Trading Card Recollections Part 2

    Last week, I mentioned how I finally started collecting trading cards in college.  This week, I'll talk about some of the places where I got these cards. Note, I was very cut off from many social circles in the 90s when I did most of my collecting. Therefore, I didn't trade cards with anyone; I just collected on my own. Yes, I did keep back many duplicates in case I could trade, but the opportunities never came up. Neither did the need, as I wound up getting complete base sets pretty much on my own.

    I got the overwhelming number of packs from just two places. I may have bought a random pack somewhere else, but I can't remember for sure. I won't even try to name any others. Those two stores are

• Economy Drug, Pikeville:  I got my first DC cards here. In fact, I got almost my entire collection of that first set here. I may have gotten a few latter packs of latter sets here, but I found another store. I think they still sell sports cards here, although they just could be really old ones that they would rather leave out to try and sell rather than try to get newer ones. I haven't been inside in a few months, so I can't be sure.
• Page 3 Game Zone, Pikeville:  Once I realized that they sold my card sets too, I got most of them here whenever I had extra money from my regular purchases. I even started to get my cards by the box here. Once, I opened up my box and checked packs before I bought them, only to realize that I didn't have enough money on me to pay for them. I had to shamefully come in the next day to finish paying for them. Very embarrassing. This was at their original downtown location. I bought some more at their second store as well. Well before the time they moved to their current spot, I had stopped buying trading cards. They still sell cards, mostly sports-related as other properties have faded a bit. In fact, trading cards were some of the first products that came back after they were closed for months due to the 2025 flood.

    I would also get the occasional price guide/magazine. Sometimes, they would carry free samples of upcoming sets, either a pack or just a single card. Some of my comic book and video game mags would also have the samples. I won't repeat the names of those mags, as I just mentioned them recently. I won't mention the stores either, as I can't remember every single instance of whether or not an individual issue had a sample or not.

    I got my last trading card magazine about ten or so years ago. It was a Beckett price guide for both trading cards and trading card games (TCGs). I haven't seen any on newsstands recently. I think the guides are mostly online now, although it could be that no one carries them. Either way, I don't collect them in such a way that I would want a magazine or guide anyway.

    Next week, part 3 as I cover my concurrent history of collecting TCGs.