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How to Open a Trading Card Shop with GTS Distribution
Posted by: | CommentsAs part of our continuing series on how to open a trading card shop, we spent some time with Lloyd Kee and Steve Snyder from GTS Distribution. Take a listen as they provide some tips on how to be successful in this industry as a shop owner and about how GTS Distribution can help a new shop.
Marcel Bilak owns Legacy Sports Cards in Las Vegas, NV and he works through GTS Distribution. Marcel was a sports fan, who became a collector, who then moved on to open an eBay store and then set up at shows. In 2007 he took all his experience and opened up his shop in 2007 and they have been going strong ever since. I asked Marcel to share some follow up questions we had:
Question: Why is planning so important before opening your store?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “I realized that if I wanted to open to a hobby shop that I would need a loan. The only way to obtain a loan is with a business plan. At first I almost had someone write it for me, but then realized that I would only be short changing myself. I ended up going to my local SBA branch and they helped me write my own plan.
“It took me six months to write the plan. I had never written one before and I learned that there wasn’t a financial institution in the country that was going to lend me money unless I did this right. In writing the plan I became very aware of all the sacrifices that I would need to make in my life and the limited amount of financial profit I would immediately realize in opening a new business.
“Armed with all the facts along with six months of planning and researching, I almost decided to not open my store. Reality set in with regard to how much time was needed to succeed and how disproportionate it was to the initial income. I made a calculated decision to move forward and I was well prepared to apply for a loan from any financial institute. Starting a new business can be scary, but if you take the time to prepare you know what you are getting into.”
Question: They say location is important, what are things a new shop owner should look at in terms of location?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “After I secured funding it took me eight months to find the right location. Since I had business plan I knew exactly the amount of rent I could pay for the first year and I would not budge from what I had set in my plan. My business plan was my guide to success and I was going to follow it precisely. So with that in mind I looked for a location in my preferred neighborhood, but only in my budget according to my business plan. It took a lot of time to find the right place, but it was well worth it. I choose a location with frontage to a major street that is across the street from a park where little league games are played and it is next to a sports bar.”
Waiting to find the right location at the right price for his storefront was a critical component of Marcel's success.
Question: How do you find good employees?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “I strongly believe that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Finding good employees in this business is very difficult. I was scouting talent all the way back when I was writing my business plan. The two things I was looking for were honesty and knowledge. I always go with trust before brains or ability.
“It took a long time to convince them all to come on board at my shop and it was costly, but I moved forward with idea that they were an investment that would yield profit in the future. They did and I know have the best card guys in all of Nevada working for me.”
Question: Why is it a good idea to bring players in for an in-store appearance?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “I think it is a good idea because your customers really love to meet their favorite players in person. It also creates a lot of mainstream buzz for your shop and you should always reach out to local media when you have a signing going on to help advertise it.
“In-store autograph signings will get customers to sign up on your email list and stop by to see who is coming next. I recommended sticking to Hall-of-Famers or current stars as they have a big draw. Make sure to ask your customers who they would like to see and then get working on making it happen.”
Question: With so many different products, it is hard to decide which new products you want to carry. How do you decide which products along with the quantity that you bring into the store?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “Here it becomes very important to know your customer. Every product solicitation that comes by desk is reviewed by my entire staff. We all decide together what we bring in and how much. We ask ourselves questions like, ‘Will this be a hot product?’ ‘Will set builders want this and therefore should we crack some of it and put it on the Beckett Marketplace?’ ‘Are the signatures on-card which our customers prefer?’ ‘Who are the key rookies who will help drive the product?’ ‘Do we have a particular customer or group of customers that have already inquired about the product?’ Questions like these lead to our final decisions for products.”
With the help of GTS, Marcel and his team do a great job of keeping their shelves stocked with offerings their customers enjoy.
Question: Why do you feel it is worthwhile to partner with a distributor like GTS?
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “I believe GTS is the largest distributor of trading cards in the U.S. They do not have any secondary interests, meaning they only sell sealed boxes and supplies to retail. They do not crack product and or sell cards. I know when I buy from them that my product is clean and since they are the largest they can provide me with Wal-Mart-like prices. They consistently beat pricing across the board.
“Their customer service is outstanding and they have always helped get through the hard times. From the salespeople all the way up to the owner, they are a first class organization. They are a very personable company that really care about their clients. Additionally they are only a one-day ship point to Las Vegas and getting product on time is key to being successful in this industry. I started with them five years ago and that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in this business so far.”
