Trading cards and collectibles are still running hot, and there is no sign of that changing. There are plenty of newsagents making good money in this category.
For a newsagency or gift shop the appeal is easy to see. These lines pull younger customers through the door, they bring people back again and again, and they suit a shop that already lives on browsing and discovery.
It is the repeat visits that matter most. Collectors chase the next release, the next set, the next chance at a rare pull. A customer who drops in every week for cards will also grab the birthday card, the magazine and the gift on the way past. That habit is worth far more than the card sale itself.
A word of caution, though. Do not try to stock everything.
Pick two or three franchises and range them properly. Depth in a few beats a thin scatter across many. Talk to your suppliers about what is actually moving in your area, and watch what your younger customers keep asking for. Chase the ones with a steady release schedule rather than one-off hype that fades in a month.
The unglamorous part
Sealed product attracts attention, and not all of it is welcome. Keep the high-value gear behind the counter or in a locked cabinet near the till, visible but secure. And count it properly. This category moves fast and will hide shrinkage from you if you let it. The margin the category promises only shows up if your process is tight.
The best card retailers I know do more than sell, though. They host. A regular swap afternoon, a release-day event, even just a noticeboard, turns a shelf into a place people want to be. You do not need to run tournaments to get the benefit. You just need collectors to think of your shop first.
That reputation is a very hard thing for a bigger competitor to copy.
To be truly successful you need to leverage experience and that’s where newsXpress comes into play for its retailers – years of advice freely shared.
Find out more: help@newsxpress.com.au.