Hobby Musings: Loot Locker Brings a LCS to Your Mailbox – While many of us are used to getting our hobby packs at our local shop or retail store, many more still don’t have that option available to them. Enter The Loot Locker. A trading card subscription service, it allows a collector to get hobby trading card packs and other items delivered directly to your home. To find out more, I had the chance to catch up with Loot Locker founder Joel Richford. The following interview was conducted via email.
KS: What made you decide to begin The Loot Locker?
JR: I began The Loot Locker because I love collecting and ripping open packs, but I didn’t have a local card shop to go to. Online breaks and retail blasters were my only options if I didn’t want to spend the money ordering a full hobby box. I knew I wasn’t alone in this problem after talking to other collectors in break rooms and on social media. I starting planning and working on my idea and at around the same time, a different collecting subscription company started up and unfortunately for the buyers, it ended very badly with a lot of understandably angry collectors who had been burned. I was sure it ruined the idea I had so I was just going to try and forget it, but I couldn’t. I kept saying what if and thinking about it. I had to have emergency surgery and then two days later my dad passed away. It lit a fire in me that said I had to go for it and September marks the one-year anniversary.
KS: Each Loot Locker has a variety of goodies. For those who may not know, what you do get in a box?
JR: Inside a Loot Locker you will find hobby packs, some Ultra Pro supplies, candy and chances to win randomly inserted prizes like autos, relics and full hobby boxes.
KS: One of the cool features about them each month is the inclusion of Ultra Pro toploaders. How did you come to the decision of them including them in each box?
JR: Ultra Pro got a hold of me and we got it all worked out thanks to my friend Ivan (Lovegren) who had worked with them before. He mentioned to them what I was doing and saw that I was very dedicated to it and I was doing things honestly.
KS: Each sport you offer has a variety of packs each month. How do you select which packs/products to use?
JR: The packs that go in for the month are chosen by collectors everywhere via social media by voting for their top three from a list I post at the beginning of the month for each sport. I add up all the votes and the top three vote-getters are the ones that go in for that month.
KS: What kind of reception have you seen to them since starting up?
JR: The reception has been amazing and growing really fast! Word of what Loot Lockers are has started to 
spread like wild fire and it’s super exciting to be part of.
KS: A common concern and sometimes complaint is that the packs are searched and collectors don’t have a chance of pulling anything good, but there have been some great pulls that have come out of Loot Lockers. What do you think is the best hit pulled from a Loot Locker box?
JR: Wow, that’s a hard one to answer. It’s almost like asking which is your favorite of your children lol. There’s been so many 1 of 1’s and big autos pulled it’s hard to say. I think the Todd Gurley Superfractor from Finest and the Chipper Jones 1-of-1 button relic are up there on my list. There is a Hall of Fame on www.thelootlocker.com and it’s full of great pulls!
KS: Do you plan to offer any other sports or maybe even a non-sports release for Loot Locker in the future?
JR: Both a NASCAR and a non-sport Loot Locker is in the works as well as a Loot Locker Jr. that will be aimed more towards younger collectors and not just cards.
KS: Could you ever see yourself making a more expensive version of the Loot Locker?
JR: I’ve toyed with the idea of a higher end Loot Locker or a larger version Locker of what I already do.
KS: What is your eventual hope for what Loot Locker could be?
JR: In the future I’d love for Loot Locker to be considered a large, positive force in the collecting hobby.
KS: For anyone interested, how can someone go about ordering a Loot Locker?
JR: You can go to www.thelootlocker.com to order the sport, or sports you like. You can order one time for that month or subscribe and get that sport sent to you every month. They are $20 each Locker plus shipping. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me on Twitter or Instagram @thelootlocker and on Facebook search for The Loot Locker.
Hobby Musings: Loot Locker Brings a LCS to Your Mailbox – Loot Locker Unboxing on Go GTS Live
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
Hobby Musings: Loot Locker Brings a LCS to Your Mailbox
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