Bricks and Mortar
DRC - my guess is the shop in Seattle you refer to is Gasoline Alley. If that's the case, while I agree they have a fine selection of vintage sports items, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of their sales are not from walk-ins - they come from print and internet advertising, as well as a network of buyers established over 30 years in the toy and sports memorabilia hobbies.
When talking about sports items, we're talking about different categories - available/cheap, available/expensive, rare/cheap, rare/expensive. For the expensive items, a seller always wants to maximize his/her exposure; for cheap items time and costs become bigger issues. I think the "only" way to operate a successful storefront in this hobby today is to have it tied to a strong internet business - when you're not dealing with your in person customers, you're managing eBay auctions, your web store, etc. And, as many store owners discovered, you may find yourself making more money of the web and wondering why you pay those bills every month.
Jeff
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09-26-2009, 10:47 AM
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