Feel like crying

July 31, 2017, 04:44 PM

Don Norton

Feel like crying

Today is a sad day, my local shop that I've been going to for 24 years closed. Just couldn't make ends meet anymore.
The owner, John, became a good friend, he'd always give me a discount on anything I bought, and he always had the latest Rittenhouse,Panini and Topps products, plus always had all the supplies I needed. Got some of my best cards from him, and always from loose packs.Never went by for more than a week that I stopped by, and usually 3 or 4 times a week.
Some other Card Talkers have been to this shop, Prime Time Sports in Crystal Lake, IL, including Webjon, SteveTrek and Paul Bines.

I know a lot of you don't have a local shop but for me this was one of my favorite places, so I'll miss it.

July 31, 2017, 04:47 PM

cardaddict

I know the feeling, the shop I always went to closed a few years ago, and the owner absconded with over $400 of my money for cards I never received. I DID cry!

July 31, 2017, 05:14 PM

Tommy C

Very sorry to hear of that. There were many comic and card stores that I frequented back in the 1990s, but most have been gone for years

July 31, 2017, 07:25 PM

Raven

Being in a large metropolitan area, I can remember a time when there were 7 - 9 hobby related stores within a short drive and card shows every weekend. All long gone now, but I still have one good one open, only because that storeowner was smart enough to diversify beyond just comics and sports cards.

Even so, brick and mortar hobby stores have to be supported by any card collectors in the area or they will go out of business trying to keep up with online sellers who don't carry nearly as much overhead expenses.

A LHS can't be beat when it comes to buying things you didn't know you wanted or buying on impulse. Its just like what happened to the bookstores. In my area all of the chain bookstores have closed up, even Barnes & Noble. I use to browse those stores and buy everything, books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, whatever I saw that interested me. Now I can get those same things online, but you have to know what you are looking for and its not the same thing as shopping for what you find, if you understand what I mean.

I buy many things related to the hobby at my LHS that I would never look for online. So if that last one ever closes up I will be crying too. Be sure to support your stores if you have any in your area.

July 31, 2017, 08:54 PM

H_Toser

Sorry to hear this, Don. You have my sympathies.

July 31, 2017, 10:19 PM

webjon

Serious bummer. It always amazes me that even in a major metro area like the Chicago suburbs few of these shops can survive.

August 01, 2017, 02:39 AM

chesspieceface

Sorry to hear that. Went through the same thing about 5 years ago when our LCS (and comic shop) of 20 years shut down. I'm still friends with the owner, but I sure wish our visits featured him behind that counter...

August 01, 2017, 03:23 AM

catskilleagle

I know the feeling. I can't check out packs of anything but the latest Star Wars now and it's been that way around here for years. Some stores have closed but many comic/sport card shops are still open. They just carry little to no non-sports.

I was also bummed out in a big way when Tower Records closed. Some combination of my brothers, a cousin, and I used to go to the Cambell, CA store to see what was new every week and at least a couple of us would get a gift certificate for it for Christmas. Since their stores were open on Chriatmas, we'd all go after dinner. I bought my first albums there in around 1979-1980. I drove by where the Mountain View store was just today and thought about it while sitting at the light at that corner.

quote:
Originally posted by Don Norton:
Today is a sad day, my local shop that I've been going to for 24 years closed. Just couldn't make ends meet anymore.
The owner, John, became a good friend, he'd always give me a discount on anything I bought, and he always had the latest Rittenhouse,Panini and Topps products, plus always had all the supplies I needed. Got some of my best cards from him, and always from loose packs.Never went by for more than a week that I stopped by, and usually 3 or 4 times a week.
Some other Card Talkers have been to this shop, Prime Time Sports in Crystal Lake, IL, including Webjon, SteveTrek and Paul Bines.

I know a lot of you don't have a local shop but for me this was one of my favorite places, so I'll miss it.

August 01, 2017, 03:53 AM

catskilleagle

That is weird that even Barnes & Noble closed in such a well-populated area. B & N closed a couple of stores around here in the 5-6 years since Borders shut down but it still has at least four within an hour's drive. I remember when B. Dalton, Crown Books, The Booksellers, and Waldenbooks (plus Brentanos) were all doing well.

