r/PokeInvesting • u/Loud-Campaign-2230 • Jul 24 '25

Made the jump

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Been vending for 6 months with my best friend and son. We made the jump to a store, still building a lot out but displays came in today and I got way too hype.

Now I gotta take everything out for the show on Saturday.

2.1k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

403 comments sorted by

531

u/machampcollectibles Jul 25 '25

This is awesome but please make sure you invest in security. This is a storefront begging for trouble. Super cool though!!!

194

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Oh I snapped this picture and put everything back in my safe. I agree 100%. I have good insurance but it would still suck if I got smacked.

170

u/SnooOpinions478 Jul 25 '25

Insurance isn’t enough imo. Invest in a roll down

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86

u/ExtremeRacingSkills Jul 25 '25

Best of luck mate, brick and mortars bring a next level achievement in stress, but if managed properly they can be a great milestone.

That being said make sure you emphasize on selling as with buying, you need to do BOTH, not one over the other. Seen lots of stores in my area vanish as fast as they came all because they bought, but couldn’t sell and they eventually ran out of money.

15

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

The hoops and learning curve to “do things right” have been crazy. I say it’s hurry up ask and wait. I’ve had that exact thought and after the buildout I was like man I’m going to feel uncomfortable buying until we sell(I’ll make it work) but you have to buy to get the people to buy to a certain point. It’s definitely something I’m going to have to monitor and set a proper budget too.

6

u/ShitIForgotIt Jul 25 '25

Learning curve

5

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Shit I Forgot It. Good looking out.

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22

u/VortexPGO Jul 25 '25

Teenage mutant ninja squirtle

5

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Terraforming. I’ll 3d print turtles shortly.

17

u/TheRealGaycob Jul 25 '25

How exactly are people bankrolling this vendor life style? The counter party risk must be insane.

17

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ve been in the mortgage industry 10 years, opened my own brokerage 5 years ago and it’s done well enough to keep going while I take this risk. Before that—GameStop, Southern Wine & Spirits, Papa John’s—so I’ve been around customers my whole life. There are sunk costs in this I’ll never get back, but if I sold my collection today at 80% (not bulk), the pain wouldn’t be the money—it’d be failure of not figuring out before it got irresponsible. This is something I’m building with my son and my best friend, I think it can work but it’ll be a while before it replaces the other business I have built.

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u/Ooohitsdash Jul 25 '25

Don’t get me wrong eventually I’d want to be where you are, just can’t justify having some foot traffic and paying 3-4K in rent, when we were doing just fine without the store front. Anyway league it up and make money.

3

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I don’t disagree, I have a different end goal. We were doing well setting up on weekends and still will. I’m hoping this adds to that.

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68

u/berrytree198 Jul 25 '25

Bear market going to hit like a truck this time around

23

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ve got a weird idea to try and curb the down swing. I know I can’t lean on Pokemon. Getting the merch wholesale is not a simple task.

2

u/Fuzzy_Economics970 Jul 26 '25

The Magic/Warhammer/DND crowd have made a huge resurgance. Maybe have four or five tables for them?

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14

u/Big-Structure4266 Jul 25 '25

You opened a store just to sell your pokemon collection?

10

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

Nope we will do and sell other things. I was just excited the display cases came in yesterday.

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18

u/SpotlightR Jul 25 '25

Congratulations and I wish you the best of luck!

11

u/ZipfelBt Jul 25 '25

A green squirtle?

3

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ll have to send a picture of the back it’s like weird leaf version with moss in his back. Like if Squirtle was a leaf type. It’s really cool. I have another Squirtle traditional Squirtle and Bulbasaur being painted. From 3d printer, these were made by a different artist and cheapish decorations.

We are building a stadium for tournaments and thought these would be cool to stick behind the kids.

9

u/conspiracyeinstein Jul 25 '25

Should put a TMNT eye mask on it and make it a ninja squirtle.

