[swarmee]

Yes, one of the biggest complaints I have read from shop owners is that it's almost impossible to get new hobby cases from distributors. You can't just order the cases that will be big sellers; you have to buy lousy products just to have a chance at the normal stuff that sells. And even if you request 2 cases of a product, Topps or the distributor might cut your allocation down to 2 boxes and you have no recourse. With how box prices have been climbing sky high over MSRP, demand for cases is up, especially with all the people who have started Group Breaking online. They're willing to pay your distributor 30%-50% more for the same unopened case, because they can spread the costs over hundreds of buyers who are clamoring to pay 3x retail for the same box you're trying to buy and resell at a small margin.

You can do it, but not likely as a shop that caters to vintage collectors. You may want to branch out into Magic, Pokemon, Funko Pop toys, etc. You'll need table space for those guys to play their games or trade, since it's almost impossible to keep enough stock of the right cards to sell directly to them.

How much money are you willing to have wrapped up in inventory? How would you get a business loan? Ask yourself a lot of questions. You might want to start out having a sports card booth in an antique mall in your area to judge the level of interest. One of the big pros to doing that (or having a card shop) is that you have the best chance of someone telling you about their 90s basketball insert collection, or vintage collection they've been lugging with them through all their moves. The old adage says "you make money when you buy."