KS: What inspired you to open a shop in the UK?
BR: We’ve been doing shows for the last few years. With the growing number of shows and people within the hobby, we noticed a frustration that there’s nowhere in between the shows where people can spend a few hours, open some packs, flick through singles, meet up with other collectors in a more relaxed environment, and attend trade days and events catered to individual sports. Being from up north ourselves, we see the community that’s been built. So, we wanted to offer a space where people can do all of the above.
KS: What are you offering to your customers?
BR: We’ve got pretty much every base covered product-wise, from sports to TCGs, including sealed products, singles, graded cards, and all the supplies and accessories you can think of. In terms of services, we offer card prep and grading drop-off, a card consignment drop-off service, as well as streaming stations and a purpose-built six-person breaking table for in-person breaks. We’re planning to host 2-4 events every month, whether it’s trade days, events based around sports, or bringing some of the UK’s best businesses to host their own days.
LM: There aren’t many card shops around us, especially those that stock sports cards, so we wanted to create something worth traveling to. We felt that by working together, we had a better chance of making that happen. Rather than just using our resources to cover the bare minimum to open a shop, we believed that pooling our reputations, knowledge, and experience from within the hobby would give us the chance to thrive.
KS: What were some of the challenges you discovered in starting up your store?
BR: One of the biggest challenges was trying to preempt demand. We started with pretty much just our personal collections and our knowledge of selling our own cards at shows around the country alongside the main parts of the business. The last thing we wanted was for people to make the journey and feel it was wasted because we didn’t have something for them to look at. Since taking over the shop, we’ve acquired over 60,000 singles across all sports and TCGs, from modern to vintage.
LM: We’d say the hobby in the UK is very much in its infancy, or perhaps just growing out of it. We’re seeing more people take the leap to go full-time in the hobby, whether it’s streaming, breaking, or buying and selling singles, treating it more like a business. This is bringing a lot more money into the hobby, which in turn is benefiting collectors and helping the hobby grow from the inside. We’ve found that the UK always seems to be about 12-18 months behind the US, though that gap seems to be narrowing every day.
KS: Who are the biggest teams and athletes your collector base likes to chase?
BR: The local soccer teams seem to be the most popular: Leeds United, both Manchester teams and Liverpool. Individual players like Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden are also favorites. Additionally, we have a hub of Dallas Cowboys fans who can’t get enough of Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb at the moment.
KS: What does the hobby in Europe need to take another step forward?
LM: I think education would be a great step. This includes simple topics like how to compare prices, protect your cards, and how to grade, as well as more complex issues like the nuances of trading or negotiating bigger deals. The more knowledge and skills that can be shared throughout the community, the better everyone can grow.
KS: What is your biggest hope for your shop in a year?
BR: To still be open! Joking aside, we’d like the shop to have become a community hub for local collectors, giving them a place to enjoy the hobby for what it is to them. We’d also like to use our contacts to bring the best of what the UK has to offer in vendors and businesses to the shop, helping to grow the hobby from there.
Hobby Musings: New UK Shop Striving to Be Hobby Hub – More Resources
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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.
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