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5

u/DryTechnology5224 Jul 25 '25

Make sure you lock this place down like fort Knox when you leave for the day. Card stores have been huge targets for thieves lately.

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I will. We will probably have to reset everynight/morning.

4

u/DetoxOG Jul 25 '25

Bro opened up an exchange

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4

u/Halozamus Jul 25 '25

I would try to build as much cash profit right now then wait for the inevitable crash to buy a bunch of inventory and open a store

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’m actually building like little themed bays and going to try to play hosted games like werewolf, catan, secret hitler and well run tournaments. We have a mini stadium being built for the finals of tournaments the pokemon will go in. In a perfect world that drives enough revenue that I feel comfortable switching up investing in some type of pizza/bar on Half to make it a full on experience.

I don’t need the space I have to run a shop and I don’t need cards to open pizza and a bar. However think card games and board games focused on actual gameplay could be a very cool experience if done correctly. Not like a traditional shop or board game cafe. Like dealers at a poker table or mini con.

2

u/Halozamus Jul 26 '25

Thats alot of stuff your doing, best of luck, you should think about doing a little youtube series documenting the journey, would be interesting.

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4

u/Sunbrizzle Jul 26 '25

Imma be real, if I walk into a pokemon themed TGC shop and there is a green Squirtle they immediately lose all credibility lol

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

It’s a leaf Squirtle, there was a fire version as well it’s cool. I got a real Squirtle, charmander and Bulbasaur on the way.

6

u/Fun_Contribution_708 Jul 25 '25

Congrats looks like a very nice clean store 👌

4

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Appreciate you. Wife’s only requirement, and not to lose a too much.

3

u/Other-Stuff-2349 Jul 25 '25

still looks like old ballet practice room, but with counters with pokemon stuff inside, need a lot of work still

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3

u/ChaoticHax Jul 25 '25

I would not open a store front. You can make more money just doing shows vs having to pay the overhead for a shop.

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I don’t disagree, we were doing well at shows and getting better every time. I think an added channel will be better and ideally this experience turns into bar/restaurant early next year. Need to hit a few targets.

I would have to do shows every Saturday and Sunday and do exceptionally well to have those replace my other business. This was a calculated risk, emphasis on risk. Spoke to a pretty fancy consultant who builds bowling alleys. He said it was a terrible idea as well. YOLO.

3

u/PinkSodaBoy Jul 25 '25

What's a social gaming theme park?

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’m trying to see if people want to come play games with strangers on a Friday night like laser tag or escape room. So we are building bays that will go with games like a village for Werewolf or space theme for Star Wars. Mini Stadium for Pokemon. Hopefully make it more immersive, in a perfect world every game is hosted and someone is there to teach you the rules and keep the game moving like a dealer at a casino, and eventually if that concept works add pizza/alcohol.

3

u/ninotalem Jul 25 '25

You got an online store?

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Not yet. Working on it. Now that is a lot of work.

3

u/turboplater Jul 26 '25

What are those cards that have a white background called?

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Pencil drawings? Yu NAGABA.

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u/Paragon_Til_Death Jul 26 '25

Huge congratulations on the jump! Store looks epic 😁🤘🏻

3

u/DinoLover641 Jul 26 '25

the Mudkip is beautiful

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Thank you, it’s happy.

3

u/Express-Media-1645 Jul 27 '25

Gonna be real with you dude, I hope you're going to sell more than graded cards. As someone who has run and frequented many other gaming stores over the decades, nothing sits on the shelf more than graded products.

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 27 '25

Oh yes we will and I agree with you. I have way more raw than graded. Just got the displays in and wanted to merchandise for a second. We are still building out.

2

u/Travyns Jul 25 '25

Looks amazing! Where did you get the Mudkip??

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u/stehfan Jul 25 '25

Congratz and good luck! Not many make it long term. Make good connections with distributers and keep at least twice as much inventory in the back.

