The owner of the shop spent this past week at his beach house in the Outer Banks which left me running the show. Zach helped out a few mornings early in the week and my guy Kyle was back Wednesday through Saturday to help out. It was bittersweet seeing Kyle leave Saturday as it was his last day with us he’s returning to Lancaster Bible College to finish out his senior year. As I’ve written here before, the interest in collectibles that’s resulted in more business for shops means it’s important to have great help and Kyle has definitely been that for us.
It was a fun week for sports card releases as we saw 2021 Certified Football for the first time. We also got the ever popular Topps Pro Debut for the season. Speaking of baseball we got Prizm Quick Pitch in this week as well.
The Certified release has been a popular product for us over the years and it started out of the gate hot again this year as well. I sold what we had of Pro Debut before I even got it priced and on the shelf, as that’s always a popular seller for us in the store and online. We really sold through our allotment of 2021 Prizm Baseball but Quick Pitch has sat on the shelf for a few days now.
We also received our first shipment of the new Flash helmets, many of which are pretty cool. We stock a huge selection of NFL and College helmets and mini helmets and they have always sold well for us. I’m excited to see more of the new Flash line.
To make room for some fast-selling items that aren’t traditional sports collectibles, we’ve been forced to clear out some lagging and lackluster items including our Fat Head selection. With that company now defunct we are just trying to sell through what remains of the hundreds and hundreds of Fat Heads we’ve had in stock for some time now. While it’s often important for hobby shops to carry a diverse inventory, some of those non-traditional items that aren’t necessarily “collectible” can become dead weight.
As you might imagine, the news of Fanatics securing the rights to produce sports cards in a few years has been a topic of conversation in the shop. While the details of how things will play out are still a mystery, there’s definitely some concern about what the future may hold. It’s interesting to hear some of what collectors are feeling as we head into what could be a game-changing next few years. We’re hoping Fanatics maintains and strengthens the relationship between cards and collectors through hobby shops as we are often the first point of contact for many new and re-engaged collectors.
Friday evening was a big night for the Reid household as I left work a few hours early to travel to my son’s first football game of the season. He starts on both sides of the ball and special teams at Altoona Area High School and this was his first varsity football game. It was a most definite can’t miss event it for my dad, my wife and I. The team won and beat their crosstown rival for the first time since 2011 and they won for the first time on their opponent’s field since 2003. My son contributed in all three phases of the game. Seeing him in game action photos is like pulling his cards out of a pack. Pretty cool stuff for a proud dad.
Have a great week and I’ll be sure to check back in soon.
