Support your local card shop

It’s no secret that the best deals on cards are found online through one of the many mega warehouses.  Prices on boxes are  so low that there’s really no good reason to buy a hobby box anywhere BUT the internet. However, nothing on the internet will ever replicate the feeling of an afternoon in a card shop, wandering the same aisle(s) you wander on every visit, looking at the same assortment of packs, the same singles, and the same boxes, updated only when new product is released.

I don’t think the hobby is dying, but it is most certainly changing.  While the warehouses can afford to advertise through some of our blogs and on various message boards and forums, the “little guy” doesn’t have a budget for anything more than the lighted sign on the outside of the building.  So why don’t we all take a minute to spread the word about our own favorite local card shops?  What we like, what we buy, etc.

Before I go any further, let me be clear that I’m getting anything in return for my “endorsement”, nor am I expecting anything.  Plus, my endorsement is pretty much worthless anyway.  In fact, I’m going to leave out the shop’s name altogether, and if you’re interested and live in my area (San Diego), I’d be more than happy to pass along the name.  Good?

My shop is located in the rear of a tiny “strip mall” on a not-so-traveled road connecting two not-so-central towns in my county.  You have almost zero reason to take this particular road unless you’re trying to get to that store that sells everything in jumbo sizes and massive quantities, and even that would be if you don’t feel like taking the highway to the jumbo box store that’s probably actually closer.  And I use the term “strip mall” loosely.  I can’t even remember the names of offices around it.  There’s a Mexican restaurant and a tax place, I think.  And my shop’s name isn’t even on the main sign at the front of the complex!  I’d actually driven by the shop a handful of times without ever knowing it was there, and even when I first found out about it I almost drove right by – and that was after knowing the address.  It’s very easy to overlook.

There are two distinct halves in the store.  One half is baseball and supplies, the other is everything else.  You first walk in and are greeted by an absolutely glorious table of junk wax from the late ’80s and early ’90s.  Also on this table are boxes of oddball issues (Mario Kart cards come to mind), Kenner Starting Line Up figurines, and more.  To the right is an entire wall of packs, something of almost everything from the past five years or more.  It’s quite expansive, and they’re all unsearched – I know because I’ve pulled a few really nice hits from individual wax.

Straight ahead from the door is the ‘main’ wall which runs the length of the store, absolutely loaded with unopened boxes and high end packs of Sweet Spot, Ball Park Collection, etc.  About three quarters of the way down it switches over to football and maybe basketball – I’ve never been interested enough to look.

The wall opposite the “baseball pack wall” at the far end of the store is all basketball and football packs, and perhaps some hockey.  Again, because of a general lack of interest on my behalf (not others, I’m sure) I’ve only been to this side of the store a couple times.

The wall adjacent to the door – which is behind you after entering – is all oddball boxes.  Star Trek, Star Wars, Garbage Pail Kids, stuff like that.  In the corner, where the “odd ball wall” meets the basketball/football wall, is a shelf of supplies.

The center “island” is almost entirely supplies, piled high with various thicknesses of top loaders, sleeves, pages, etc, along with more figurines and various collectibles.  And you’re not in cardboard overload by now, all of the counters are more than just plain ol’ counters.  They’re display cases which are mostly consignment!  Lots of old singles can be found behind the glass, not to mention the pseudo famous bargain relic bin.  (Quick thanks to whoever prices their relics at three for $2; keep ’em coming!).

Good stuff.  I’m sure there’s a lot more to be discovered, and it’s my fault for not going to the shop more on weekends when I’d have more than a lunch hour to look around.  It’s shops like these that make me think the hobby will still be around for quite a while longer.  The experience of the shop is almost as priceless as anything I could ever pull from a pack.  And come to think of it, I haven’t been in a while.  A shopping spree is in order next week!

Now it’s your turn to tell everyone about YOUR shop!  Use the name if you’d like, or not.  And feel free to leave a comment or create a post of your own.  The only thing I enjoy more than reading about peoples’ cards is reading about peoples’ card shops, and I have a feeling I’m not alone.