Business - Business News

POSTED: Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

End of an era: Longtime Bellingham sports card shop to close

BELLINGHAM - A piece of Americana will soon be disappearing in Whatcom County: the sports card shop.

Jack Terry has decided to retire and will be closing Grama's Sportscards at 4120 Meridian St. at the end of January. He believes his store is the last one north of the Seattle-Everett area. At one point through the last 12 years, there were seven sports card stores in Bellingham and 12 in Whatcom County.

"I've often said it's the best job in town and what I'm going to miss the most is the people, especially the ones I've watched grow up and continue to enjoy the hobby," said Terry, 67. "I've had a lot of fun talking to customers, whether it's about the cards or solving the problems of the Mariners, Seahawks and Sonics over and over."

Terry has had the business for sale but hasn't been able to find a buyer. He figures the best fit would be someone who is retired and looking to supplement an income, because it's the kind of business that doesn't generate much profit these days.

The closure of Grama's is part of the bigger changes that have been taking place in the industry in the past decade. Children, once the core group in the hobby who didn't focus on collecting, have been priced out of the market, and the collectors can find most of what they want on the Internet, particularly on eBay.

For those who haven't been collecting for a while, the prices can be shocking. Some exclusive cards sell for $1,000 a pack.

While Terry said the changes did take some of the fun out of the hobby, in some ways they were inevitable. The Internet has become a convenient way to track down sought-after cards; it's something Terry does himself. Also, he does have children who enjoy the hobby, but it's more about collecting the cards, not sticking them in the spokes of bicycle tires as older generations once did.

"We still have the $1.99 packs of cards, but everyone just walks past them," Terry said.

Terry has been involved in the hobby for more than 50 years. Before buying the shop in 1996 he went to card shows, which were especially popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. When he first took over the shop, the first three years were a struggle, he said. His business took off in 2001, which was the first year Ichiro Suzuki was with the Mariners. Ichiro memorabilia continues to be one of his best-sellers.

Terry expects the number of sports card shops to continue to decrease; eventually they will exist only in big cities. The people he thinks will be hurt the most are the collectors who aren't focused on making a profit.

"I have people who come in to buy a pack or two every week who have no intention of ever selling them. It will be harder for them, because you usually have to buy entire sets or one special card on the Internet," Terry said.

The store is no longer taking consignment items and is now having a liquidation sale, including the fixtures. While the store and others across the country are disappearing, Terry believes the hobby will continue to thrive.

"There's a certain mystique that comes along with this, especially baseball cards. There's something special about holding a card, looking at the stats," Terry said. "One thing that is great about this industry is how it's branched out - I was around to see the advent of women's basketball, and those cards have been bringing girls into the industry. The hobby now appeals to people of all ages and gender."