I spent the weekend in New Hampshire visiting a buddy.
We hit his local card shop and ripped 2026 Bowman Football Mega's at $80 a box. Zero hits.
Then we walked into a Dick's House of Sport, the giant House of Sport format, and found the exact same Mega for $65. We ripped a bunch there. Hit after hit.
Let me put the numbers on this, because they matter. 2026 Bowman Football is the first Bowman NFL product since 2016, fully licensed NFL and NCAA in one product, and it carries Arch Manning's first Topps card. Topps lists the Mega at $64.99. Fanatics: $64.99. GameStop: $64.99. Dick's: $65. The card shop: $80. That is 23% over sticker on a retail product.
I'm fine with a markup existing. Shops have rent. But here's what the markup is competing against now. Dick's launched ScoreCard+ on July 1st: $99 a year, $100 back guaranteed ($25 a quarter, so it pays for itself), 3x points on one purchase a year, free shipping. GameStop Pro is $25 a year: 5% off all collectibles including wax, a $5 coupon every month, 10% extra trade-in credit. And the sleeper nobody talks about: GameStop now buys and sells PSA-graded singles, grades 8 through 10, with Pros getting 5% off and a 15% trade-in bonus. They're not just undercutting the LCS on boxes anymore. They're coming for singles too.
Meanwhile Fanatics cut its biggest distributor, allocates direct to shops now, pushes broader retail availability, and is opening flagship card stores in London and Paris.
So here's my message to the struggling LCS: think outside the box. I used to work at GameStop. We threw massive midnight launches for Halo, GTA, Resident Evil, Gears of War. Big parties, swag, lines around the building. Now picture this: you're a card shop in Massachusetts, AJ Dybantsa's home state, and you throw a midnight launch for 2026-27 Topps Flagship Basketball, his first licensed card. Everybody who shows up gets entered in a raffle for a signed jersey. That's a reason to leave the house that Dick's can't replicate with a rewards app. And by the way, Dick's is already doing rip nights, trade nights, and launch nights. The big box is coming for the experience layer too.
Card shops truly matter, but what matters is the community you build. If your whole business is moving sealed wax at a markup, you're not a shop. You're a vending machine with rent.
And the honest footnote: cheaper wax doesn't fix the math inside the box. A $65 Mega and an $80 Mega hold the same cards. My hits at Dick's came from probability, not the store. If you're going to rip, buy where it's cheapest. Or better yet, wait three weeks and buy the single.
Shop owners: what's your move? Collectors: how much over sticker will you pay to keep your LCS alive?
