LCS selling retail

[rms13]

Originally Posted by davidantx

I have no problem buying retail at Walmart and Target, Covid is over.

Lucky you. I go to 4 different Walmarts and 3 Targets regularly and rarely find any sports cards. One Walmart simply doesn't sell them anymore. The other ones are all wiped out of anything good as soon as shelves are stocked. I found some Score football hangar packs at one Walmart recently and that was like finding water in the desert.

[theplasticman]

I had pretty strong opinions on it when it started happening. But, I don't buy wax anymore so it doesn't bother me.

I do wish that kids had options to get stuff that wasn't so marked up. My son likes to open packs but we don't do much of it because the price is so far out of line with the value. He ends up buying more NBA singles.

[marl1220]

Originally Posted by Bunny Hop

Mine has started carrying retail but his prices are good so I don't mind it -- if I'm in the market it's nice to not have to sweat big box hopping and to be able to pick up a variety with one stop in the shop. But buying up local stock or up-charging as a boutique item is pretty lame and I don't like shops doing that.

Same with mine. Some are even lower than you get in the stores.

[Rbradleigh]

Originally Posted by rms13

Lucky you. I go to 4 different Walmarts and 3 Targets regularly and rarely find any sports cards. One Walmart simply doesn't sell them anymore. The other ones are all wiped out of anything good as soon as shelves are stocked. I found some Score football hangar packs at one Walmart recently and that was like finding water in the desert.

This

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by rms13

Lucky you. I go to 4 different Walmarts and 3 Targets regularly and rarely find any sports cards. One Walmart simply doesn't sell them anymore. The other ones are all wiped out of anything good as soon as shelves are stocked. I found some Score football hangar packs at one Walmart recently and that was like finding water in the desert.

I find baseball at least half the time I go to Targets in the 909 area code. I don't buy retail anymore since I have learned the hard way that buying Fanatics produced retail is like going back to a toxic ex who mistreats you and gives you a new std each time you see her.

The insane prices (30-45 bucks for blasters), high print runs that result in watered down "hits" and niceties, and suspect quality have killed wax buying for me.

[wilsonsingles]

Technically if they have Hobby accounts, then they aren't supposed to have retail accounts as well, but we all know, no one is enforcing that..

[base set]

My LCS sells retail for cheaper than my local Big Box store. There is one less link in the chain that way.

[ryknow216]

Almost every LCS that mostly sells retail boxes won't last. It's just not sustainable with margins for retail a lot lower than during COVID. If you opened up a shop and had a bot to buy all the stuff for cheap, you cleaned up. The ship has mostly sailed for retail to be profitable aside from a few products.

[Americards]

Topps sells retail products to direct account LCS' now..
Not every SKU, but megas, blasters, sometimes value packs..
Topps has been doing that since beginning of 2023.

[LVDan]

It’s their business to operate how they see fit. I really don’t care-at all.
I will say however from owning/operating a LCS a while back…
Generally speaking, the timespan of the new or back into cards person’s buying relationship with their favorite shop is generally a honeymoon like period of time, especially if spending significant amounts of money. As they become more aware of how online sources often offer the same products at better prices than in the LCS their gradual migration can be quickly accelerated by seeing retail with big markups. Not insulting someone’s intelligence and being as transparent and fair as possible will always help to preserve that relationship a bit more- even if the saavy buyer only comes in for supplies, an occasional impulse rip or to browse for singles.
This is why I always spent a good amount of time and effort in finding and stocking as many fair valued products from the previous few years as possible. Saying “TCU is red hot and I need to have boxes available regardless of the sticker price” may be a profitable stance for some, but when the prices to stock went far beyond what I consider a fair rip I’d just stop stocking it and try to steer people into some similar products that don’t necessarily promise an ass whoopin.
It’s a fine line for those involved- business owner AND customer.

[Callmethevreez]

Originally Posted by LVDan

It’s their business to operate how they see fit. I really don’t care-at all.
I will say however from owning/operating a LCS a while back…
Generally speaking, the timespan of the new or back into cards person’s buying relationship with their favorite shop is generally a honeymoon like period of time, especially if spending significant amounts of money. As they become more aware of how online sources often offer the same products at better prices than in the LCS their gradual migration can be quickly accelerated by seeing retail with big markups. Not insulting someone’s intelligence and being as transparent and fair as possible will always help to preserve that relationship a bit more- even if the saavy buyer only comes in for supplies, an occasional impulse rip or to browse for singles.
This is why I always spent a good amount of time and effort in finding and stocking as many fair valued products from the previous few years as possible. Saying “TCU is red hot and I need to have boxes available regardless of the sticker price” may be a profitable stance for some, but when the prices to stock went far beyond what I consider a fair rip I’d just stop stocking it and try to steer people into some similar products that don’t necessarily promise an ass whoopin.
It’s a fine line for those involved- business owner AND customer.

