More than cardboard, Card Guys is a community
Card Guys Sports Cards is simply that: two guys, John Hellman and Brian Mullen, who like collecting, trading and selling sports cards, got together and decided to open a store on Main Street in Jasper to build a community.
“I have always loved sports, collecting and investing as a hobby. The sports card hobby allows me to do a little of it all,” Brian explained. “Owning a shop opens up a way to do these things with people in the community who also love collecting or speculating on the next big player.”
John agrees. While both men love sports cards and all that that entails, he is likely the one you will run into at the shop regularly, as Brian is more of the backend of the business support. John loves seeing kids come in and light up when they find that card with their favorite player on it. He also enjoys working with them, teaching them about the cards, how to take care of them and wheeling and dealing with their trades.
But, he and Brian also love the community they are building around the commonality of a love for sports and collectibles. Customers come back time after time because stock is constantly changing, and there is always that opportunity to get that prized card you seek.
Brian and John understand. They have been collectors since they were kids. Their love of sports and the thrill of finding a hot rookie card or even completing a set from their favorite team hooked them then and brought them back into it as adults.
“My mom used to work at Kmart here in town, and she would bring me boxes of cards,” John remembered.
He fell in love with trading cards when one of those boxes revealed a Peyton Manning card. “It’s one of the first cards I remember pulling out of a box,” John said.
Brian also understands that feeling when a special card miraculously slides out of a cellophane package freshly purchased from the store.
“My favorite memory in cards is definitely the Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr Chase as a 10-year-old,” he said. “That was the first year of the product, and he was the biggest prospect in our world. Nothing will ever top ripping those packs and pulling a Griffey rookie.”
Card Guys Sports Cards features baseball, football, and basketball cards, with football being the most popular. “We’ve even got some UFC. We’ve got some wrestling,” John added. “We’ve recently come across some golf cards and some tennis and soccer.”
They also have trading card games (TCG) like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Disney Lorcana, which features all your favorite Disney characters.
“Heck, we’ve got Star Wars and even Garbage Pail Kids,” he added.
The cards are more than pieces of cardboard. According to John, every card is worth something, whether in a box opened today or something someone collected ten years ago. Each one is valuable to someone.
“It teaches entrepreneurship,” he said. “I had a kid come in today who collects cans to earn money to purchase cards. He’s build a pretty impressive collection from doing that.”
Card Guys Sports Cards is located at 413 Main Street (across from Oink, Inc.) and can be reached at 812-509-5490. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed on Sundays and Mondays. You can follow them on Facebook here.
The Jasper Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon-cutting on Friday, July 12 at 11:30 a.m. In Celebration of the grand opening, Card Guys will also have food, drinks, give-aways and in-store specials that day.
