Mint Musings: Dave and Adam’s New Store Offering More Than Just Sports – Some people go skydiving for their 30th birthday. Others go to Atlantic City. Me? I take a road trip north to go visit Dave and Adam’s gigantic new card store in New York.

DaveAdamsTrip (6)Opened earlier this year in June, the store is over 40,000 square feet in size. At first glance, it looks more akin to a department store than a card store. That notion was quickly dispelled though when entering and seeing row after row of sports memorabilia, apparel and non-sports collectibles.

While chatting with company CEO Adam Martin, I asked him why they made the decision to move to such a large space. According to him, three of their old stores, including their best location, had expiring leases. This opened up the opportunity to scout out new locations. While they could have stayed with similar space sizes, he said they liked the idea of getting a bigger space and turning it into something special.

I can honestly say I’ve never seen such a large card store. As one might expect, Dave and Adam’s features a DaveAdamsTrip (15)large amount of sports memorabilia and a variety of trading cards. The front counter and showcase offers box after box of new releases supplemented by some older products at lower prices. More rows by the front counter hosted several other boxes and packs.

Martin said one priority of the store was to have the boxes priced at the same amount, if not lower, than the prices the company features for the same products at online. Martin said part of the reason for this was to give people another reason to come to the store. While this has led to a slight dip in their online business from local customers, it’s had the benefit of attracting more people to the store, oftentimes more than once. According to Martin, “Once somebody comes to the store, whether they enjoy sports cards or comics, they tend to come back.”

DaveAdamsTrip (2)The extra space in the new location has allowed Dave and Adam’s to feature a large amount of memorabilia in the store, including several framed pieces on the walls. I was particularly amused by the autographed Mike Tyson Punch-Out photo on the wall. Beyond that, there were also several other nice signed photos and high-end autographed jerseys on the walls.

As many cards as there are in the store, they actually only make up a small portion of the inventory. When asked about the reason for this, Martin replied that those kinds of items can realistically only fill so much space in such a large location. With that in mind, he said the added space allowed them to carry product lines, such as vintage toys and comic books, they couldn’t carry before. It also allowed them to devote a large amount of space to apparel items such as Buffalo sports clothing and sporting wear. This is a nod towards their local customer base, which has always known Dave and Adam’s as a fan store.

The non-sports items were a bit of a surprise given Dave and Adam’s reputation as a sports card company. While DaveAdamsTrip (8)walking through, I noticed the back half of the store was devoted to non-sports items. I was especially surprised to see graded copies of first issues for both X-Men and The Walking Dead among the store’s comic book inventory. Some of the toys provided nostalgic memories, though they had me regretting not keeping them in the original packing when seeing some of the prices. Dave and Adam also did a nice job of getting some decorative items as talking points in the store. I have to admit that I was amused by the giant Batman statue greeting customers into the back.

Besides plenty of items for sale, Dave and Adam’s also has many areas for people to be able to enjoy themselves. This includes an area with several tables where people can sit and play a variety of games. There’s also an arcade area for kids to play in. Martin said that when kids come into the store, a greeter gives them a stack of tokens to be able to go in the back and play games for free.

DaveAdamsTrip (11)The whole family-friendly atmosphere was something that Martin stressed repeatedly while talking. With the snowy weather in the Buffalo area, people don’t always have somewhere to go and have an enjoyable time. With their new store, Dave and Adam’s is striving to fill that need. Taking a page out of stores such as Barnes and Noble, Martin said that while it’s appreciated, customers don’t have to feel pressured to come in the door and buy something. They can come in simply to hang out in a relaxing, friendly atmosphere and have an enjoyable time.

Martin said reception to the new location has been overly positive. Despite having a large, packed store, they would like to add more attractions. Beyond adding to their arcade area with more interactive games, Martin said a snack bar could be in the store’s future. He also stressed that they’d like to add more product lines that make sense for their region. Martin summed it up by saying, “While the store looks full to me, we have room to add more.”

While he wouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility, Martin did say adding another store of similar size was unlikely. If they do add another one and it’s anything like their current store, it would certainly be a welcome addition to the hobby world for collectors of all backgrounds.

Mint Musings: Dave and Adam’s New Store Offering More Than Just Sports – Image Gallery


Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan as the producer of ESPN’s Mint Condition has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on the hobby in Mint Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
Kelsey Schroyer

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