The Further Decline of Brick & Mortar...

[K-Nole]

Count me in as one of those that stopped in the 90's. 93 to be exact.
I returned in 2011, so I am just getting back in.
So what I am doing with my son, who is the reason I am back in the hobby, is putting sets together along with filling the 1994-2010 void of complete sets.

I live in Topeka, Ks.
We have 2 card stores, with one of those being one of the aforementioned, gamers store too.
The owners of both stores are extremely nice. However, neither has much vintage stuff, so i just buy my supplies from them. But again, both very kind.
What I have found, and you might check your local one, is that actually, the best place for vintage cards is actually, "Vintage Stock" here in Topeka.
They have a HUGE selection of 58 Baseball, a lot of other 50's stuff. HUNDREDS of 60's stuff and again 70's.
and all are priced at, or right around what you would pay on EBAY/Net.
So you might check that if you have one near you.

Another story thou. I vacation in Tampa, Fl. once a year. There is a store off of Indian Rocks Blvd and Walshingham Rd. I visited/found him this last vacation. He had a LOT of great vintage stuff. He was average on his kindness, not rude, but not overly pleasant either, just normal.
His prices were about $4-$5 over what EBAY/Net are, but I went ahead and paid it just to keep an old time dealer going. I felt it was my duty to over pay a bit just to keep a good old dealer happy. I got a nice 71 Carew, and a really good 61 & 65 Killebrew, all 3 for around $30 if i remember right.
So if you are around Tampa, Fl. go by and check him out.

[BruceinGa]

Originally Posted by K-Nole

So if you are around Tampa, Fl. go by and check him out.

We were in Tampa about a year ago and I tried to find a card shop. I used our gps and it lead us to a dead end.
I'll look a little harder next time, thanks.

[K-Nole]

Just put those roads in the GPS for that intersection, but put it in for Largo, Florida (NOT Key Largo, but just plain ole Largo, Fl.).

It is in a strip mall right behind a "Beef-O-Brady's" which is DELICIOUS and worth the stop as well

[BruceinGa]

Originally Posted by K-Nole

Just put those roads in the GPS for that intersection, but put it in for Largo, Florida (NOT Key Largo, but just plain ole Largo, Fl.).

It is in a strip mall right behind a "Beef-O-Brady's" which is DELICIOUS and worth the stop as well

Thanks, we have Beef-O-Brady's here also.

[BruceinGa]

Friends of mine closed their card shop in Raleigh about a year ago. I googled their name out of curiosity and found several customers that didn't like the owners
Apparently they did very well, able to sponsor a senior softball team for many years.

[DHogan]

When I first started collecting around 1990 or so, Dolloff Sports Cards had a brick and mortar store on route 1 in Portsmouth NH. From what I recall he had mostly pre-war cards. I had just started collecting the new over produced cards. I wish I had known better. He had a sign posted in his store where he would charge for his time if you had any questions about what he had for sale. Or vintage cards in general. He charged $1.00 a minute. I only know of 3 or 4 stores around Boston now.

[t206hof]

This topic hits close to home as back in the 80's and 90's I owned and operated a small card shop in a small city in Tx. It was quite an experience to say the least. Most of the folks that came into my shop were fine people and I still remember them well today. I always tried to do my best for everyone who walked through the door. After all it doesn't cost a penny to be nice to people.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by DHogan

When I first started collecting around 1990 or so, Dolloff Sports Cards had a brick and mortar store on route 1 in Portsmouth NH. From what I recall he had mostly pre-war cards. I had just started collecting the new over produced cards. I wish I had known better. He had a sign posted in his store where he would charge for his time if you had any questions about what he had for sale. Or vintage cards in general. He charged $1.00 a minute. I only know of 3 or 4 stores around Boston now.

I cannot imagine paying a store owner to talk about cards. That sign alone might cause me not to return.

[doug.goodman]

I travel for a living, and have been to hundreds of card stores all over the country. Very few people have been to more different card stores than me.

There have always been asshole owners, and there have always been super friendly owners. In my experience, the better stores had the nicer owners, although they sometimes had a veneer of asshole that you needed to peel away to get to the friendly guy.

The internet has of course pretty much ruined card shops, there is a shop close to me that used to be one of the top three stores in the country, with thousands of boxes of cards from all years and all sports, but they made a conscience decision near the beginning of online sales that they didn't care about the walk-in customer. Even their online customer gets to see stock images of most of their cards, so nuances are impossible to see. If you walk in and want to see a card, you have to type it into their computer, to check the inventory, and they will then go get it for you, no more looking thru boxes for that weird back variation. It was a business decision on their part, and I'm sure that it has worked out for them. But, they no longer get any of my money, not even for supplies.

I still go to stores on the road, but there are way less of them, and most of them are filled with shiny stuff, but when I find a good one, it sure is fun, and they sure are happy to see me.

Doug