Collector’s World is relocating to a larger space
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| Collector’s World has outgrown its space. |
Collector’s World, the sports card and comic book store in the Annandale Shopping Center on Columbia Pike, is moving to a much bigger space in the same strip mall – between Aldi and Mathnasium.
Co-owner Damon Hudson hopes the store will open in the new location in time for the Christmas season.
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| Collector’s World, at 7030 Columbia Pike. |
The new spot will have two separate areas – one for sports cards, sports posters, autographed items, and the like and one for comic books, Pokemon and Magic cards, and related items.
Since Hudson and his partner Steve Weber bought the business in 2013, “we’ve seen really good growth,” Hudson says. Even before the pandemic, Collector’s World has been focusing more on online sales.
The store is outgrowing its current 1,200-square-foot space. The new store, at 5,000 square feet, will have more room for events and will allow us “to be more efficient with our online business,” Hudson says.
An event next weekend invites collectors to have their autographed materials evaluated by the JSA authentication company. Customers can drop off their cards, baseballs, or whatever they have at the store on Thursday, July 23, or Friday, July 24, and pick them up next week. The service is $20, or up to $50 for high-value items.
After the move, Collector’s World will have more events like that, as well as cosplay activities and autograph signings
Hudson plans to focus more on the customer experience, including “box breaks,” where customers buy a mystery box of sports cards or other items and open it livestreamed on social media.
“We will be more focused on services, not just selling products,” Hudson says. As an example, the store will offer “grading services,” where a customer can have the value of a sports card or comic book rated by a professional company on a scale of 1 to 10.
During its first year in the new space, Collector’s World plans to hire 10 or 15 more people.
While other businesses are struggling during the pandemic, Collector’s World is thriving. “People are home more and have more time to shop online,” Hudson says. Also, with sports and sports gambling suspended, people are turning to collecting.
“More fathers are bringing their sons into the hobby. Many more young people are getting into this,” he says. “It’s really exciting times.”
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| The new Collector’s World location, between Aldi and Mathnasium in the Annandale Shopping Center. |
Meanwhile, “we’re buying aggressively,” he says. Anyone who is downsizing and has sports or comic book items to sell should contact the store at [email protected].
“If you have vintage Redskins merchandise, now is the time to sell,” Hudson says, as prices are rising before the team name changes.
Collector’s World’s current location had been a comics store since 1993, long before Hudson and Weber bought the business seven years ago.
When they decided they needed more space, “we didn’t want to locate anywhere far away,” Hudson says. “It’s important to us to be geographically close to the old store.”
4 responses to “Collector’s World is relocating to a larger space”
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Do they collect civil war memorabilia by any chance?
I recommend you reaching out to the Inova consignment store in that strip
The Inova Consignment store will probably accept those
I haven't seen any civil war memorabilia there. Anyone know if the twins still work there? Or are they gone, and someone else owns it.