Your dream Hobby Store would....

[Drewk86a]

You said "DREAM" store...right?

My dream store would be a store where the owners do know much (or care much) about hockey. They would let me work there (part time) in exchange for first dibs on hockey cards @ 50% off.

You did say "dream"!

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

My dream store would have a great store owner that had fun events and promos. It would be a place for collectors to gather and hang out. It would have space to hold trade nights, group breaks, and player signings. Also I would be working there (or the owner) and get a discount on boxes.

[scottkoz20]

Many LCS stores in the United States sell at a premium of about 30-40% more than a Hobby Box can be purchased on eBay.

In regard to pack sales, they are outrageously high at many LSC stores, to the point of absurdity.

I've seen LCS Stores in the USA in 2003-2008 selling SPx Hobby packs that would have normally retailed at the time for between 5.99 and 7.99 for $15.99 each.

Single cards in many LCS are not their own but owned by other and a commission is taken. Anytime I've noticed singles for sale by an LCS owner, the price has been Book or only about 10-20% less than book but never any lower.

Outside of the bigger vendors like D&A, Blowout, etc.; can you reliably trust an online vendor? I don't see a problem with a lot of the markup. Online vendors do not necessarily have the same overhead as a B&M store would. To your point of older products getting marked up. I look at the Supply and Demand of the product. Lets use Bowman Baseball as an example. When this product first was released, jumbo boxes were in the neighborhood of $175 and have jumped to $200+. Simply put, people are still buying it at the raised price because of the hope of pulling a Yu Darvish Auto (i did! ) or a prospect Auto that has the ability of jumping in price in 2-3 years (see Mike Trout or Bryce Harper as prime examples of this).

As for the Singles, if they are selling it on consignment, then they are at the mercy of the demands of the owner of the card, provided they agree to accept the card. If they have a Taylor Hall Contenders Rookie Auto and the owner of the card wants to clear $70 for the card, the dealer is going to have ask $85-$90 for the card (more if it's listed on eBay). But keep this in mind, people are willing to pay more to insure that they have a card in hand from a dealer than to save a few bucks and deal with the hassle of eBay and shipping from an unknown source.

I would love a hobby store in the US that was something similar to Starbucks meets a sports bar. A place to hang out, open and trade cards, and watch sports.

I'm still awaiting for Dave and Adam's by my current house to setup the TV. The fear is that the workers would not work and watch TV. If it's a smaller place, this probably is not an issue.

You said "DREAM" store...right?

My dream store would be a store where the owners do know much (or care much) about hockey. They would let me work there (part time) in exchange for first dibs on hockey cards @ 50% off.

You did say "dream"!

I did say dream!


The big money in the hobby is not in hockey (at least in the US); it's in Baseball and it lesser extent Football. If hockey had the same wide ranging support in the US for cards as baseball does, Sidney Crosby SPA Rookies would be closer to $1000 in sale value (ungraded) and not $500-$600, IMO.

My dream store would have a great store owner that had fun events and promos. It would be a place for collectors to gather and hang out. It would have space to hold trade nights, group breaks, and player signings. Also I would be working there (or the owner) and get a discount on boxes.

It's imperative that the LCS owners have events that will drive clients into the store. All of what you suggest are needed in order to drive customers into the store to make the business thrive.

[mikeydcalgary]

Have customer loyalty cards. Like a punch card, say if you buy 10 packs get your 11th pack of equal or greater value for free.

I actually work at a Hobby Shop, we have a program where your start at 1% off and every $500 you spend you move up 1% to a maximum of 10%. You also earn points that can be redeemed towards future purchases.

It is a great program that has seen many people get to the 5 or even 10 percent off levels quickly.

[michaelpatko]

My dream hobby store would NOT overprice their packs (talkin' to you DACW).
eg - sealed Hobby box of 11/12 SPx $100, Hobby pack $8 (18 * 8 = $144)

Sometimes I can't afford a box, but wanna bust something, try $6 per pack ($108)

[Walter Sobchak]

my dream card store would be owned by Scott Kozlowski, and he of course would hire me part time...lol

For real though, I would like a cardstore like others have mentioned with a nice area to hang out while opening stuff and whatnot. The hobby is about interaction and isnt nearly as much fun when opening by yourself. I also like the idea of a program to give back to customers but dont think it should be tied directly to how much is spent. A program that is based on how many thousands of $ you spend doesnt exactly help to bring people into the hobby.

Also, as far as singles go Itd be nice to see a store that had somewhat reasonable prices. When I go into stores like D&A, I rarely even glance a t the singles. I think itd be good for stores, and collectors alike if people at least considered looking at singles in the store.

[scottkoz20]

my dream card store would be owned by Scott Kozlowski, and he of course would hire me part time...lol

after we move, get settled - Becky is OK with me exploring this. I would need to have other hobby items like trains, RC cards/planes, models in order to remain viable. I would not stand much of a chance vs. DACW

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

after we move, get settled - Becky is OK with me exploring this. I would need to have other hobby items like trains, RC cards/planes, models in order to remain viable. I would not stand much of a chance vs. DACW

The problem is that if you want to buy boxes directly from Upper Deck you have to sell at least 80% sports cards with the other 20% being sports memorabilia. That is their ridiculous requirements for operating a hobby shop.

That means you would have to get the boxes through a distributor and would not be eligible to be a UD Certified Diamond Dealer with customer support for cards that are damaged.

Really I want to see multipurpose hobby shops but the card companies refuse to allow it.

[mikeydcalgary]

The problem is that if you want to buy boxes directly from Upper Deck you have to sell at least 80% sports cards with the other 20% being sports memorabilia. That is their ridiculous requirements for operating a hobby shop.

That means you would have to get the boxes through a distributor and would not be eligible to be a UD Certified Diamond Dealer with customer support for cards that are damaged.

Really I want to see multipurpose hobby shops but the card companies refuse to allow it.

That is not true, I work at a multipurpose hobby shop. In addition to sports cards and memorbilia we carry model trains, remote cars boats and planes as well as card games such as Pokemon, Magic and Yu Gi Oh. We are a UD Certified Diamond Dealer as well as a Panini Authorized Retailer. I will say that sports cards and gaming are the biggest aspects of the shop.

[sjw241]

I would love a hobby store in the US that was something similar to Starbucks meets a sports bar. A place to hang out, open and trade cards, and watch sports.

We have a store like that in Kitchener Ontario.