[drcy]

Where I live there was a shop attached to a house. Except I never realized there was the house half, until I looked around the fence.

If you live there and are already dealing online in the stuff you are selling, a shop might be reasonable.

I think vintage baseball cards is too narrow to run a store on its own. In fact, I'm sure it is. But if a shop of some sort is used in addition to your already successful online business, I could see that. If you're already going to be there sorting and cataloging cards for your online business, I can see how it would make sense to allow someone to walk in through the door and buy something in person.

Starting a business for purely sentimental reasons rarely works. It has to be business smart too. I only see a physical shop as viable if you're already doing very well selling online and the physical shop is just an addition to your already successful busness, or really anticipate having it as a coffee shop.

For most people, owning a baseball card shop really is just a quaint sentimental idea from childhood that has nothing to do with business sense. I'm sure many women have also always wanted to own a pony too. Amazon started selling books, because Jeff Bezos coldly calculated books was the best product to sell online. It was irrelevant whether or not he was a bookworm.

But, as I said, I can see instances where opening up a physical shop could make business sense. If you own a unopened box wholesale distribution business, I can see how opening up a small retail shop at the site could make sense. You could not only sell smaller portions to the locals, but it could serve as local advertising to your wholesale side. Similarly, a small shop could help get the word out to locals about your online eBay and website selling. Even for locals who prefer to shop online, it would still be cool to see the items in person and to pick them up in person.