A new kind of retail store is opening soon in metro Atlanta and promises to be unlike any you have visited. CardsHQ, as its name suggests, will be a store dedicated to trading cards, but will also feature interactive and immersive experiences for customers and collectors alike. The new store will be located less than two miles from Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.
"CardsHQ will be a massive, unparalleled, and state-of-the-art 14,000 sq. ft. shop that will raise the bar for what the collector experience can be!"
The store is being opened by serial entrepreneur Geoff Wilson, who in 2019 launched Sports Card Investor, "the leading content network and data platform for trading card enthusiasts." Wilson also brought on Carter Musgrave and Ryan Van Oost, both local card enthusiasts, as partners in the business. According to CardsHQ materials, Wilson is spending $3 million to open the new venture.
Fueled by the pandemic, trading cards have exploded in popularity and value as fans - young and old - have found their way to the hobby. Once an industry dominated by and most well known for baseball cards, there are now trading cards for dozens of different sports, games, and characters with CardsHQ slated to carry a wide variety of options to satisfy the hobby's diverse fans and interests.
Baseball cards are still among the industry's most valuable cards, but other cards have skyrocketed in value, too. The famous Honus Wagner card last sold at auction in August 2022 for a total of $7.2 million. That same month, however, a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card sold for $12.6 million, also at auction. Cards from NBA stars Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, among others, have also sold either at auction or in private party transactions for multiple millions of dollars. Grading - assessing several factors of a card's condition, centering, corners etc. - of any card is what exponentially increases a cards' value and terms like "Gem Mint" or "10" are awarded to only the best of the best.
Influencer, wrestler and YouTube personality Logan Paul set a new high watermark in 2022 when he traded his Pikachu Illustrator PSA 9 along with $4,000,000 for a PSA 10 of the same card, setting a new value for the elusive card of $5.275 million!
"What we're creating will fundamentally change the hobby. You're going to be able to visit CardsHQ everyday – no matter where you are in the world, as we will offer a first-of-its-kind live virtual shopping experience. You will be able to walk the shop live, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere. It's how we'll become The World's Local Card Shop." describes Wilson in a video posted to the company's website.
Several unique elements of the expansive new store are vertical displays that will make the planned "live selling" easier to showcase many cards to potentially an international audience. The store will also feature a "breaking studio" for live "breaks" i.e. the opening of new boxes and packs of cards.
In anticipation of the opening, CardsHQ is hiring for several positions including retail associates, shipping associates, live sellers and breakers, manager, bookkeeper, and inventory manager, among other roles. The company is also constantly looking to bolster its inventory and has a tab on their website soliciting the public to sell all of or portions of their collections to CardsHQ.
The new store is scheduled to officially open February 1. However, the store is hosting two parties later this month in collaboration with Culture Collision, a popular collectibles trade show happening January 26-28 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center. CardsHQ is hosting a mixer at the store on January 25 exclusively for VIP ticket holders followed by a "Trade Night," open to all, on January 27.
The new store will likely serve as a "proof of concept" for the business and if successful, could lead to other locations. Wilson and the CardsHQ team have thus far not responded to our multiple requests for comment.
CardsHQ is the latest in a wave of new, flashy and tech-enabled card shops to pop up in metro Atlanta and the southeast.
Giant Sports Cards, which started as an eCommerce business, opened their bold new showroom and retail store in Alpharetta this past October. The store - "The Ultimate Collector’s Cave™" - promises "GOAT Level" customer service at its 3,000 square foot Windward Parkway shop.
AA Mint Cards, another trading card retailer, is expected to open its new roughly 2,400 square foot store in Hollywood, Florida January 20. The new store, about double the size of the previous store, also features walls of cards and flashy tech, but in a much smaller space than CardsHQ.