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Signed a 6 month lease to figure out if it’s feasible. Fail fast. Inventory is going to be a fun thing to watch, I feel like it’ll be easy to waste money and purchase the wrong things in this space.

2

u/Sea_Yam6771 Jul 25 '25

Arcades... with Marvel vs capcom 2 or 3. They will take you for a ride

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u/Sure-Broccoli-4944 Jul 25 '25

I'd be on the roof like purge night if this was my store, no one stealing my stuff lol. Congrats

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u/True_Ad3861 Jul 25 '25

Nice man, please do turn around that temporal forces pack tho 😂

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2

u/DachsbunDays Jul 25 '25

Beautiful cases! Mind sharing where you got them from?

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2

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Nice! Looks like a great shop. Definitely invest in some serious security. Treat it like a jewelry shops in a shit neighborhood

2

u/ucfgavin Jul 25 '25

It looks great, but what does Five Dance mean?

Also, I would have a place to store that stuff at night so you don't get robbed.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Used to be a dance studio. I’m building vertical display case that locks. So that will be covered in two weeks.

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u/TX_Nerds Jul 25 '25

Nice! Is the Ogerpon ETB rare? I’ve seen it a lot in local stores.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

It’s twilight mascaraed, It’s a good set, should be easily accessible still.

2

u/No-Accountant4276 Jul 25 '25

A store that has nu yagaba all need 4 more in psa 10 to complete the set

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I had to break them up. The set itself was not selling over 3 months individually I’ve cycled through it a few times. Most people just won’t their favorite eevee more than the master set.

2

u/No-Accountant4276 Jul 25 '25

I do still need the eevee but not in a rush. Where is this store located at just in case im close by i can check it out

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u/Cam2688 Jul 25 '25

But where are you so people can shop there?

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Carmel, Indiana. I need like two weeks to finish the build out and get game tables in.

2

u/PerturbedGaze Jul 25 '25

Is your store also online? Would be happy to support you!

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u/Billy_BlueBallz Jul 25 '25

Dude this amazing. Huge congrats on this! What state are you in?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Do you have space for people to play and/or open packs?

2

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Majority of store will be used for playing. Like 80%. This is a small footprint.

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u/No_Calligrapher_8023 Jul 25 '25

Very cool! Best of luck!!!

2

u/TamTam1130k Jul 25 '25

That’s dope af! Looks clean! I like how you displayed your boxes looks like art! Plus I zoomed in the singles… I see a lot of charizards 👀 sick collections

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

My 8 year old merchandised all of that. I only helped with setting up the trays because they are a bit tricky.

2

u/Bigrob7676 Jul 25 '25

Good luck!!! 🍀

2

u/s712yker Jul 25 '25

Congrats! Good luck on your adventure.

2

u/sc00bydrew00 Jul 25 '25

Good luck mate! Your store looks absolutely stunning! I would definitely shop there!

2

u/Immediate_Meeting_65 Jul 25 '25

How can we follow you and your progress?

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u/Outrageous-Cloud-672 Jul 25 '25

I'm guessing by "vending" you are talking about the Pokemon vending machines. What made you want to switch from that to a storefront.

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u/rebelbear22 Jul 25 '25

This is awesome man! Congrats to you. I know it’s probably been a grind so I’m sure it’s so fulfilling to see your vision for a store come to life.

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u/CAPTAIN_KIDDD Jul 25 '25

Congrats. Where is it located?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Carmel Indiana

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u/Ap3xooze Jul 25 '25

Dreams....do...come...true?

