Trip to a new LCS

Since moving to my new town over a year ago, I've been wanting to visit a local card shop that is just 15 minutes away. Not a bad distance at all, as many collectors don't have anything nearly that close.

I'm a little ashamed it took me over a year to get there. However, both kids went down for a nap yesterday, so I told my wife I was sneaking out for a few minutes.

I made the drive to the shop, which was about two towns over. The store is not visible from the outside, which confused me a little. However, around back there is a glass door that leads to the second floor of a small strip mall, and the card shop is on the second floor.

It was fairly small, with piles and boxes overflowing. It was sort of organized chaos, but I liked it. There was one other shopper in there, obviously a regular who spends a lot of time there, as I could gather that by their banter. The owner was very nice as well, saying he's been in business since 1988. No small feat!

He immediately asked what I was looking for and what I collect. Honestly, I didn't go in with a plan, so I just sort of blurted out "errr, Yankees." To which he replied, "Ok, but new, old, autographs, what?" I just said, "Yeah, a little of everything." The truth was, I'm also kind of guarded in these situations, as I was ready for him to sell me on the more expensive stuff. After a while, we started chatting a bit more and told him I collect Tino, and have about 800 different. The guy in the shop said he has a Frank Robinson collection like that.

I started to settle in and went though a box of Yankees, all priced between about $1 and $15. Most were a few bucks each. Pricing was pretty standard for a small shop, with cards selling for a bit more than you could find them online. I did find one Tino marked $1, so I snagged it:

Next, he showed me a box of very beat up vintage. They were all older than 1960, and all priced fairly well. I only bought one, but I think it was a decent find for $5. I've been wanting this card for a while.

Lastly, I decided I wanted a few packs. I asked if he had gotten any Bowman Draft in yet, and said he hadn't, which was disappointing. I settled on four packs of 2016 Update. I opened them on the spot, and in the last pack, I snagged a hit, which is unusual for me:

I definitely will be going back. The owner was nice and not pushy at all. It's not the most comfortable setting with the size and clutter, but still was fun to look around a bit, and if I had more time, I'm sure I could have done more damage. I'm looking forward to returning and going through a box of Yankees inserts he mentioned, but I had to go before I could check it out.