Question: There are things that will come up that are not in your business plan that can really cripple a business. Describe a time where something unforeseen came up and how you handled it.
Marcel at Legacy Sports: “A few years ago we were held up at gun point. They took our entire inventory of vintage cards, most of our current cards and hobby boxes. The economy was down and we were already struggling. That was a huge blow!
“It took us 90 days for our insurance to pay us for the loss. GTS did everything they could to help me keep our shelves stocked in the meantime. No matter how much they helped, our store was still half empty and our card inventory was also extremely low. For about three consecutive months we were unable to meet our customer’s needs in an economy that was unforgiving. I almost gave up more than once, but my love for the hobby kept me going, along with my great staff. Hard times do not discriminate, but how you deal with them speaks volumes about your character. We persevered and are not going anywhere.”
For more information about GTS Distribution, please visit their website, their Facebook page or their Twitter page. For more information about Legacy Sports Cards, please visit their website, their Facebook page or their Twitter page.
Looking for more information on how to open up a trading card shop of your own? Check out other stories on how to open up a shop here:
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Southern Hobby
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 1
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 2
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Grosnor Distribution
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Magazine Exchange
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Sports Images
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Universal Distribution
The information provided in this story is for assistance only and is not intended to be and must not be taken alone as the basis for an investment decision. Opening a trading card store, like any other business, presents certain risks for the business owner. Each reader of this information should make such investigations as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment.
Popularity: 1% [?]
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Universal Distribution
Posted by: | CommentsAs part of our continuing series on how to open a trading card shop, we spent some time with Angelo Exarhakos from Universal Distribution. Take a listen as he provides some tips to be successful in this industry as a shop owner and about how Universal Distribution can help a new shop.
Angelo has a fair amount of experience with insurance and why that is important for a trading card shop owner. Take a listen to what he had to share on that subject:
CloutsnChara is a hobby shop in Kitchener, Ontario that works through Universal Distribution. I asked their owner Geoff Connolly to share some follow up questions we had:
Question: Why is planning so important before opening your store?
Geoff at CloutsnChara: “Planning is essential because you have to know what direction you want your business to go. I have always been a big believer of ‘evolve or die’ and planning out your routes, contacts and what you want to achieve will get you there. It is important to plan for the unexpected as well. Currently our store is open from 10 a.m. to Midnight every day of the week which is 98 working hours per week. You have to have complete dedication in your job and the will to keep improving, learning and building as you get started in this business.”
Question: They say location is important, what are things a new shop owner should look at in terms of location?
Geoff at CloutsnChara: “Location is quite important for any business, but especially for this industry. It is important to be in a market where there are teams and interest in sports if you want to open a trading card shop. We are currently one hour away from the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors and Argos. Having those teams playing year round keeps the buzz going for our business as well.
“Also, when it comes to location you want to know if there are other shops in the area. It is probably not a very good idea to open a shop right on top of another shop that has an established clientele. It is very difficult to win over collectors from an established shop. It is important to work with shops in the area if you can however. Creating a mutually beneficial relationship with them where you are sending customers to each other is a great thing.”
In your planning, make sure you find a location where there is a strong interest in sports among the population.
Question: How do you find good employees?
Geoff at CloutsnChara: “Unfortunately there is no specific formula to find ‘good’ employees. What we have found successful is to find fellow collectors and bring them to the other side of the counter. Having staff that can relate to your customer and guide them to the correct product they are looking for it is really important.”
Question: There can be negativity in this industry. Why is it important to protect your customers from that negativity and keep things positive in the shop?
Geoff at CloutsnChara: “This is very true, there is can be an incredible amount of negativity in this industry, but it is our job to show the positives about it. We won’t always be able to keep our customers happy, but it is important to remember why we love this hobby. Waking up to realize I love going to work each day and there is real growth opportunity in this industry give me tons of energy that I try to pass on. I have been very fortunate to build some great contacts over the last few years and it has opened my eyes up greatly. It has also made me realize that our hobby is going in a positive direction. That is important to share with our customers. And if the customers are happy, they are more likely to spend their hard earned money with you.”
Keep things positive in your shop. Embrace your customers and give back. Happy customers will spend more freely with you.
Question: Why is working through a partner like Universal Distribution important?
