Week 8, post 2

When searching for baseball card shops or individuals that would be in the same category as we are, I don't find much.  The baseball card shop is a dying venture.  I found one in Santee (All Star Cards) and one in Escondido (All Star Collectibles).  Neither have a strong online presence.  They do not have websites, I didn't find them on social media.  The Santee shop was on Yelp with only 28 reviews (we found this shop 15 years ago when we lived in Lakeside).  The Escondido shop was also only on Yelp with only 4 reviews.  I did come across a shop in Kansas that has the same name as the Santee one.  They do have a website that is very minimal, just a brief blurb about the shop, what they sell, and directions.  They do at least have a newsletter that you can sign up for.

Looking toward the larger companies, Dave and Adams Card World, and Blowout Cards are both online retailers that specialize in card collectibles.  They have websites in line of what you would expect from a retailer.  They offer newsletters via email, you have the option to sign up for email notifications of new products and product availability.  They are both on social media with many followers and use hashtags such as #hobby #collecting #baseball #baseballcards, the list goes on.  Again, what you would expect of a large retailer.  

Individuals sellers are harder to come by, unless you search places like ebay and etsy.  These online retail hubs make it easier for individuals with home based businesses or small stand-alones to sell products.  That being said, many of these individuals still do not utilize the internet to its full capacity, skipping Instagram and facebook as a means to bring business to their online shops.  This could however be intentional as some people do not want to become "big", so they take the trickle of people that stream through sites like etsy and ebay.  

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