Start up cost of opening a card shop

[gladdyontherise]

I would do strictly cards. I'd have trade nights, group breaks, etc, etc. How much would you imagine rent and stuff to be? And how come turning a profit will be that hard?

Where the store i work at, its $1200-$1400 which is a VERY good price that my boss negoitated out, i'd imagine you'd be looking at $1,000 if its in the White Lake/Waterford area like i think the location your looking for would be in.

Initally its hard to turn a profit because

A) new stores arent known of
B) the costs outweigh the the profit made initally
C) advertising if you go that route is expensive

I personally dont think a pure card store can last in Michigan these days, would love to be proved wrong though, you need to have the money to keep afloat in the early stages though, thats very important

[Qwikflipz]

Where the store i work at, its $1200-$1400 which is a VERY good price that my boss negoitated out, i'd imagine you'd be looking at $1,000 if its in the White Lake/Waterford area like i think the location your looking for would be in.

Initally its hard to turn a profit because

A) new stores arent known of
B) the costs outweigh the the profit made initally
C) advertising if you go that route is expensive

I personally dont think a pure card store can last in Michigan these days, would love to be proved wrong though, you need to have the money to keep afloat in the early stages though, thats very important

Yea I was think the same thing, $1500 a month. Hardest part is attracting customers. I don't know of a store around me that has pack wars, group case breaks, trading nights, etc. That would be my store.

It does seem difficult. If I made $15 on every box I sold, I'd have to sell 100 boxes just to cover rent. And that doesn't cover getting more boxes, etc. I don't know how much a store sells per day, but it couldn't be too much. A lot of stores around here have had the same stuff for months.

How many cards would you say people buy per day?

[gatesnapper]

online sales = ebay

[windmortal]

online sales = ebay

That's exactly what I meant ... It's a start ... Open a store on Ebay ... You are going to reach a lot more customers that way than just by walk-ins ...

[gladdyontherise]

Yea I was think the same thing, $1500 a month. Hardest part is attracting customers. I don't know of a store around me that has pack wars, group case breaks, trading nights, etc. That would be my store.

It does seem difficult. If I made $15 on every box I sold, I'd have to sell 100 boxes just to cover rent. And that doesn't cover getting more boxes, etc. I don't know how much a store sells per day, but it couldn't be too much. A lot of stores around here have had the same stuff for months.

How many cards would you say people buy per day?

The reason on box prices is why most stores mark a box blowout sells for $75 to $100, because of the profit margin they have to fill..in theory, us collectors would rather get other collectors the best price possible, but if your not making a ton of money off of it, it doesnt help much, plenty of people are willing to pay more of a premium to not have to wait as well. Most your sales need to come from online i'd assume, because cards dont seem to be moving well enough, when i work not a ton of people ask about cards

[jyosi]

And how come turning a profit will be that hard?

I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but that right there shows that you need to do a lot more research than posting on here before this idea goes anywhere. If turning a profit where easy everybody and their mother would open their own business.

There are a lot of hidden costs with a brick and mortar store. Beyond rent you will have a utility bill, I'd assume you would insure your assets against theft, fire, flood, etc., security system and monitoring fee, credit card processing fees. I'm sure you know the nightmare it is to get a direct deal with Upperdeck and the hoops you have to jump through with all the companies to be direct.

I envy the courage to want to go for a physical store front. The ideas sound great in theory, but when it comes down to it are there really enough people to fill the store for a trade night or group break? You have to ask yourself is that a need waiting to be filled or has no one done it in your area yet because it isn't a worthwhile idea. Like someone else already said, find out why no one has opened a hobby shop in your area yet.

Another idea, maybe promote a trade night at a local high school cafeteria or somewhere that you can get the space for cheap. Rent it out for a few hours, promote it as hard as you can and see how many people show up. If you get a good response you know you have an idea there for if/when you open your own store. You could even keep doing this and eventually charge a few bucks as admission to cover the rental if it is getting enough of a response until you have your own spot.

[Qwikflipz]

But how does opening an eBay store help me? I can't sell boxes at a big profit online.

And I understand it is hard, but if you don't make money in the beginning, than there will be no way to start. I figure store front will cost could be as much as $3000, how can owners make it?

Are there enough people to fill a group break? If I can't get 12 people to come out, than yes this will not work.

I do like the trade night at a cafeteria idea. Heck, if I did something like that, I wouldn't need a store. I guess I want to promote the fun stuff of cards and communicating with collectors. Rather than just sell boxes.

I just need to ask owners how many people come out per day.

[gladdyontherise]

But how does opening an eBay store help me? I can't sell boxes at a big profit online.

And I understand it is hard, but if you don't make money in the beginning, than there will be no way to start. I figure store front will cost could be as much as $3000, how can owners make it?

Are there enough people to fill a group break? If I can't get 12 people to come out, than yes this will not work.

I do like the trade night at a cafeteria idea. Heck, if I did something like that, I wouldn't need a store. I guess I want to promote the fun stuff of cards and communicating with collectors. Rather than just sell boxes.

I just need to ask owners how many people come out per day.

Thats where you sell singles is online...most businesses dont make money in the begining, thats why you take out a bigger loan that what you'd need to start a store, so you can pay your bills in the begining..

Its something to really think about..running a true card store is VERY hard now-a-days mostly because of the internet

[zdf123]

sorry to march on your parade, but these days, it's impossible to make a profit off a hobby shop these days. If you want to make a living off of sportscards, then i'd advise taking all of that startup money that you would use ($10,000-25,000) and invest it in singles. You can do a combination of investing in certain players and buying out collections and with all that startup money, you'll be able to make a nice chunk of profit pretty quick and then just keep reinvesting that money. Once you build a rep, you can also offer to do consignment auctions. If you get good at this, you'll be able to make a living off of this without too much trouble

[Phenomenal TJ]

Good luck getting online sales anywhere except on ebay. It is nearly impossible to drive traffic to a website. I would not suggest starting your own website until you have built up a ton of ebay feedback and are selling lots of items each day out of an ebay store.

Getting traffic online is easy. Getting a decent retention rate is the tough part.

Honestly, if you're seriously considering it, take the Business degree, bank it, and go back for a marketing degree too, because you'll save yourself thousands of dollars.