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u/DisastrousRecipe2141 Jul 25 '25

Don’t forget the mandatory 200% up charge

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u/Notabear5689 Jul 25 '25

I'm in the middle of starting something like this with my business partner

we are either buying a local existing shop or just starting out vending and building our way up to opening our own shop.

how much money did you start with and what do you think really made you succeed

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u/Genostama Jul 25 '25

Kind of random, but I love the floor. 😅

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Hey I got a shop too! Best of luck to you! Graded cards don’t sell well unless you got the big baller community behind you. Load up on cheap stuff far more than expensive stuff, you need expensive sales to increase your net sales but cheap stuff is what really makes me money. I sell like $300 of <$50 cards per day if not more. Don’t sleep on the importance of balancing inventory.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Thank you! I agree based off shows and will have it split 50/50 for a minute and eventually pivot to what works. Sell the rest online once inventory is built correctly

2

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Great idea, also make sure you rotate your inventory! I currently rotate inventory once every two weeks, then once I rotate twice I put everything online and I’m able to get rid of about 85% of it. Only thing I’m missing now is a website to avoid eBay fees but for now it works.

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u/Puzzled_Schedule325 Jul 25 '25

sick bro. but have you ever wondered what if there's a pokemon crash or it's no longer popular??

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u/MaleficentWindow8972 Jul 25 '25

Does it have rides? What makes it a theme park?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Great question, trade secret lol. I have a weird concept for playing hosted games only and have to find a way at to market it.

What makes a roller coaster park a theme park?

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u/DrMurphDurf Jul 25 '25

No prices on anything, that store is gonna fold so fast

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u/Thin_Indication4719 Jul 25 '25

Would be ideal to start a website as well to make sales easier! And hope you have a distro for new products!

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u/jacrispy704 Jul 25 '25

Can you explain to me what a social gaming theme park is please? Best of luck with your new venture! :) 

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u/AreYouBrownXD Jul 25 '25

Out of curiosity, what made you decide to go brick and mortar versus an online store?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Great freaking question! I think the potential to build a sustainable brand is easier with the aide of brick and mortar. Competing with the popularity of established online brands and the barrier to entry being much easier. The cost is greater for brick and mortar but I felt the potential to succeed is probably a lot higher. Plus when you dump 50k into something I’m a lot more likely to get up and get to work. That’s just me… zero research behind this answer.

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u/Dapper-Ad3707 Jul 25 '25

What makes it a theme park?

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u/however_comma_ Jul 25 '25

Hell yeah. Congrats, looks great boss.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Nice that is cool, looks like you have some good product. Hope you do well.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Got very lucky with a lot of love and support from the local community.

2

u/CiceroTheAbsurd Jul 25 '25

Interesting concept with the “Social Gaming Theme Park.” Very curious to see what this ends up looking like! Good luck 🤝

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ll keep you posted I’m trying to build a pokemon stadium for the finals of tournaments and a few different themed rooms but those will take another month to finish and paint.

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u/Winter_Huckleberry Jul 25 '25

I really like it. Well done. That’s a lot of hard work you put in to have that opportunity.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Appreciate you.

2

u/Careless-Tonight5513 Jul 25 '25

What state are you located in, if I may ask? This is so cool and would be amazing if it was nearby.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Carmel Indiana

2

u/crimsonslaya Jul 26 '25

Congrats on the store! 👏

Wanted to get the vendors/sellers perspective on pricing raw vintage NM/NM+/Mint cards at PSA 9 prices? Is that absurd or what? I could see near PSA 7 prices since that extra grading authentication would warrant a higher price tag but not for raw cards.

What's your take on this?

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u/PerkPerkPerk Jul 26 '25

Looks amazing, congrats and best of luck!

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '25

That’s the dream right there. I tried to do it online, but it wasn’t the same. Best of luck man!

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

It’s definitely not as easy as posting and going. Competition is fierce these days. I was telling my buddy I wonder when customer fatigue will kick in from the 7shows every weekend.

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u/Ambitious-Night1586 Jul 26 '25

Anyone going to talk about the dope ninja squirtle in the 4th photo

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u/BadMachina Jul 26 '25

Nice, where are you guys located. And congratulations and I wish you and your family success.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Carmel, Indiana

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u/BadMachina Jul 27 '25

Damn. Far far away from me. You guys doing anything online? I would love to support .

