[talkntribe]

I stopped by my local card shop today. Got to talking to the owner and asked him how business is these days. He said slow due to ebay and online selling.

I asked him how does a lcs profit from selling but wouldn't tell me. Sorta changed topic. Do they have a vendor license? I don't see them paying retail for a box and selling it for the same. Just wondering how much of a deal they prolly get from the card companies. I bet a case would be cheaper to them than the public.

Any ideas?

[keyser soze]

If your LCS owner is saying business is bad because of eBay then he is lying. eBay has been around and popular for 15 years, so LCS's were forced to alter their business model and adapt to eBay's presence or they shut their doors long ago. The economy is horrible and that's probably why he's struggling today.

I can tell you that thir margins are slim. Card shops used to make good money because they were the only place to buy singles so they controlled the market, and eBay took that control out of their hands and put it in the hands of the collectors. Most shops these days supplement their store business with eBay

[john1580]

Im not sure how much they pay, but when i talk to my lcs guy he always says that its hard to keep the lowest prices for his customers and make a profit for himself but he tries

Like any business, im sure he gets them alittle cheaper and marks them up as much as he can where they will still sell ....He also really likes when i pay him in cash, whenever i come in with cash the price drops drastically...i never pay with credit anymore

[frostycollects]

I really, really miss the presence of card shops and LCSs (where comics were like 90%+ of their inventory) in the 80s...

You would sense the strong aura of rarity from many cards at card shops before the Internet Age...I miss that, too.

But yeah, the economy and the shrinking readership are big factors leading to the demise of LCSs nowadays.

[ELevin99]

Of course LCS get boxes directly from the companies themselves or from wholesale distributers. Orders usually need to be made in bulk and cases of cards cost thousands of dollars. To get cards directly from panini, topps, or upper deck an LCS has to have a minimum amount they order monthly. Add in the cost of rent or maintenance for the shop and it is not a very successful business model. It is the same as blockbuster, cd stores, book stores, etc. Not just the card industry. The internet has revolutionized the way every industry does business. You used to see all these stores on every corner and now they are few and far between just like cards shops.

They also have to pay taxes on what is sold, so you paying cash the LCS does not need to claim that income nor do they have to pay the 2.5- 3% charged by visa, mastercard, paypal, etc.