Canadian Hobby Shop of the Week: Dave’s Sportscard Shop (Cornwall, ON)
Dave Tierney began collecting when he was a kid. His love of collecting carried him to owning a card shop in the early ’90s that he is still operating 30 years later. I recently caught up with Dave to discuss the hobby in Cornwall, Ontario.
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JOEY SHIVER – Can you tell us a little about your collecting background and what led to your decision to open your shop?
DAVE TIERNEY – I have been a lifelong card collector. I was one of the lucky ones whose mother didn’t toss their collection. When I moved to Cornwall in 1990, I met several other collectors and we started a small shop. Over the years, the group of owners of the card shop changed and eventually I became the sole owner.
JS –Can you tell us a little about your store, your setup and what type of inventory you carry? Also, what services do you provide?
DT – I moved my shop into a new location about 15 years ago. It is in a strip mall in the center of town. While I operate a retail store, it feels more like a card collectors “club” with a lot of my customers being friends with each other over the past 30 years.
My shop specializes in hockey, both current and vintage. But I also carry vintage baseball, vintage CFL, and vintage non-sport. For a small shop, I carry a good line of collecting supplies, as well as current hockey wax boxes and some baseball. The shop offers a comfortable place for collectors to drop in and open a box of cards or simply drop in to watch the game and talk to fellow collectors.
JS – You are located in Southern Ontario, with Montreal, Ottawa, and even New York within a reasonable distance. When it comes to the “Home Team,” who would you say your collectors focus on?
DT – I would estimate my shop has about 45 percent Leaf fans and 45 percent Hab fans, with the remaining teams sharing the other ten percent. We are close to Ottawa and I think the Sens market will improve as the team rebuilds. Pretty good Raptor support as well.
JS – Your Facebook page reveals a huge assortment of hockey products. Do any of the other sports sell well in your area?
DT – Baseball has a bit of a following as well. I thought there might have been more interest from American customers due to not many shops in the area but still I have to develop that potential market.
JS – Speaking of Facebook, how important is social media when it comes to running a small business?
DT –I am rather new to Facebook, but I see a lot of potential. It is wide spanning and easy to get your message out fast. Good for a business whose inventory updates regularly with new release products. I am lucky to have some good online “mentors” in my shop to help me build this area.
JS – How do you view exclusivity in the hobby among card manufacturers as a whole? I know that Upper Deck has a very big presence in Canada. What about the other companies?
DT – There use to be more competition between card companies, but Upper Deck is pretty much exclusive in my shop as I am primarily a hockey card shop. I do, however, carry Topps Baseball as well. I miss some of the more moderately priced hockey boxes and feel there are too many very high priced, one card/pack boxes. That is a very specific market.
JS – What products performed well in 2019? What about those products made them desirable to your collectors?
DT – Upper Deck Hockey Series 1 and 2 are the staples of my business. Some of the one-card or one-pack boxes are very nice, but they are too expensive for most collectors or they are “one and done” products. I miss products like Black Diamond, which everyone seemed to like and buy when it was a moderately priced 24-pack box, which collectors purchased on a regular basis.
JS – What is one thing you think is really going well in the sports card hobby right now? On the contrary, what is one thing you would change, whether from an industry or local perspective?
DT – Young Guns and the Upper Deck hockey program is still strong. Everyone loves Young Gun Rookie Cards. I wish products like Black Diamond could be returned to a collectors set. There are too many “go for the big hit” products. Also, OPC could be cut down to perhaps just the base set and the retro set and maybe one other parallel set. OPC is ridiculously large set with all the parallels.
JS – In closing, can you tell us about any sales or upcoming in-store events you have scheduled for the next couple of months?
DT – I have large “Showcases” of vintage and current cards and regularly offer “Buy Some, Get Some Free” promotions. I have a weekly newsletter that people can sign up for, which announces local shop news, activities, and specials that week as well as information on new product releases. Send me your email address if you would like to be included on the distribution list. I am retired from my career and can meet people outside the business hours.
Dave’s Sportscard Shop
Dave Tierney
(613)363-1102
812 Pitt Street UNIT 44
Cornwall, ON K6J 5R6
Monday-Friday: 6PM-9PM (or by appointment)
Saturday: 8AM-5PM
Sunday: Closed
Facebook: Dave’s Sportscard Shop
Hi
My son has a really good collection of baseball cards and he ask me to look for Rookie Cards
Jim Mc Man
Mario Gosselin
Would you have them