Buzz Hobby Shop Spotlight: The Cardboard Devil

In these challenging times for hobby shops around the country and around the world, Blowout Cards is launching a new series, the Buzz Hobby Shop Spotlight -- a look at spots in the hobby that you might not know about ... in their own words. 

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The Cardboard Devil

Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Opened: March 2019
Owners: Janice & Rick Haines

In their own words: "Our shop is more like home than the old school card shops. Our store was formerly a bridal shop. We really didn't change it much other than to freshen up the paint and add our store fixtures. We currently carry hockey, baseball, football and basketball sealed boxes. Normally we are fully stocked on UltraPro top-loaders, one-touches and we stock BCW storage boxes in a variety of sizes. We also have a singles inventory that is growing and changing for the four major sports. We also offer memorabilia through our B2B with AJ's. We can order almost anything that a collector might be looking for.

"My wife, Janice, and I started in the hobby in 2005. Although we stepped away for a number of years, the hobby never really left us. In 2017, we made the leap of faith and incorporated our business with the goal of opening the shop. With a shoestring budget and a growing customer base on the back of Upper Deck hockey group breaks, we were able to sign the lease in January 2019. We took possession of the storefront on Feb. 14, 2019, and we opened the doors to the public on March 9. What a ride we have had in the past 20 months. In the fall of 2019, we had an accident right in front of our doors that forced us to close up while we waited for engineers to deem that it was safe to let customers in for business. In February 2020, we were broken into and had all of our sealed boxes and higher-end singles stolen, and then before another month had ticked by, we were forced to shut down due to COVID-19 for almost two months.

"With the support of a fantastic customer base both local, in Cambridge and the surrounding area, as well as our online group-break audience, we have been able to weather the ups and downs of our first 20 months in business."

THEIR LINKS
Email: thecardboarddevilandcollect@gmail.com
Twitter: @cardboard_devil
Facebook: @TheCardboardDevil
Instagram: @thecardboarddevilcollectables

Shop address
336 Eagle Street North Unit 1F
Cambridge, ON, Canada N3H 1C2

Phone: 1 (519) 653-0427

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Do you own a shop collectors should see? Take the time to compile the info above for your shop and send it to us to be considered. 

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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