This is a great comment and good point!

[bub838]

My LCS sells retail at fair prices and will blowout the stuff that doesn’t sell the year after. Within 20 minutes drive I have 2 targets, 4 Meijer, 1 Walmart, 1 B&N. Retail is easy to find for me.

[boxbuster7]

it is a scummy move if it is marked up but most LCS owners are scumbags

[ThoseBackPages]

i wonder how many of the stores selling retail refused to bend the knee

[whitmm]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i wonder how many of the stores selling retail refused to bend the knee

I'd be more interested in finding out how many are buying retail products at the distribution level pricing directly from Fanatics. Which seems to be a good amount based on the comments in this thread.

[KSIGN]

[bcubs]

Distributor pricing for 2024 Bowman Chrome U Football blasters is $24.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by baseballbunez

Panini and Topps direct accounts are all forced to carry blasters/megas/etc these days. It isn't all scooping up local big box stores, they get allocated cases of it direct

This.

Topps 100% sells retail direct to their dealers. With prices as insane as they are, A LOT of people buy blasters/hangers etc so it’s smart business to sell these.

While I’m sure some shops are wiping out $30 blasters at Target to sell for $40, this is not what the majority of larger, established shops are doing.

I’m surprised so many people commenting think that’s what’s happening.

[Cracktoast]

Could it be more and more retail products are being sold online through sites like SSC ? Hobby stores simply order from there and then put their little markup on it rather than paying people to stalk Walmart and Target ? Could just be the companies that stock retail stores just aren't getting the allotment they used to ?

[packman80]

Ever since the breakers boom the production is mainly being sent to the larger breakers. The small LCS have a harder time now to get any product in the store. They get what they can and have to markup to make a profit to stay in business. As long as people want to rip product themselves many will pay that markup at their LCS because they can not get the product elsewhere or the difference is so little between their LCS and the online sellers they choose to support their LCS.

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by theplasticman

I had pretty strong opinions on it when it started happening. But, I don't buy wax anymore so it doesn't bother me.

I do wish that kids had options to get stuff that wasn't so marked up. My son likes to open packs but we don't do much of it because the price is so far out of line with the value. He ends up buying more NBA singles.

big league hobby boxes are $50 or less.

[ewokpelts]

in a perfect world, hobby stores would have plenty of hobby product to sell to customers. And retail would be the cheap fun rips they used to be.

however, we're in a far from perfect world anymore. even before covid, retail was getting more attention, thanks to the multitude of exclusives added to the lineups, from parallels and inserts to full sets like Fire or Holiday mega boxes.

the hobby has adapted to retail products being in more spots than just the target checkout line.

[ThatGuyPal]

I only dislike that it encourages stealing.

My LCS will buy retail but of course a lot lower than MSRP as they have to make something, fine......but when people come in with brand new product willing to sell it for like half the price and don't work at Wal-Mart in the extreme case they have some discount an it's still bought no questions asked, people will just steal. My area Walmart already has open packs/boxes sitting there as apparently they don't care about loss prevention so now you have people just steal so there's nothing on shelves, sell it for cheap so if you have retail you actually bought you can't sell it lol and prices get jacked up at the LCS.

Before someone says why wouldn't they sell for more on Marketplace.....LCS has no trail and I doubt police are scouring local card shops doing interviews but if someone constantly has retail product selling for dirt cheap on marketplace it'll set off a red flag and I'm sure walmart employees etc do check those for items that have been stolen.

[bigdog2003]

I have a secret collective of people around the country that goes into every big box store daily and clears all the product. They then ship it to me, where I store it in a giant warehouse until the price goes up due to demand. Once the prices all go up, I will sell it all and be rich.

That's why you can't find any product on the shelves.

[bub838]

Originally Posted by bigdog2003

I have a secret collective of people around the country that goes into every big box store daily and clears all the product. They then ship it to me, where I store it in a giant warehouse until the price goes up due to demand. Once the prices all go up, I will sell it all and be rich.

That's why you can't find any product on the shelves.

The Hunt Brothers of trading cards