Walt’s Cards and Games In Dundalk, Maryland
While not noted on the Wizards of the Coast Store & Event Locator, Walt’s Cards and Games is the only game store in Dundalk, Maryland. Five stores are within a 10-mile radius of Walt’s Cards and Games. Dan, the store’s operator, has worked for store owner, Walt since 1994. His career began at Cards For You, purchased in 2001 where he worked for one year.
When Dan began working for Walt, sports cards were the main seller. The switch to Magic started in the 90s as “missing the boat” with this game was the fear at the time, Dan says. Unsurprisingly, this switch brought in more players and less sports collectors. However, Dan tells us Walt doesn’t go to the store often. Walt has a travel service where he allocates his time. Therefore, Dan says that Walt allows him to run the store as he wishes.
Handling Purchasing Power For Walt’s Cards and Games
Dan’s favorite thing about running a game store is bringing joy to others. While he is the only true employee of the store, he credits volunteers Omar and Peggy for helping out. He notes that Peggy handles the mechanical issues that arise at the store. As the product buyer, Dan says that not knowing when to cut a product is a shortcoming. His passion for collecting adds to the challenge notwithstanding the potential of an item selling for $300 on eBay. However, he does recall the collapse of Fallen Empires from Magic: The Gathering in the early 1990s and the financial turmoil that ensued.
Additionally, Dan says he won’t buy anything except when he thinks someone will like the product. Furthermore, he won’t go “heavy” into a product. Lorcana was the exception. Dan said he calculated appropriately with Lorcana and bought 10 cases.
Assessing The Gaming Market & Attending Conventions
Dan says the store is not particularly busy during the week, especially during the school year. However, the opportunity to have young kids visit the store and fall in love with a game is a driving force for why he’s in the business. However, the difficulty he faces is cordiality amongst the players regarding which formats to play. When assessing Magic: The Gathering in 2024, the game is not the primary focus for Dan. He tells us that gaming is big and while Magic: The Gathering is a huge part of it, it’s not the only thing out there. Additionally, Dan’s background in detecting counterfeit cards is something he deals with when handling collections brought into the store. He tries to pass this knowledge to the next generation of collectors and players.
Conventions are an enjoyable part of the job for Dan. Seeing friends is the fun of attending as well as introducing customers to the products he carries. When someone eventually steps in to take the reigns of the store, Dan hopes to see the joy of gaming continue to spread.
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