[northflacards]

I'm in Florida. Where are you looking to open?

Would be in Orange Park/Middleburg area, probably about 20 minutes south of jacksonville.

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Good luck to you!!

thank you!

[chevy man 22]

Don't plan on coming close to breaking even for a while and make sure you have at least 6 months preferably a years worth of rent/utility money stashed away before you sign anything. Most shops will fail within the first few months so if you can make it over that hump and stay open at least a year you should be able to at least break even consistently.

Just make sure you understand this shop will likely never bring home enough to pay all your shop costs plus regular bills/home upkeep. Also make sure you and your wife sit down and talk it over extensively because going into a venture like this especially if it doesn't pan out in the end can have a huge strain on the relationship. I know several guys who have attempted to do similar things in the past and their wives/girlfriends were all gung ho and excited for them until it was costing more to run the place than they were bringing in. The other person can quickly become resentful if they feel like they are the only ones working to bring money home while you get to go play with your ball cards/ toys or whatever it is that you've gone into business for.

Not to be a downer but just trying to keep it real. It really takes years and years of planning to get something like this off the ground.

[northflacards]

As long as I have enough cash for all the start up costs, those are my biggest worries. I know it will take some time to make any money at it, but as you said as long as I am keeping it near break even. It would not be my only job I would go straight from ups to the store, as I work early mornings so it would not be only source of my income. But these things are definitely things to keep in mind I know.

[shezdoni]

I'm gonna give you the best advice you will get, and sorry if i burst your rainbow, but don't waste your time or money, you will be out of business within 6 months, you can't compete with online distributors like Dave and Adams, blowout, atlanta sportscards etc..., for boxes, and cases, you won't be able to compete with places like ebay, checkoutmycards, etc.... on the net for individual cards, or set needs, etc...

Your expenses will eat up every penny you put into it, even before buying merchandise to sell, you will have rent/mortage payments, utilities, taxes, the insurance's that you will need to even be open will kill you on expenses alone, especially the liability insurance that will be required even before you open the doors to accept customers in case someone get's hurt, slips and falls, shot during a robbery attempt, etc..., then you have to collect and pay sales taxes, if you have employee's on the payroll, or even put yourself on the payroll, you will have to have an EIN number, Pay SS, Unemployment insurance, workmen's Comp insurance, etc

then there are the little things that always go wrong, that end up costing big expenses immediately, then if you plan on accepting credit cards, you have to pay a fee every month to all the issuers, visa, Mc, Amex, etc....., if you plan on accepting personal checks, the fee's it cost to collect the money owed to you if the check bounces, etc....., legal fee's and so forth.

Then to deal directly with the card companies, etc... Topps requires a minimum 10 case purchase with every order, Upper Deck, Panini, etc, all require a minimum case purchase with each order, usually 10 case minimum, and then you have to jump through hoops, to even get them to consider selling to you, and then you have to meet all of their requirements to sell those cases and boxes, etc...(it's not as easy as people think), you won't be allowed to sell boxes, or cases online, as they have limited the number of dealers that are allowed to do so (for new released stuff)

Unless you have $250,000 or more in liquid assets, after all your expenses to open, and monthly operating expenses, and can afford to be penniless, and not making ends meet and being able to pay the bills and support your family for at least 2 yrs, you will just be throwing away the money to the grinder.

if you really want to sell, then set up a website, very minimal exspense, and open an online store, just remember you have to keep your prices in line for what people will pay, and most buyers will not pay full BV or even Half BV, unless it is a card really needed for pc or a set.

[waynetalger]

Good luck with your shop

[osujeffrey]

Hey congrats!
I can not offer much from the point of running a shop, but I know as a customer what I like.

My LCS in Northern Illinois is one of the best.
I particullarly enjoy the box battles or local raffles that the shop has.
For example:
- Display 100 g/u and auto cards, & sell coinciding raffle numbers for them with a few big hits in the 100 (also a raffle at the end for an additional grand prize)
- sell 8x10's auto'd in envelopes as a raffle with a chance to win a few big ones like Mantle/etc.. At the end
- box battles and case breaks.

NETWORK!!! NETWORK! NETWORK! Email lists, go on Facebook etc... I love seeing big pulls from my LCS and love attending functions there. Make me feel welcome, and I will spend my money!

[pacrimcollectibles]

It would not be my only job I would go straight from ups to the store, as I work early mornings so it would not be only source of my income.

This is why it will fail. You absolutely cannot go into this type of venture thinking it will be a secondary priority behind another job. In order to make it successful you must be willing to make it your life, an average 12-14 hours per day of managing inventory, funds, bills, upkeep, and all that's in addition to having doors open and handling customer needs. You have to be open as much as possible to cater to consumer's hours and not expect them to match yours. Some people get off work at 5 while others have Wednesdays off. Others can only run errands on a Sunday morning after early mass. Nothing turns buyers off faster than being unable to enter a business in the first place.

I'll give you a perfect example that mirrors you. Seattle had a longtime dealer who ran a shop called Brown's Cooperstown who eventually decided to retire and sold what was a successful business with a large consumer base. The new owner believed that he could continue to maintain that level of profit while devoting limited hours so he could teach school and run his Sportlots account. The store was open during the afternoons only on most weekdays and closed by 5 pm. It was also closed Sundays through Tuesdays. It was closed forever within a year, the only shop within the city limits of the 13th largest market in the country. A shop with nearly 30 years of history behind it was gone in a year's time because an owner ran it like an afterthought.

[ktcardshop]

First you need to setup and try selling at a few shows to get a little bit of experiance, and most importantly... You cannot collect and sell at the same time because your customers will be looking for the same cards that you are.

Ray

[RobbinsDynasty]

I think you can collect and sell as a store at the same time as long as you stay on track on your collection and not to be so spread out.

[jacobystealshome]

This is why it will fail. You absolutely cannot go into this type of venture thinking it will be a secondary priority behind another job. In order to make it successful you must be willing to make it your life, an average 12-14 hours per day of managing inventory, funds, bills, upkeep,

without all the other stuff he mentioned, just this part is true for ONLINE sellers. brick and mortar have a lot more issues and things to deal with. i spend about 10-12 hours a day on my business. my appraiser work and GIS work are the secondary and tertiary sources of incomes...it wouldnt work the other way around