Eric Lattanzia: 31, Owner, Sportsmasters of West Florida, 8401 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N, St. Petersburg
By ELLEN MOSES
Published May 26, 2004
How did you get interested in this?
I've been a collector for almost all my life, of all different kinds of sports cards.
What kind of business background do you have?
I was a manager at a restaurant for 10 years, and that was all I ever did. It was totally opposite of what I was doing, but I knew about it from a hobby aspect before I went in, so I wasn't going in blind.
What kind of hours do you work?
Five hours a day, basically, except on Saturdays and not on Sundays. Hours are 1:30 to 6:30 Monday through Friday, and 10 to 2 on Saturday. I do stuff at home, too, as part of the business. I probably put in another hour at home at night, as far as paperwork and stuff like that.
Do you deal in vintage or new cards?
Mostly new products and some older vintage cards. The majority is the newer stuff, though.
What brands of sport cards do you carry?
Upper Deck, Fleer, Topps; pretty much everything, you name it, I've got it. I'm a Home Team Advantage dealer, and that means you can get better products for the customers than like they could get at Target or Wal-Mart. HTA dealers, they get packs with special inserts, like autographs and jersey cards and stuff like that.
Do most people buy cards in packs?
Packs, boxes, they buy a whole box of packs, because you get more stuff obviously. You basically buy a pack, and it has all different people in it. You'll get like all different players in a pack, of all different teams.
So if someone is looking for an individual card, it's kind of a gamble?
Yeah, exactly. And that's why a lot of people buy just the single cards. Because I'll have like all different players, and they'll see their favorite player, and then they'll just buy that, instead of trying to find it in a pack. So I sell a lot of singles, too.
How do you figure out what cards customers will want?
That's the hardest part, is finding out what the customer is going to want to buy, because there are so many different products out now. There are like three or four (new) products out every week. Stocking the right product is hard. Sometimes (a product) won't sell at all, and sometimes I sell out right away. It's really hard to judge.
Can you give me an example of something that sold out?
I had a product called Timeless Treasures that sold out. You got five cards in a collector tin, and they were $100 apiece. You had the opportunity to get pieces of a Babe Ruth jersey and autographs from checks written by baseball greats. So you had the chance of getting an autograph of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams; people that have passed on so you'll never get their autograph again. That's why it was more expensive. People paid it. I sold 30 tins in one week.
Are your customers mostly kids or adults?
Adults, definitely. The prices of packs, like $100 for a tin, obviously a kid is not going to be able to afford that. I do have little kids come in for the Yu-Gi-Oh! (cards). That's the little card game that the kids play. I stock Yu-Gi-Oh! because I do like the little kids coming in here. This hobby should be for kids, but the hobby companies have priced the kids right out of it. Your basic (sports) card packs are 3, 4 and 5 dollars a pack. Kids can't really afford that.
Of the cards you stock, what percentage falls in which sports?
I'd say it's probably 40 percent baseball, 40 percent football, and 10 percent basketball and 10 percent hockey.
Have you seen interest in hockey cards increase with the Lightning's recent run for the Stanley Cup?
A little, but not as much as it was for the Bucs a couple years ago when the Bucs were winning. I couldn't keep football cards in stock. Anything Buccaneers was just flying out the door. But the Lightning, I just don't think people are sold on them yet. I don't know why - they're a great team - but (the playoffs) really haven't done much for hockey sales.
How often do you get new cards?
Usually twice a week I get in new products. Sometimes it's more. I have a (vendor) calendar, and I usually know what's coming in, and I usually tell customers ahead of time, that this is coming in a week or two weeks, so be ready for it.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The interaction with the customers. I get to talk about sports all day long, and collecting cards, because I'm a card collector myself. I have a big collection at home.
Who's in your personal collection?
I collect Ken Griffey Jr. cards. I've been collecting him since '89, ever since he was a rookie.
What's the most you ever sold a card for?
$1,500. It was Alex Rodriguez. One of one. There was only one made, and it was autographed. That was just recently. He was in his Texas uniform. It was a really nice card.
Do you do much business on the Internet?
Yeah, I do some. What I do is, I'll list cards on eBay for my customers. They'll open up a box of cards and they'll get a couple of good cards, and I'll list them for them and sell them for them. It's almost like consignment, but it's on eBay.
Do you sell other sports memorabilia?
I have some autographed balls and autographed hockey sticks. I do have some memorabilia, but it's 90 percent cards.
What is your dream job?
This might be it. I mean, to be able to have a hobby and make a living at it is pretty nice.
