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We love to spotlight shops that are doing the right things that collectors should visit. For collectors in the San Antonio area I would highly suggest checking this shop out if you haven’t! This shop has everything to offer from singles, autographed memorabilia, to San Antonio’s largest selection of wax boxes from the last twenty years. Above and beyond all that, Charlie DiPietro goes the extra mile to make sure his customers have a great experience when they visit his store. Here’s his story!

Charlie DiPietro's Sports Cards Plus shop is a place sports fans must visit if they are in San Antonio, Texas.

Sports Cards Plus

2239 Lockhill-Selma Road

San Antonia, TX 78230

(210)524-2337

Hours: Mon-Sat: 11am – 7pm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sports-Cards-Plus/138669356152896

Website: http://www.sportscardsplussa.com/

“I started collecting baseball cards in 1957 at the age of nine. In my teenage years, cars, girls and saving for college put my card collecting on hold until 1982, when my ten-year-old son expressed an interest in collecting sports cards and revived my collecting interests. My two oldest boys and I would visit Mavericks, our favorite card shop in Dayton, Ohio at least once a week. We would make every card show within a hundred miles of Dayton, and I would visit card shops throughout the country whenever my engineering job sent me out of town on business.

“Ever since 1982, I planned to open a sports card shop someday with the help of my boys. With my boys by my side, in 1985 I started selling at card shows. I found that setting up a table at card shows was the ideal means to buy vintage cards at wholesale prices, but it seemed like I was always buying more than I was selling.

“In 1991 my wife, Norma retired from the United States Air Force. In March of 1992 we opened Sports Cards Plus at our current location in San Antonio, Texas. Norma ran the shop during the day while I continued my engineering career, and I worked the shop in the evenings and on weekends. In 2008 I retired from my engineering job and now do what I love to do full-time, play with my sports cards and talk with customers who love sports cards as much as I do.

There is plenty to see at Sports Cards Plus, expecially a great selection of sealed boxes!

“San Antonio has always been a basketball city, and in 2003 when LeBron James entered the NBA, my Upper Deck basketball sales went through the roof. In the fall of 2003, one of my frequent customers named Jeff came in and bought the last two packs from an open box of 2002-03 SP Authentic Basketball. Jeff’s second pack resulted in a Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson triple autograph card limited to just ten total copies! That is when we started counting Michael Jordan autos. Eight years later, we’re at 53 Upper Deck Michael Jordan autograph cards pulled at Sports Cards Plus boxes and still counting as 2011-12 SP Authentic is due out later this month. I’ve got a feeling we will be up to 56 Jordan Autographs within a month.

Charlie and Jeff were all smiles after Jeff pulled this amazing Michael Jordan multi-signed autograph card.

After Jeff's big pull, over 50 other Michael Jordan autograph cards have been pulled at Sports Cards Plus!

“Today, collectors can find every possible card on the internet. And through the internet, buyers can find the ‘cheapest prices in the world.’ Although overhead costs make it difficult from card shop owners to match or beat these prices, we pride ourselves on providing great service to our collectors to keep them coming back. We give new collectors honest advice on how to achieve their collecting goals. We provide a place where collectors can get together to have fun. And, we can provide assistance when someone’s collection needs to be sold.

Charlie hosts a variety of events and promotions to keep his customers engaged like this pizza party!

“Sports Cards Plus is your headquarters for sports cards and we have San Antonio’s largest selection of sports cards and memorabilia, serving the community for nearly twenty years. You can find hundreds of thousands of singles from the turn of the century to the present, autographed memorabilia pieces, and San Antonio’s largest selection of wax boxes from the last twenty years.

There is plenty to see at Sports Cards Plus! Stop in today!

“With the release of 2011 Upper Deck University of Texas Football, Sports Cards Plus will be running a variety of promotions we encourage you to come in and take advantage of. We will give away a variety of prized through random drawings through purchases and we will be giving away a grand prize of $100.00 to the person who pulls the most expensive card from 2011 Upper Deck University of Texas Football! So stop by this Fall to be a part of the promotion!”

Charlie will be running a variety of promotions around Upper Deck's new University of Texas Football set. Get excited Longhorns fans!