Yes, I know what you mean about having the ability to pull a book that catches your eye off the shelf and flip through it. You can't do that on Amazon. You can scroll through more books in a category than any store could possibly carry on a shelf, but yeah, it's almost impossible to stumble onto something unrelated to a search but still interesting enough to consider buying. Amazon and Ebay try to show you things similar to what you have bought, but just because I buy books about sharks, that doesn't mean I want every one. A few years ago, Bob Newhart's autobiography was published. I didn't know about it until seeing it among the new releases at B & N. Amazon couldn't have predicted I would want to read that nor the children's book version of one of Robert Frost's poems which I bought for my baby niece (who is now 14 but whom I still think of as a baby).

quote:
Originally posted by Raven:
Being in a large metropolitan area, I can remember a time when there were 7 - 9 hobby related stores within a short drive and card shows every weekend. All long gone now, but I still have one good one open, only because that storeowner was smart enough to diversify beyond just comics and sports cards.

Even so, brick and mortar hobby stores have to be supported by any card collectors in the area or they will go out of business trying to keep up with online sellers who don't carry nearly as much overhead expenses.

A LHS can't be beat when it comes to buying things you didn't know you wanted or buying on impulse. Its just like what happened to the bookstores. In my area all of the chain bookstores have closed up, even Barnes & Noble. I use to browse those stores and buy everything, books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, whatever I saw that interested me. Now I can get those same things online, but you have to know what you are looking for and its not the same thing as shopping for what you find, if you understand what I mean.

I buy many things related to the hobby at my LHS that I would never look for online. So if that last one ever closes up I will be crying too. Be sure to support your stores if you have any in your area.

August 01, 2017, 09:37 AM

David R

Back in the 1980s and 90s, I loved going to malls here in NJ and checking out B.Daltons and Waldenbooks. Now all are gone. I don't think there are any malls in this state with book stores anymore.

There are a few Barnes and Nobles on the highways, but even they are barely hanging on, from what I hear.

August 01, 2017, 10:14 AM

wolfie

I don't think there is a card store anywhere in the whole of the UK. There are a few which stock some cards but they are mainly gaming cards.

August 01, 2017, 11:16 AM

Raven

quote:
Originally posted by catskilleagle:
That is weird that even Barnes & Noble closed in such a well-populated area.

[/QUOTE]

B&N has a presence in Manhattan. They closed all the stores in the boros. There is not a single bookstore of any kind in all of Queens.

August 01, 2017, 11:26 AM

David R

Do they still have Borders book stores ? I saw a few around 5-10 years ago here in NJ

I remember many years ago actually ordering books from Borders on line, instead of Amazon

August 01, 2017, 11:47 AM

Raven

Borders went out of business, I'm thinking 3 or 4 years ago. They had a store in a little mini mall by me and I spent a lot there. It's a shame, my Borders was a pretty busy place, but I guess that doesn't matter if others are losing money.

August 01, 2017, 12:06 PM

David R

Looking on Wikipedia, it says that all Borders closed in 2011. I didn't think it was that long ago. I could be mistaken

August 01, 2017, 12:21 PM

barobehere

As a former comic shop owner, I feel your pain. The collectibles industry is internet dominated now.

August 01, 2017, 05:36 PM

stevetrek

Don, - I am sorry to hear that John closed the store. Dreamland Comics in Schaumburg carries Topps, Cryptozoic, and Rittenhouse cards. The owner never orders more than a box of any series. They are about 45 minutes away for me and even longer for you.

August 01, 2017, 09:10 PM

catskilleagle

Yeah, it was 2011. I could get NSU there.

quote:
Originally posted by David R:
Looking on Wikipedia, it says that all Borders closed in 2011. I didn't think it was that long ago. I could be mistaken

August 01, 2017, 09:33 PM

catskilleagle

Yes, particular Borders stores were doing okay but even they wouldn't have been able to bring in enough money to keep the company afloat so they had to close as well. I worked at a Coles the Book People (Canadian chain with some stores in the US) when Waldenbooks bought all the US stores in 1987. Waldenbooks was doing great at the time. I got a job at a tech company in 1988 thinking I could always get a job in a bookstore if I got laid off and/or the company went out of business. Not sure it's wise anymore to note on an application that I worked at a bookstore in the 80's (yeah, I was there when cash registers with those old-style buttons transitioned to networked machines). They're going to think I'll want a nap after lunch.

quote:
Originally posted by Raven:
Borders went out of business, I'm thinking 3 or 4 years ago. They had a store in a little mini mall by me and I spent a lot there. It's a shame, my Borders was a pretty busy place, but I guess that doesn't matter if others are losing money.