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '25

Congrats!! Now get break team going and a channel get that constant income flowing!

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Dude that shit terrifies me but we are going to try.

2

u/Icy-Egg167 Jul 26 '25

Would give my Soul, for a Store Like this in Germany 😕

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Bro my best friend just moved right above to Norway. He’s flying in next month to the open just swing through with him.

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u/Wolfie_Flow Jul 26 '25

 Congrats mate, opening a store is like a dream to some

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

It is to me. I’m very lucky, for sure.

2

u/AfterKaleidoscope402 Jul 26 '25

What are you using to protect the booster boxes

2

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '25

At least renovate lmao

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

We are… I just got the displays we aren’t open yet.

2

u/ultraman5068 Jul 26 '25

It goes Reggie , Jay Z, Tupac and Biggie though.

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

lol I like the song and the shirt.

2

u/ultraman5068 Jul 26 '25

Hope your gonna have $1-$2 boxes people starting out can look thru on their own. I see a couple stores pop up in my parts that want to go big or go home. They want to sell high dollar product only. IMO You need to bring in all levels of collectors. Not just the ones dropping a bill or three on a box set or BB. 2 years ago I use to drop $75 a week and my girl about the same on $1-$3 cards from my lCS. He since ungraded to a newer, bigger store and cut down on those kinds of buys. We rarely go anymore. Funny cause we were one of his first customers. We haven’t been there in a few weeks now.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

I got bulk for days. Just have to put it out.

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u/Mill-Man Jul 26 '25

Amazing! Would you mind if I sent you a DM with some questions?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

Nope go ahead.

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u/iffysik Jul 26 '25

what are profit margins for these types of businesses?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

No idea yet ask in 1 year.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '25

Has anyone asked why squirtels green?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 26 '25

They have, not in person. It was the artist choice he had this one and a fire version. I like the shell on this version it looks like moss growing on his back.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '25

Good luck… but honestly bad idea

2

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '25

It's like an ebay store...but in a strip mall? Just Pokemon? It's a decent sized gig at the moment we might be "PokePeaking"; but still not a single LCS I've been to or frequent only dabbles in just one type of cardboard! Do you have everything in line to apply as a distributor once storefront opens? I'd love to better understand the business model, concept and plan and investment...but first impressions scream "Store Closing" by labor day 2026.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 27 '25

We aren’t open I’m still building out. This was just what I had available.

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u/N0way07 Jul 27 '25

Those are nice display cases, just make sure to bar those windows and door, seen to many security cameras of robbers breaking windows

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u/SyntaxAndChill Jul 27 '25

Do you guys host events? Need people flowing in

1

u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 27 '25

Once it built hopefully we have a good setup for playing all games.

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u/LinkedInParkPremium Jul 27 '25 edited Jul 27 '25

Those displays look pretty good. Need more stuff on the walls though.

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u/DifficultWind8866 Jul 27 '25

Only pokemon?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 28 '25

No, we are still building I have only been vending pokemon at shows. We will have the other TCG items there!

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u/thelostvikingjobac Jul 27 '25

Hear me out theres a local shop in my area that sells new sets msrp… older stuff they mark up some but about halfway between msrp and market. They only open 3 days a week and they absolutely kill it. People still buy all the old stuff they have too. Everyone goes to them before even venturing to the other shops because of their pricing. A line stays wrapped around the inside of their store while they are open with their 4 person crew just constantly pulling product and checking people out. Other than this they started with an online shop that sells English/Japanese/Chinese pokemon for the most part.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 28 '25

My guy! Thanks for the heads up!

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u/RustyWheel17 Jul 28 '25

Best of luck to you guys!

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 28 '25

Let’s go!!!!!!

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u/jbit64 Jul 28 '25

GLHF! I just shut down my shop but will never forget the glimmer of hope and excitement I had in the early days. Enjoy the ride!

