Graybo's anatomy of a card shop and a big deal
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Not all LCS's are created equal. Imagine combining your favorite neighborhood card shop with your favorite neighborhood sports bar and you get Graybo's in Richmond, Virginia. Now, the team at Graybo's is taking their selling beyond the brick and mortar to eBay Live, starting this Saturday with a special sale.
Co-Owner Duke Dodson explained the upcoming event. "We've got this collection of vintage wax, ranging from 1988 to 2005, some stuff you don't regularly see in shops." Highlights include: Packs of 2000 Fleer Showcase NFL and 2000 Leaf Limited (both sets feature Tom Brady rookie cards). A 2000 Leaf Limited Tom Brady RC numbered to 350 sold on eBay for $40,000 on Aug. 18.
Beyond football, auction items will include Ken Griffey Jr.'s rookie year 1989 Upper Deck and 1988 Fleer Basketball - a set which includes Jordan's third year cards, and rookies of legends such as Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, and Reggie Miller.
"We're going to be auctioning off this stuff," said Dodson. "Hobby boxes we'll auction off but probably won't rip. But for packs, we'll auction off one at a time, and rip those live." In addition to ripping packs, the live stream will also give collectors the opportunity to buy from a curated set of singles that will be put up for sale or auction throughout the night. Brady and Jordan singles will be among those up for grabs.
"It's an exciting time, obviously we've long sold on eBay, but this will be our debut on the eBay Live platform," said Dodson. The stream will air from the Graybo's breaking studio in the shop, and kicks off at 7 PM EST. Dodson is excited to deliver an interactive and engaging event.
Saturday night's vintage wax stream will be headed up by Dodson and key employee Cole Spain. Some in the hobby may well be familiar with Spain, who famously pulled a 1-of-1 Elly de la Cruz card on one of his off-days. Goldin auctioned the card and it fetched just over $115,000. Maybe, just maybe, Spain will be a good luck charm for someone looking for that Tom Brady RC.
The space at Graybo's makes for a unique streaming experience. "The shop is connected to our sports bar, Parlay - which for my money is the best sports bar in the country, an electric gameday atmosphere. The streams are very fun."
Graybo's was founded by three co-owners, Dodson, as well as Gray Burnette and Ryan Fitz. "The idea was a shop with breaking in-house, comfortable seating, places to trade. But it evolved because we wanted to have a place where people could host a fantasy football draft or watch party. We wanted to be a place for sports nuts to get together. It evolved from shop and event space, to a full-blown sports bar." The current iteration of Graybo's and the connected sports bar, Parlay, opened in May of 2024.
The marriage of an LCS and a top-class sports bar has helped Graybos build an impressive community that has put the business at the intersection of sports fans, fantasy heads, and collectors. "Trade nights, we'll have a hundred plus people in there," said Dodson. "In the shop, in the bar, trading, talking shop, having a bite to eat, grabbing a beer. It's not strange for a customer to get a beer and come over and sort through our value boxes. Customers pick up a hobby box and go next door and rip. It's a cool vibe."
Check out Graybo's debut stream, Brady Rookie Hunting on eBay Live on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7PM EST.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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