Baseline Sports Cards vs. 509 Card Shop: Which Local Card Shop Will Help You Walk Away Happier with Your Experience and Pokémon Purchase?
Was there ever a childhood toy that always remember having. Throughout the years of your life, you keep hearing about it and make the decision. “Maybe I should get back into those." That thing for me would be Pokémon cards. Many of you remember the basic characters, such as Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, and Pikachu. Well, from their humble start on February 27th, 1996, to the current day there have been a lot of new Pokémon created. For me the most popular place to find those awesome little booster packs, full of, oftentimes terrible, and occasionally, good stuff, was at the Dollar Tree and Walmart. However, these days they aren’t easily acquired at either of these locations anymore. They seem to just keep moving to higher end stores, and you can’t get them at your regular grocery store anymore. In fact, ... where can you get them?
In order to fulfill the writing of this article to it’s full potential I first needed to know what I was working with. So begun the search. I visited the few stores that really seemed to be getting the best marks and reviews. There were four that I visited. I will be giving you an overview on all of them, but will make sure that my favorite two battle it out in this article. Just as surely as those little Pocket Monsters did whenever you and your best bud got together after school to have an all out Pokémon showdown.
The first place I visited was Vault 509 Trading Card Shop located at 1901 George Washington Way, Richland, WA. It took me a while to actually physically find this place due to its tucked away location. It was situated underneath many of the other stores in that building. The instant I stepped through the doors my breath was taken away. They had everything! Posters on the walls, stickers on everything. I immediately got excited. Within my first three seconds inside the door, one of the owners noticed and greeted me. Ben and Katie are the couple who own the place. They are both very polite and engaging. Ben immediately introduced himself and asked if there was something I was looking for. When I specified what I was searching for, he showed me what he had. It was everything I was hoping for ... and more! Although a lot of their stock is limited, they still have variety that can make sure everyone walks out of there happy.
The second place I went to was On the Marq Sports Cards located at 8390 W Gage Blvd Ste 102, Kennewick, WA. Right away, I wasn’t expecting to find a lot of Pokémon being something that advertised mostly sport cards. When I walked in, it wasn’t the most welcoming atmosphere. The store didn’t have the best lighting. The man working there didn’t quite engage very much. I didn’t receive any interest, just a typical welcome greeting. They surprisingly had quite a large selection of Pokémon cards. They carried small booster packs, larger sealed sets, and hundreds of singles! They also had a very large selection of sleeves, top loaders, and binders. When I asked any questions, the employee responded quickly and seemed to take more interest with each one. When I asked to look at some of the singles, they had in the display case he quickly pulled them out for me to inspect. They definitely know their stuff, and have quite a nice variety, but they could work on the nostalgic homey feel that makes you instantly feel welcome.
The third place I visited was Baseline Sports Cards. They are located at 4900 Paradise Way, West Richland, WA. Seeing that it was another shop that specialized in sports cards, I wasn’t very intrigued. However, as I opened the door my mind was quickly changed. The interior of the shop was well lit, very roomy, and just breathed the excitement of every person who had purchased and opened anything from them. The owner Scott McMurrich quickly gave me a warm welcome. Asking if it was my first time in, or if there was something specific I was looking for. When I specified my search for Pokémon, he was very honest in saying that he didn’t have much stock and didn’t really know much about them. He was very excited, however, to tell me that he did recently purchase a lot of Pokémon packs and sets that he had just put on the shelves. Even though I didn’t find a large collection or lots of variety, I still walked out of there happy with my experience.
The final place I visited was The Collectors Corner. Located at 2527 W Kennewick Ave, Kennewick, WA. I could tell from the moment I saw this place I would be able to find almost any kind of card here. Their Pokémon collection is the best I have seen yet. They had display case after display case full to the brim of every different collection there is. However, despite all this glorious merchandise I didn’t love the place. It wasn’t very busy, but it was still extremely crowded due to the floor plan and layout of their displays. It felt like you were trapped going down a one-way alley. There were 4-5 people behind the counter when I came in and not one of them bothered to welcome me or pay any attention to me whatsoever. It looked like the majority of what they offered was Pokémon, I didn’t talk to any of them, except to ask questions, they mostly just responded with short, few word comments. They didn’t really make me feel like I was a valued customer, more just like someone they could make a couple bucks off of. They had a very large collection, but I don’t think that they are doing the best they can to make sure their customers are satisfied.
The two shops that I walked away from most pleased with my experience were: Vault 509 Trading Card Shop, and Baseline Sports Cards. So those will be the two that I compare here.
Both card shops are located in Richland. (Including West Richland) The things they have in common would be the owners of both were super friendly and caring. They really want you to walk away just as in love with the stuff as they are. They both have a very nice layout, very good lighting, and nice displays. Baseline offers a very limited stock for Pokémon cards. They are almost entirely dedicated to major league sports memorabilia. They do offer consignment opportunities, though. I, myself, have taken advantage of this. You get to set the price, and the business takes 10% of whatever final selling price is. As far as stock items outside of Pokémon, there is a very wide variety. But if you are set on finding yourself specific collection cards, you likely won’t find them here.
Vault 509, I would say, is somewhere in the middle. They don’t have everything, but I would say you could still find some good hits. They have a limited selection of binders, sleeves, etc. However, Ben will ensure to do everything in his power to make sure you walk out of his place with everything you were looking for. They offer to buy your cards as well. Although it’s not the best you could do, it isn’t bad for what most shops offer. He offers 50% cash or 60% credit, although just recently they offered a deal where your trade-ins made you 75% credit. They seem to have these special offers quite often, which is something I really appreciate about this shop. They also host tournaments every week. Their Pokémon tournaments aren’t hosted as often as some other common TCG games, but they are a great opportunity to meet up with other Pokémon lovers and battle in a fun and friendly atmosphere.
Pros of both:
Friendly owners, good lighting, welcoming appearance, lots of diverse stock items not strictly Pokémon cards, and good locations. They sell at direct market prices. There is no markup past what you could find somewhere else.
Cons of both:
Not very big stock of sealed Pokémon items. What both shops are nailing: They are awesome people doing what they can to serve their community. They both have set up their stores to be as friendly and welcoming as possible. They both awaken an old love for the nostalgic joy that comes from building a collection. They both offer a way for you to maybe make a little money. They are in easy locations to access.
So, if you are looking for more sealed products, I would suggest first checking Baseline. If you are searching for singles, I would suggest Vault 509. If you are looking for a friendly atmosphere to explore your options in, I would suggest both!
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