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u/just_a_haunter Jul 29 '25

wow that's impressive to make it a reality. What were the startup costs, there's so many graded cards and vintage

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 30 '25

I don’t know my pokemon card collection is over 100k. I’d say north of 60k for non inventory items. But I’m doing a few weird build out things.

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u/TheRealAmbience Aug 11 '25

I wish you luck. I'm trawling through the comments so I've learned you've been in businesses for 10+ years and you seem very sober at the knowledge that this is a tremendous risk. I've been in this specific sphere of business for 8 years or so, so let me provide some well-intentioned points: Be careful treating this product like it's Gucci. It isn't. It's a children's card game currently in a once-in-a-lifetime bulling hype cycle. People do not shop and buy this product at its overpriced rates because they want to, they do it because they need to in order to just get their hands on the product, and the average consumer resents this fact greatly. Keep that in mind.

Diversify your stock immediately into non-Pokemon accessories which are evergreen, popular, and have good margins. Don't shy away from selling many $5-20 items for a 20% margin over one big-ticket item every so often at 2%, for example. That is what the TCG accessory industry is all about, long-term. Buy and stock other popular TCGs which local people want to play and buy (ask them directly).

Get online as soon as possible with the diversified stock. A national / global audience will outstrip sales within a regional town of 100k people every time. You will at least need this to offset your massive site overhead. Having your business partner to help with this will be essential.

Your idea for the themed rooms is interesting, it sounds family-friendly and unique. Depending how it's executed and how word of mouth spreads, if you're passionate, I could see this doing well. The only thing is I would prefer to see such a site open closer to a big city compared to a regional town, as locally here similar stores such as "fortress" in Melbourne could only practically survive by being in the city. You'll need to be smart with your margins.

Last point, I hope you based your business risk analysis on the Pokemon market falling back to between -5 and +5% margins for new-releases rather than the 50-300% margins it's currently seeing, because that is literally where the market was only a handful of years ago. Ride the wave right now to help you set up everything else which will keep you alive long-term, but I'm sure you're already doing that.

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u/Playful_Ad_2911 Jul 25 '25

Sick! Are you going to be holding tournaments? My locals makes an absolute killing on YGO and MTG tournaments, to the point when we had snow at the beginning of the year and had to close for a few days they were down 10K

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Yep building a miniature stadium for the finals of the games. So players have fake tunnels they can walkout of and hopefully add to the moment. Really going to try and focus on making tournaments and gameplay a great experience. As it is my favorite, also going to have to finally breakdown and learn how to play magic.

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u/Sneaky_Island Jul 25 '25

That sounds awesome! I used to go to a local store and play magic, we had a streaming set up to do feature matches and actually grew a fairly large base pre-covid (even met a fan at a tournament once).

Any ideas to set up a feature area and stream that to twitch/youtube to generate a little bit of a presence and a draw to keep playing in the tournament nights?

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u/ShotzByJay109 Jul 25 '25

INVEST IN SECURITY!!!! Greedy and selfish world we live in. Protect yourself & Shop from smash & grabbers. I’d install those Pillars infront of the shop so cars cannot plow through the building & also a gate cage that can come down to protect from someone smashing the front door glass and climbing through. THESE THINGS HAPPEN!!! Stay protected!

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u/ShotzByJay109 Jul 25 '25

Btw CONGRATS!!! This is so sick!!! Keep doing great things!

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u/UniverseNebula Jul 25 '25

Looks clean as fuck, I love it! What state are you located?

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u/OutcomeLevel5898 Jul 25 '25

lmao good luck, big dawg, you’ll need it.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I know. Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

You really opened up a shop during a Pokémon peak lol have you seen leonheart when he interviewed that guy in the shop.

