(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part 2 of a two-part series on new card shops in the hobby.)
Fanatics took the hobby by storm in late 2021 when it acquired the official licenses for MLB, NFL and NBA cards, along with acquiring Topps and PWCC Marketplace.
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has vowed to exponentially grow the hobby and he realizes how much local card shops play an important role.
Rubin, his Fanatics Collectibles CEO Michael Mahan and other brass at the company have been randomly stopping by hobby shops recently to speak with owners and collectors.
“We are in shops every week, and our leadership team clearly understands we can’t afford to be detached from what’s working and what’s not,” said Scott Daniel, director of hobby shops for Fanatics Collectibles. “No shop owner should be surprised when a Fanatics leader walks through their door. We want to hear from them, and we need their ideas.”
Fanatics is striving to get every hobby shop around the country set up with a direct Topps account. Instead of having to go through a distributor, a shop can get product straight from Fanatics to produce higher margins on sales.
According to Daniel, there are over 1,000 card shops in the United States, and about two-thirds of those shops have direct accounts.
“We love every shop that supports the hobby, but in order to prevent market saturation