Geoff at CloutsnChara: “Not only do they provide a great assortment of products, but the service we get from Universal is second to none. Unfortunately in our industry distributors are rarely recognized for all their hard work, service, advice, etc. They are an incredibly resource for hobby shop owners. Working with Universal Distribution for Cloutsnchara has been our best decision we have had made as of yet.”
Looking for more information on how to open up a trading card shop of your own? Check out other stories on how to open up a shop here:
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Southern Hobby
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 1
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 2
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Grosnor Distribution
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Magazine Exchange
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Sports Images
The information provided in this story is for assistance only and is not intended to be and must not be taken alone as the basis for an investment decision. Opening a trading card store, like any other business, presents certain risks for the business owner. Each reader of this information should make such investigations as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I was in Las Vegas and I couldn’t sleep. Not because I was eager to wake up and visit a world-famous buffet the next morning or to hit the tables in hope of making big bucks, but because I was excited about trading cards. I guess that means I am officially a dork, but that is what happens at the Las Vegas Industry Summit. You are thrust into rooms with some of the most successful people in our business and it is just truly inspiring. As I tried to go to sleep each night, I frequently woke up to write down a different idea for a new product or program that had stemmed from conversations throughout the day. And over the past two days I’ve been trying to organize them while planning meetings with key staff members to hopefully bring some of these ideas to fruition.
Upper Deck had a Home-Base booth with all sorts of cool items on display like new Michael Jordan and LeBron James signed items from Upper Deck Authenticated. We also had a huge display of Entomology and Animal Kingdom Patch cards from Goodwin Champions. Even some of the Civil War memorabilia and press sheets from 2012 Goodwin Champions were on display and shop owners loved what they saw!
We got some great feedback during those Home Base sessions with the hundreds of retailers in attendance and had the chance to give back to them with a special raffle on Tuesday night where we gave away twenty items they could use to run promotions in their shop!
Here's the big winner from the Tuesday raffle who scored a 2011 NHL Rookie Showcase signed helmet!
The big day for Upper Deck however really took place on Monday when we were able to present to close to 200 Certified Diamond Dealers in attendance. We shared information about the success of our new distribution program that allows these shops to compete on service instead of price. Additionally we ran through slides of several of our new products and there were “Ooooohs” and “Aaaaaahs” from those in attendance as they saw new products revealed like 2011 Exquisite Football, 2011-12 Exquisite Basketball, 2012 Upper Deck Football and 2012 All-Time Greats Sports Edition. You can look for more details on those soon!
For me it was exciting to share some new marketing ideas for those in attendance that would hopefully allow them to create more awareness for their business. My favorite moment however was when I awarded the Steve James Award to Wayne Wagner, the owner of Wayne’s Sports Cards in Edmonton, Alberta. Steve James owned The Bullpen and was a very creative hobby shop owner who did a lot of great things for our industry. When he passed away, we felt it was important to do something to keep his memory alive. There were a lot of shop owners in that room that deserved an award for their efforts in serving as positive ambassadors to our products. In the end, Wayne modeled a lot of the great behaviors that made Steve James such a positive role model in the industry. It was a special moment and I think Steve would have approved of our selection.
Wayne Wagner of Wayne's Sports Cards was awarded the annual "Steve James Award" from Upper Deck.
We concluded the meeting by sharing a random autograph card with those in attendance crated specifically for this show. These Las Vegas Industry Summit cards are extremely rare with no card having more that 30 copies. There were also rare dual signed cards as well featuring Michael Jordan paired with Wayne Gretzky, Adrian Peterson with Gale Sayers, Wayne Gretzky with Bobby Orr and LeBron James with Magic Johnson. Shop owners were like kids as they pulled their rare Upper Deck autograph card from a special black UDA pouch. Take a look!
There were a variety of panels throughout the week that really served to help educate and inspire. I really enjoyed visiting with others at their Home Base booths discussing ways we could potentially help each other. Grant Sandground (one of our key product managers) and I took some time out to appear on Cardboard Connection Radio which was a lot of fun as we went through some new products and programs with fans.
We left inspired with a variety of exciting new programs we hope to reveal in the coming weeks. Actually, I just shared one of them yesterday. If you are a hobby shop owner that made it to the event, let us know what inspired you about the show in the comment section below.
