Topps is holding its own “Industry Conference” next month in Arizona. Few details have been released, but it’ll be held February 18-20 at Crooked Stick Resort in Scottsdale. Designed for hobby shops and other collecting-related businesses, the conference includes guest speakers, breakout panels, receptions and other events “to share ideas and help businesses … [Read more...]
Card Shop Q&A: American Legends is 25 Years Old and Counting
George H.W. Bush was president. Tiger Woods was playing in his first PGA Tour event--at age 16. Joe Gibbs and Marv Levy were your opposing Super Bowl coaches. It was 1992 and a young collector named Mark Rubin decided to open his own sports card and memorabilia shop. The name has changed since then, but Mark and his wife Donna are still buying and … [Read more...]
Q&A: Fond Memories Spur New Florida Hobby Shop
Collectors on the east coast of Florida have a new hangout. Long-time collector Ron Gustafson has opened a new shop in Sebastian, between Vero Beach and Melbourne. Originally from Brooklyn, Gustafson opened MVP Sports Cards and Collectibles this fall. In the latest of our ongoing series of Q&A sessions with sports card store owners, he discussed his … [Read more...]
Card Shop Q&A: Dugout Dreams Finds Success with Old and New
In the latest of an ongoing series of Q&A sessions with sports card shop owners, we catch up with Sean O'Rourke of Dugout Dreams at 45 Padanaram Road in Danbury, CT. Tell us a little about the history of your store. I have been here since 1996 over 21 years at a brick and mortar location. We’re on a main road in a small strip mall with ten other … [Read more...]
Card Shop Q&A with ‘The Rookie’
There may not be as many sports card shops as there were in the "boom" period of the late 1980s and early 90s but as a recent Facebook thread revealed, there are still plenty of successful stores and collectors who spend time in them. As part of our ongoing series of Q&A sessions with card shops around the country, we connected with Tony Kirby of The Rookie, a … [Read more...]
Louisville Sports Cards Fills Void With New, Old
Chris Buckler of Buckler Sports Cards has been a fixture behind the tables at some of the hobby’s major shows. He’s a regular at the National Sports Collectors Convention. He also buys and sells online through eBay and his own established website. Over the winter, though, he took on a new venture: co-owner of a card shop near his home in Louisville, … [Read more...]
Philadelphia Area Card Shop a Family Affair
We’ll continue our Q&A sessions with sports card shop owners with Lee Goldinger, owner of SwamiLee’s Sportscards in Mt. Laurel, NJ, outside Philadelphia. How did you come up with the name Swamilee? People often ask me what is a Swamilee? In the mid 1990s, I produced S.L.A.M., The Starting Lineup Advisory Magazine. I had more than 500 subscribers and the … [Read more...]
Ramblings: PA Shop Owner Still Going After 24 Years
Sometimes Facebook lets us reconnect with family, friends or hobby acquaintances from the past. Recently, thanks to a post on the Sports Collectors Daily Facebook page, we were able to catch up with long-time store owner Warren Wolk. I have known Warren for almost 20 years now as he was one of the first dealers to be an active poster on hobby news groups which was one of the … [Read more...]
Dallas Card Shop Celebrating 25th Anniversary
One of the hidden joys of my life is when my wife instructs me to go to Cindy's Deli at Coit and Campbell in Richardson to pick up Challah. While it is not that far to drive there, gong next door is even better as Nick's Sports Cards, which has been a neighborhood fixture for 25 years, becomes part of the trip. Whenever I go in and see Nick and Debbie Redwine and how they … [Read more...]
Luring Regulars, Tourists Part of Doing Business for Orlando Shop
When you see a sports card shop is located near a land known as the ‘happiest place on earth’, where 17 million visitors come each year, you might think the owner has it easy. Open the doors, let the tourists flood in, make enough money to hire some good help, sit back and watch the profits roll in. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Maintaining a successful … [Read more...]