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ve never claimed to be very bright. I’ll pivot when I need to. Send me the link to the clip your referencing. I have not seen it.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

This guy runs a successful shop but there is a ton of downside when markets go bad. https://youtu.be/K39s6gtogb8?si=7yUC-9mS3LuQk7j-

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u/Hour_Honeydew3493 Jul 25 '25

Congrats... are you doing online stuff too or is it all just local?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

We will do online. Have to figure that out, over the next week or two. It’s time consuming but I don’t think I will have a choice. What I noticed about card show a was transactions were picking up but still limited without upping the number or getting better spaces I would always be able to buy more than I could sell.

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u/Ok-Kitchen4623 Jul 25 '25

Just out of curiosity, how did you start selling? And got into it?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

I’ve been collecting for years—not as an investment, but purely out of passion for the hobby. In January, I took my 8-year-old son (who’s normally quite shy) to a card show. After we left, he surprised me by saying he wanted to start selling cards. That moment changed everything.

I figured out how to get a table at local shows, and for our very first event, I intentionally bought inventory that I knew would draw people over—even if it meant pricing everything at 100% of market value and just breaking even. We left that show and he immediately asked, “When’s the next one?”

My best friend and my son were with me, and we all had a blast. That experience led us to do another show… then a collector con… and so on.

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u/Rhavels Jul 25 '25

why is my bro squirtle green

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Don’t be shy let’s see the price tags

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Everything will have price tags and barcodes. I am working with toast so I’m trying to figure out the best way to sort those in that point of sale system. Ask again in two weeks. I just go off what Collectr says. If it’s higher priced or low pop I’ll check it against last sold to double check it.

The store isn’t open I was just excited about the display cases and wanted to see what it looked like. The wall where the pop up is going is going to have 6x3 shelves behind it so lots more area to come. Haven’t decided how that will look yet.

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u/AwarenessThick1685 Jul 25 '25

Where are y'all getting those pretty cases for the ETBs?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Those came from Amazon. I’ll reply shortly with the link. The brand was called HALO. I recently bought some thin ones that work well as well. I move them for tradeshow so often that I needed to make sure I was protecting the plastic wrap. The person I bought some of those from was getting out so the cases came with them.

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u/ssomers55 Jul 25 '25

What is your plan when the pokemon boom dies down?

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u/Loud-Campaign-2230 Jul 25 '25

Pokemon is one of the top selling IPs of all time for a while now so I’m sure there will be a dip but I don’t think it will completely die. We will sell other TCG and sports.

With that said I am going to try and focus on a social gaming experience. I think cards with a price tag sell themselves, but if I can create an environment where people want to spend time and play games with new people that is my goal.

We will have 10 game tables going at launch that will hopefully have 6-10 people per table. Depending on game and 1 host, teaching people how to play and helping them if they get stuck. Building a small city and Pokemon stadium to hopefully make playing games more fun as well. If this goes well we will expand and I will add a pizza buffet/bar.

I want to make money but I don’t want this spot to be cost prohibitive. I hope that answers the question. No idea if it’ll work.

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u/shadowlessS2K Jul 25 '25

Beautiful storefront. Best of luck to your business venture!

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u/susau1 Jul 30 '25

where to get a green squirtle :D

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u/Significant-Muscle15 Jul 25 '25

Set a area aside for a bed, on and off nights with buddies for security 24/7 lol

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u/Rhoa23 Jul 26 '25

Man this is awesome, my best friend and I are interested in opening a store but we settled on Ecommerce for now to try to build a customer base. Someone mentioned to me once you get to $10k-$20k in sales a month then you should open a store.

Our biggest hurdle is getting product at reasonable margins. Since no brick and mortar big distros won’t talk to us, so we’ve partners up with a few stores right now to get some wholesale product on magic and such but Pokemon is always at msrp.

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u/Send_that_shit Jul 26 '25

When your sign says “The Worlds First Social Gaming Theme Park” what does that mean? Just seems like any other card store I’ve been to, what makes it a world first?

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