"The only constant is change."... Ever since I bought my first One-Cent Pack of Topps Baseball Cards in 1957, that "truism" couldn't be truer. Actually, change started soon after the first sets of sports cards were produced in the mid-eighteen hundreds.
Dare I say, it started with black and white Old Judge Cigarettes, colorful and artistic Goodwin Champions, Allen and Ginter and a few others. Baseball card collecting was taken a notch up with the most famous of all tabacco cards, the T206 which were included in sixteen different brands of cigarettes of the American Tabacco Company. To target the younger collector, next came Carmel Candy baseball cards (the many different "E series") and Cracker Jack. Next came gum cards Goudey, Playball and others.
Leaf, Bowman and Topps joined in 1948 and 1949. In 1956 Topps bought Bowman and there was only Topps baseball. In 1959 Fleer came in to produce cards until 1963. Topps was then the only company to continually produce cards since 1948.
In 1981 Donruss and Fleer geared up to produce cards. Through 1988 packs of cards could be bought for no more than 50-cents per pack.
In 1988 Mr. Richard McWilliam approached my table at a card show in Dallas to show me samples of his new baseball card product, Upper Deck. When he told me his product would retail for one dollar a pack, I replied "The cards look great, but I don't think the card collecting community is ready for dollar packs." Mr. McWilliams was a good salesman and I am glad I signed up with Upper Deck and committed to ten 20-box cases of 1989 Upper Deck Baseball.
By 1990, everyone was buying and selling sports cards. There was as many as three card shows (with 50 to 100 tables) in San Antonio every weekend.
It was easy money. You could just place binders full of cards on the table, sell boxes and packs of cards and sell up to $3000 a day at a card show. Remember, packs were just 50-cents and only upper deck was a dollar. Of course, we had older packs and boxes. The 1986 Fleer Basketball with the Michael Jordan's RC was $80 a box.
In 1991 we opened our Brick and Mortar Shop, Sports Cards Plus during the height of the "Junk Wax Era." We were one of 52 card shops in San Antonio. There were 18 card shops within three miles of our store.
It was not easy money. People would drive from shop to shop to try to save a dollar or two. Most collectors waited for the weekly card shows to get the best deals possible. If I sold $800 in a day, that was a huge day.
In the last 32 years, I've seen card shops open and close mostly because they couldn't compete with the big internet dealers. The internet also begot a new phenomenon, "Group Breaking" which added to the brick and mortar shop's challenges. It was a case of adjust, carve out your own niche or fail.
Sports Cards Plus is a family business. I've been selling cards since 1982 and my sons and daughters joined me at card shows since 1988, then my card shop in 1991. Now, my adult grandchildren have joined our staff in the last few years.
Our moto is "You get more for your money at Sports Cards Plus."
--- Our prices are at or below the Big Internet Dealers and we offer "Volume Discounts" for additional savings.
--- We offer our loyal customers a free table at our monthly "Card Show in The Shop."
--- We have daily contests where customers can win up to $1000.
--- We go big on all the manufacturer's promotions. We gave back $14,400 store credit in the "2022 Topps Chrome MVP Buyback Program."
--- We go to all the major trade shows to search for the next great product and network with the major players in our industry.
--- We have the largest selection in all of Texas. We don't limit your choices to just the "current products."
--- We are here to share our knowledge. We want you to be happy with what you purchase.
--- We don't open any product. We want you to get the case hits and for that matter, the best ever hits for every product.
--- Winner of Sports Collector's Digest Mikey Award for 2022 Card Shop of The Year.
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Card Shop Of The Year – Sports Cards Plus in San Antonio
Sports Cards Plus looks forward to the next 32 years.