And for those of you who didn’t make it, here is your opportunity to own a rare Las Vegas Industry Summit autograph card of Gale Sayers. The whole event is really about how to make the hobby better, how to put out better products, offer heightened levels of service, etc. So since you couldn’t be there to share, we want you to share right here. Please leave a comment below with your great idea to help make the hobby better. It can be an idea about our products, our programs, our staff, pretty much anything. We will select our favorite idea on Monday, March 26 and reward the Sayers card to that customer. You can submit more than one idea if you like, just don’t copy another fan’s idea.
Share your great idea to help make the hobby better and you may just add this Gale Sayers autograph card to your collection. Add your idea to the comment section below!
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How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Sports Images
Posted by: | CommentsAs part of our continuing series on how to open a trading card shop, we spent some time with Daryl McKay from Sports Images. Take a listen as he provides some tips to be successful in this industry as a shop owner with promotions, finding the right location and how to stock your shop.
Daryl was also kind enough to answer some follow up questions for us:
Sports Images' corporate headquarters in Woburn, MA.
Question: What should the focus be of a new store?
Daryl at Sports Images: “I think the main focus should be to remember that stores make money selling product. The more of an item you can profitably sell, the more you will make. The majority of your time and effort should be spent attracting customers and making it a fun and easy store for consumers to buy items. Consolidating your buying into fewer sources saves you time, and time is money.”
Question: What resources should shops use to stay updated on new products and programs?
Daryl at Sports Images: “Subscribing to industry emails and blogs is a really good idea. As is becoming a fan or following key manufacturers and industry experts on Facebook and Twitter. As a store owner your customers will expect you to be on top of the latest news!
“Sports Images hosts a regular webinar series that allows retailers to interface with manufacturers as well as other retailers. It is a great time to share ideas, learn about new products or enhancements and new promotions! Our next one is coming up on March 27, 2012 at 10am EDT with Upper Deck. Give us a call at (781)938-4340 to learn how you can take part!”
Question: Should I be selling more than just trading cards?
Daryl at Sports Images: “YES! I believe offering a diverse selection of products will provide you a great opportunity to increase sales and your customer base. We offer over 20,000 items in addition to trading cards for this reason. You may not start out having an autographed Michael Jordan UDA basketball in your case, but it is a good idea to know who to call quickly when that sales opportunity comes up! And you are going to want to have some memorabilia on display for sale. You may not sell it immediately, but it helps to add to the décor of the shop.
You are not going to sell a signed Michael Jordan framed photo every day, but having great regional sports memorabilia on display in your shop is a great way to merchandise your store and get people asking about these items.
“We go to many trade shows as well to showcase great new items besides just trading cards! We hope to see you at one of the shows too! They are a great opportunity for stores to see new items and learn more about the business.”
Question: What other products besides memorabilia should I look at carrying?
Daryl at Sports Images: “We are pleased to work with all of our vendor partners to create new and exciting licensed items. Our goal is to work together to innovate so that your fans are always excited about the product mix in your store. One of the hottest new items for 2012 is the OYO. This great mini figure is licensed by MLB and the MLBPA and we have hundreds of players available – all limited editions, all with DNA codes for added web authenticity. This mini figure is compatible with all building block sets. Fans can collect an entire team or a group of All Stars.”
For a trading card shop it is important to always stock the new, hot items. Your customers will ask you for them, so it is critical you partner with suppliers who can get them for you.
Besides just offering webinars to his customers, Daryl and the Sports Images team do a great deal with regard to promotions for their shops. Last season we partnered together to run a pack attack event throughout New England and the results were great. Make sure that you ask the distributor(s) you partner with about what types of promotions they offer and can help you out with.
Looking for more information on how to open up a trading card shop of your own? Check out the first stories on how to open up a shop here:
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Southern Hobby
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 1
How to Open a Trading Card Shop from a Shop Owner’s Perspective – Part 2
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Grosnor Distribution
How to Open a Trading Card Shop with Magazine Exchange
The information provided in this story is for assistance only and is not intended to be and must not be taken alone as the basis for an investment decision. Opening a trading card store, like any other business, presents certain risks for the business owner. Each reader of this information should make such investigations as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Do you have trading cards just sitting around collecting dust? Are you looking to get rid of your trading cards, but just don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to sell them online? Are you a mom who wants to get rid of your son’s cards, but doesn’t want to catch grief for throwing them out? Do you want to help make a young child in need smile? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have a great program for you!
Trade your cards for smiles!
Cards2Kids is a non-profit charity that has really established themselves over the last year as an amazing organization that specializes in gifting trading cards to kids in children’s hospitals in particular. They have now delivered cards (or will be delivering in the next two months) to 15 different children’s charities.
