Sean Kim and Gordon Huynh have turned their passion for trading cards into a business called Common Box Games, located on 89 Street and 118 Avenue. 

They opened the store on Sept. 25. 

Huynh says, “It is Edmonton’s one-stop shop for all your trading card needs. We offer a wide selection of sealed and single Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon cards as well as hockey, football, and basketball cards. Come play in one of our many tournaments or just stop by to buy or sell your single cards. We’re excited to join this great community and can’t wait to see all of you in the store!”

Kim has a long history of sales in his career and has been a part of Edmonton’s Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game community for almost 15 years. Huynh has a bachelor’s degree in family science, but has transitioned his career into the IT sector for the past two years. Huynh has also been a part of Edmonton’s various trading card communities for 10 years.

The owners say their decision to open Common Box Games is simply a response to an increasing customer demand. 

“We have been playing and collecting trading cards our whole lives and realized that there were people just like us in Edmonton. We have always thought that we knew what the collectors and players would want in a card store, and so we decided to take the input from the community and open a store using the suggestions of the community. We are a store for the players, by the players,” says Huynh.

This niche market is currently booming and is projected to continue to grow as it becomes more popular among collectors and investors. It is now considered as an alternative asset class and a good investment for many. 

According to BBC.com, collecting sports trading cards might seem like an old-school hobby. Its last heyday was about 30 years ago, but it has experienced a resurgence during the pandemic. Since the first lockdown began in spring 2020, sales have significantly increased on both sides of the Atlantic in both number and value.

The Sports Collectors Daily website reported that eBay’s sports card category sales from March to May 2020 were 92 per cent higher than during the final three months of 2019, with basketball cards seeing the biggest rise in sales.

COMMON BOX GAMES

8932 118 Ave

Ph: 587.415.8488

Sun-Thurs: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Fri-Sat: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.