confused.

[2010CTyler]

Have a question though, and before I ask it, I wanna say that I'm not doubting you, I've never worked at a card shop, never owned one, merely a collector. But here goes...

I was about 15 when the lockout happened, and it really made me get out of collecting. I took about 5 years off or so and got back into it when shortly before I finished undergraduate. So I don't know how the stores reacted right after the lockout, but I do know that all the stores I used to frequent (about 4-5 small shops in Buffalo) are all still here. If the complete lockout in 2004-05 didn't the stores, how would this one be different? There have been 2 other lockouts since 1993, and neither "killed" the LCS's in the area. Like I said, I'm not doubting you, the first lockout caused me to stop collecting, and the current one made me work on my LPGA collection, so I'm evidence first hand on the lack of spending lol but I just don't see whats different about this year than 2004. Neither year had rookies, and given the fact that we actually have a season, won't that promote the older products (obv. to a very small degree but still). I'm just kinda confused.

It's important to remember that here in Canada, hockey is the only sport with a large following. When a lockout happens, a shop owner cannot lean on other sports as a means of income. Where I work, the owner had a very difficult time recovering from the last lockout. This time around, it was a rough go and he was really going to rely on the new products and rookies to attract customers and sales.

Two days ago, I was at the shop and everyone was in good spirits. We knew that the shop could rebound after the lockout with products that would surely be loaded the second half of the season. Now, it is back to square one. The owner doesn't know what to do. I'm afraid that this is the end of a great little shop that has been in business since 1991. It's sad that a owner who has been a major contributor to the community, sponsored kids teams, donating to various charities, and has helped many people can be ignored when he is in need.

[comfortably9numb]

It's important to remember that here in Canada, hockey is the only sport with a large following. When a lockout happens, a shop owner cannot lean on other sports as a means of income. Where I work, the owner had a very difficult time recovering from the last lockout. This time around, it was a rough go and he was really going to rely on the new products and rookies to attract customers and sales.

Two days ago, I was at the shop and everyone was in good spirits. We knew that the shop could rebound after the lockout with products that would surely be loaded the second half of the season. Now, it is back to square one. The owner doesn't know what to do. I'm afraid that this is the end of a great little shop that has been in business since 1991. It's sad that a owner who has been a major contributor to the community, sponsored kids teams, donating to various charities, and has helped many people can be ignored when he is in need.

sorry, I may have phrased my question awkwardly. What makes this lockout worse than the last one? If most stores survived 2004-05, this one must be worse right? again, I certainly don't doubt you, it looks grim, but I'm still confused. Wouldn't history just repeat itself? Having a crappy year, and rebounding next year, just like last time