Through donations from collectors like you, they have now collected over 1,000,000 cards that will be repackaged and shared with young children who could really use a smile. They have received packages of trading cards from 15 states in the U.S. and 3 provinces in Canada. They recently launched a revamped website and are continuing to acquire fans on Facebook.
What makes the story of their rapid growth and success so sensational however is that the organization’s founder has not even graduated from high school yet. That’s right; the charity was started by John Makowiec who is currently a sophomore in high school.
Founder John Makowiec has helped to bring smiles to deserving children by sharing the hobby he loves.
“I’m a huge fan of sports cards myself, I’ve been collecting them since I was five,” said John Makowiec, founder of Cards2Kids. “And I really just wanted other kids to be able to have the same opportunity to enjoy sports cards as I have. Especially kids in hospitals and Boys & Girls clubs.”
John being interviewed by Beckett Media at the 2011 Sports Cards & Collectibles Expo in Toronto, ON.
Upper Deck partnered with the Cards2Kids for the 2011 Sports Cards & Collectibles Expo in Toronto for a donation drive and we were blown away by the amount of cards dealers and collectors shared for these kids. Seeing the Cards2Kids crew in action was truly inspiring and they worked hard all weekend to collect, sort and repack cards they delivered to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. We are excited about the prospect of working with them again in the future at other shows, but for right now, we are calling on our collectors and hobby shops to help!
Making the delivery to the charity makes all the hard work worthwhile.
How Collectors Can Help Cards2Kids
Donate Time: This is what the charity needs most. Time from volunteers to help sort and repack the thousands of cards the charity receives in. The charity is based in the Chicago, IL area, but they are growing and they have three stores who are official partners (two in IL, one in NJ). Giving time to help them get these cards organized, counted and repackaged while trying to make sure they are not damaged would be a huge help. They are planning sorting and packing days throughout the year so make it a point to help!
Donate Money: The charity needs financial assistance to purchase marketing materials, boxes, labels, website maintenance and more. Anything you can provide will help in getting these cards to kids who need them and increasing awareness for the program.
The Cards2Kids team can really use team bags to help repackage the cards they receive. For every pack of 100 bags you send, you help to provide 100 smiles on deserving kid's faces!
Donate Materials: The charity is in desperate need of team bags most commonly produced by Ultra PRO. UltraPRO has kindly made a donation to Cards2Kids before, but they have worked through that inventory and now could definitely use more. Most charities will not accept loose cards so it is critical they have the supplies need to repackage the cards so they can get to kids.
Donate SEALED packs: Some charities will not accept cards that have been resealed. If you have packs that are sealed, the team at Cards2Kids can definitely make good use of them. These can be from any sport, from any year.
Donate loose cards: Please package them in a manner to decrease the likelihood of damage to them. In particular the Cards2Kids team is requesting cards from the year 2000 and later. They have received a tremendous amount of cards from the ‘80’s and ‘90’s apparently and would like to mix in newer cards for the kids with athletes they may be a little more familiar with.
Ask Your Hobby Shop to Get Involved: As they look to expand the program, they need partners in different cities to help serve as donation centers. Ask your local hobby shop to serve as a donation center and offer to help get them started.
Help Increase Awareness for the Charity: This is a great story that unfortunately people just do not know about. Use the power of social media to share what they are doing. Please tweet to sources at ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, The Chicago Tribune and other and post information about the charity on their respective Facebook pages. Reach out to athletes and let them know as well. Maybe make a YouTube video to help create awareness as well. The more exposure we can create, the more children we can help!
How Hobby Shops Can Help Cards2Kids
Donation Centers will receive a window cling that promotes the program in their store and more!
Become a Donation Center: The Cards2Kids team is passionate about taking this program to a new level by adding hobby shop partners throughout the U.S. and Canada to serve as donation centers. But they need to be the right partners. They are looking for shops that will serve as advocates for their cause in the community and collect cards on their behalf. They are looking for shop owners to host sorting and packing days to help get the cards organized. They need the shop owner to send them the cards or to actually make donations on their behalf to new charities in their region. If you run a full-time, brick and mortar hobby shop and want to get involved with a program that will help give back to kids in need, please contact the Cards2Kids team!
Reach out! Let them know you are willing to help by contacting the Cards2Kids team by clicking here!
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