Shoutout your fave LCS here

I travel a lot and would love to know what the locals consider the best so i don’t have to read random reviews mostly made by Pokémon enthusiasts, not that there is anything wrong with that, but i have driven way out of the way to go to shops that are 99% Pokémon with a corner or less of sports.

In the spirit of this sub lets focus in baseball/sports oriented 1st and foremost. I figure this thread could be a great tool for those of us that like to travel, explore and meet great hobbyists.

I came up with the idea while visiting (almost) all of our local shops in the past few days. I and a friend were on a mission to find some neat things to trade, sell, buy and browse.

—Raleigh & Greater Area—

Triangle Area Trading Cards

I have been going for some time now, it is far and away my favorite in the Greater Raleigh area. Heres why:

•Some shops had a very small mix of vintage as compared to modern. TATC had a wide variety of all sports, modern and vintage. Knowledgeable and helpful.

•TATC also has two sides, one for sports, one for pokestuff. Perfect mix.

• Lots of wax -vintage, modern and late model - High and low end.

• I have been to all the shops in the area multiple times and while I am not hating whatsoever on any of the others, TATC has consistently had the best customer service, even with a packed house. It is the obvious reason why there are always people in there.

• Rip nights, trade nights etc. - while i havent been to any other shops event nights, I have been to TATC with my son, and it was always a blast. They do it right and they have the most room and tables/chairs. Lots of great people, pizza, prizes/contests/breaks and just a great vibe for kids and adults. Staff is just stellar.

• SELLING/TRADING- This is a big one for me, I have a lot of stuff and will randomly get an itch to swap out a bunch (especially when i dont have time to be selling online). My experience here was incredible, and I knew it would be because in the past I have watched many others come in with collections/binders/boxes big and small and watched them give a great deal to the seller/trader, with careful examination, comping and consideration. I get that different shops have different focuses, but when another shop straight up says “we only will look at things valued over $100 and very liquid”, but then scans over several very liquid cards, only to lowball, I’m kinda turned off. I get that liquidity can be subjective, but this isn’t conducive to a healthy hobby and certainly not for kids, but again I’m not hating and definitely not saying how anyone should run their biz, its just not for me. At TATC I had shockingly great offers as compared to the previous shops I visited and on many cards that other shops barely glanced at if at all. At TATC the owner was up front about his trading/buying policy before he began inspecting and comping. He took a lot of time to ensure it was correct, and when i was given offers on cards, most were 20-30% more than other shops, obviously not all, but a very large amount of the cards. Some shops i visited lowballed so hard that I couldn’t even believe what they were showing me. I know the comps, especially on my larger cards, i don’t expect to get comped price paid at an LCS, but several of these cards at TATC also had nearly double the amount of comps, including the ones on the higher end which were not even appearing in the comps at other shops. TATC also offered to just buy everything which no other shop offered, and since I was really looking to trade, an even better trade offer was made. I was honestly amazed at how well it was all handled and how fair and transparent the pricing/comping and negotiating was. Super knowledgeable and obvious care was given to each of several hundred cards.

•Bulk - from what i have seen the amount of bulk, in all sports, in several price ranges is tip top. And certainly far and away the most I have seen around.

• Supplies - somewhat comparable to the rest, and plenty of stock. It is a huge pet peeve of mine when toploaders/sleeves etc are just ridiculously overpriced, or shops that have very little, or shops that don’t automatically supply some for ripping.

• Philosophical - After spending much time with the owner while going through my stuff, it became immediately apparent that he loves what he does, he and his team are very knowledgeable about all things trading cards, and they are focused on everyone, little cards, big cards, little kids, big kids. A very honest and thoughtful vibe in a pressure-free, organized and fun setting. Great spot to hang, rip, trade or whatever.

Lots of great shops in the area, but this is mine and my sons #1.