I know a lot of times with my Shop Talk pieces it can turn into a "what product we got in and what product we sold" kind of scenario. I also like to try and truly take you into the shop and into some of our conversations and thoughts and also pull back the curtain a bit. I love sharing stories about John Simpson and Prim and all of the great characters and moments that make our … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Trout Swimming Downstream, Football Figures, New Arrivals
Hobby Shop Talk
Shop Talk: Dealing with a Challenging Customer in Need of Cash
When you work in a retail environment, you never know who's going to walk through the door. We've had our share of customers we'd consider memorable for a variety of reasons. We have such a great time with some we don't mind if they stay half the day. Others not so much. The winner of The Most Uncomfortable Moment of the Week came when I made my way back from lunch on … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Dealing with a Challenging Customer in Need of Cash
Shop Talk: One Last High School Game, Tons of New Card Releases, Job Juggling Car Accident, “Tenbanyama”
The highlight of my week started outside of the shop as we traveled to Tyrone, PA to watch my son Tyson compete in the 38th annual Lezzer Lumber Football Classic. It's an all star game for the best players from nearly 20 different schools from the western part of the state. It was great to see him as the key focal point of the offense early on and it was even better to see him … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: One Last High School Game, Tons of New Card Releases, Job Juggling Car Accident, “Tenbanyama”
Shop Talk: Card App Woes, Low on Supplies, Topps Circling the Bases
It was an interesting week at the shop that started with a very informative interaction for one of our new our customers. A young man brought in a binder full of 1990 and 1991 football cards looking to make a deal. As you might imagine, there really wasn't anything we could use in any way, shape, or form, not even for a bonfire. Other than complete sets, which sell for … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Card App Woes, Low on Supplies, Topps Circling the Bases
Shop Talk: Pallets of Panini, Wild Wembanyama, More Older Football Boxes
It was a steady stream of delivery trucks dropping off boxes all week but one in particular had me fired up. Our latest shipment from Panini arrived--a full skid of new products that we expect will be of strong interest to our customers. The cases held every version of 2022-23 Optic Basketball and 2022 Optic Football and we ripped them open to fill our shelves and our … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Pallets of Panini, Wild Wembanyama, More Older Football Boxes
Shop Talk: 2003-04 SPx Basketball Flashbacks, Buying Bednar, Revisiting Upper Deck Football
It was another fun card filled a week at the shop.Early on, we had a customer come in from a nearby town with cards for us to look at and potentially purchase. Although he didn't have anything that we could really use, he and I got into a really cool conversation about the current sports card market. He was a former baseball player and got out of the hobby years ago, but a … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: 2003-04 SPx Basketball Flashbacks, Buying Bednar, Revisiting Upper Deck Football
Shop Talk: Work/Life Balance, No Wemby for Us, Young Dealer’s Act of Kindness
Tony Reid chronicles the happenings inside Sports Zone, the Central Pennsylvania store where he works. —– This past week at the shop was one where I definitely felt thankful to have people in place to have the work life balance that I do. My son was competing in the final district track meet of his high school career on Tuesday and Wednesday. My wife and my father went … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Work/Life Balance, No Wemby for Us, Young Dealer’s Act of Kindness
Shop Talk: Tatum Takes Over, New Branding, Kid Collectors Warm the Heart; Buying and Selling on the Side
Tony Reid chronicles the happenings inside Sports Zone, the Central Pennsylvania store where he works. —– There has definitely been some good-natured ribbing back-and-forth in the shop over the last couple of weeks between the owner and I as he is a Boston Celtics fan, and I'm a Philadelphia 76ers fan. As anyone who follows basketball knows, this Eastern Conference semi … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Tatum Takes Over, New Branding, Kid Collectors Warm the Heart; Buying and Selling on the Side
Shop Talk: A Week of Sports Card Boxes Overdelivering (Really)
It was another fun week and one in which I had the opportunity to focus pretty heavily on the sports card side of our business. That always makes me happy and fulfilled within those four walls of our shop. We had a lone box of 2022 National Treasures NASCAR sitting on the shelf for seemingly 500 laps, so as the price continued to drop close to our cost or below, we … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: A Week of Sports Card Boxes Overdelivering (Really)
Shop Talk: Copping Cool Card Collections, ShipStation Snafus, Soccer Scams
Tony Reid chronicles the happenings inside Sports Zone, the Central Pennsylvania store where he works. —– With the shop's owner again traveling out of state, we were in charge of keeping the ship from heading into any potential icebergs or even choppy waters for that matter. One of the more heartwarming and sweet stories of the week was when I noticed a note one … [Read more...] about Shop Talk: Copping Cool Card Collections, ShipStation Snafus, Soccer Scams