Byline: Creighton A. Welch
Jul. 4--A thick stack of Polaroid photos, maybe 75 of them, sits on a glass display case. The pile holds the keys to Charlie DiPietro's success.
Each picture shows a proud new owner of a valuable autographed sports card. These are the loyal customers who keep DiPietro in business.
DiPietro has owned Sports Cards Plus since 1992, when he said trading cards' popularity was hitting a peak.
'It used to be easy money, but now you have to work a little harder,' DiPietro said.
His store on Lockhill-Selma Road on the North Side is one of the few remaining card stores in town.
'In the heyday, there were 52 card shops in San Antonio,' DiPietro said.
Now there are fewer than 10, and many have had to diversify their merchandise to stay in business.
'We're basically getting killed on all fronts,' said Howie O'Desky, who owns Howie's Sports Cards on Vance Jackson Road. 'San Antonio lost probably 75 percent of its card shops from 2000 to 2003. That helped (those who stayed) out a lot. The ones who are left are doing OK.' Card store owners can point to two factors that caused the drop in stores: the Internet and a lack of interested kids.
'I went on eBay in October 1998,' said O'Desky, whose store has been around since 1988. 'If you didn't embrace eBay early on, you were pretty much left behind.' He still sells a lot from his store, but sells all of his high-end single cards on eBay. The Internet helps businesses sell, but it also gives customers other outlets where they can shop for cards.
'The Internet is my competition,' DiPietro said. 'The men who spend the money, they know how to use the Internet.' John Richmond owns Stats Sports Collectibles on Nacogdoches Road, which sells primarily sports cards and memorabilia via mail order. He used to have some retail shoppers, but they have stopped showing up. Now, his business is driven by 40- to 60-year-olds who buy his stuff on eBay.
'If I ever have more than the UPS delivery man come to the store, it's a busy day,' Richmond said.
O'Desky said he is starting to see some signs of younger shoppers.
'Mostly right now, it's adult males between 25 and 45,' O'Desky said. But, 'We are getting a pickup of kids in here. Now, we're having at least two or three a day. I have a hands-on place where they can come and bum around.' The success of the Spurs also helps out the local sports card shops.
'I get a decent amount of kids,' DiPietro said. 'They're mostly into basketball and their interests are sparked by the Spurs. But the men generate the money. To pay my rent, I cater to their interests.' Though younger people aren't heavy spenders, store owners see the need to attract them.
'We have to get them interested now,' DiPietro said, 'so that when they make a lot of money, they'll spend a lot of money on cards.' DiPietro said manufacturers also have started to help the business by making rare, and sometimes one-of-a-kind, cards.
'Customers want to own something no one else owns,' DiPietro said.
This is in sharp contrast to the late 1980s and early '90s, when producers pumped out millions of cards.
'There were nine or 10 million David Robinson rookie cards printed and I personally had about 800 of them,' DiPietro said. 'Now I have an autographed Daniel Gibson rookie card and they're only making 899 of those.' The mass production gave every collector a chance to own every card, but now they're finding those cards worth fractions of pennies.
'People get shell-shocked when they try to sell their early '90s collections and get $1.25 for a thousand cards,' O'Desky said.
The declining number of trading card companies also reflects the direction the industry itself is going.
Last week, The Upper Deck Co., one of the largest sports card makers, announced an offer to buy the country's other large card maker, The Topps Co. Inc., for $425 million, creating one major card manufacturer.
As recently as 2005, there were four major companies. But Fleer went out of business in May 2005 and was bought by Upper Deck for $6.1 million. Donruss Playoff, which also owns the Leaf and Score brands, quit making baseball cards in 2005 and sells only football cards.
Success for surviving card vendors comes from knowing about each sports season and the strengths of upcoming players. DiPietro expects this year's basketball stock to be good with rookie stars such as Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.
However, 'I have to buy and sell at the right price,' DiPietro said. 'I have to be aware of the market and do that based on history.' Even then, it's still a guessing game.
'It's so hard to predict,' O'Desky said. 'I was expecting famine, but this year has been fantastic. This has been my best year yet. And I have no idea why.'
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