We are excited to bring you this “Seller in the Spotlight” segment with Adam Sellner of The Gaming Company! Adam co-owns The Gaming Company with his business partner Shawn Reynolds. In addition to their online stores, they operate two brick and mortar outlets in Kentucky. The Gaming Company has been growing on TCGplayer since 2013, and with their significant leverage of our Store Your Products fulfillment program through TCGplayer Direct, they have just celebrated their biggest quarter ever.

TCGplayer

How and why did you start selling? How old were you? Where did you learn your sense of entrepreneurialism?

The Gaming Company

My mom bought and sold items on eBay my entire childhood life for some extra money. I spent my weekend mornings as a kid going to garage sales and rummage sales looking for anything that we could sell online. I was a normal 90s kid, collecting Pokémon cards and Beanie Babies. When I was 18 years old we purchased a Magic: The Gathering collection and flipped it on eBay for a decent profit. I buried the idea in my head for a few years, but then in 2012, during college, it occurred to me once again as a way to start making some extra money. I knew nothing about Magic but noticed a collection came up for sale on Craigslist right down the road from my dorm. I had a total of $2,000 to my name and I spent $600 on the collection. I knew nothing about Magic, had never played, and had only sold that one collection four years earlier. All I thought was, “this seems like alot of cards, let’s buy it!” Looking back, this is a terrible strategy; I was very lucky, and it contained nearly $4,000 of goodies. From that point forward, everything we have now is from that original $2,000 seed money only 9 years ago.

TCGplayer

You’ve been a successful Direct seller for many years –– when did you realize the value of Direct for you?

The Gaming Company

Math guides all of our decisions. We were one of the original beta testers for Direct. Direct is the correct financial move for everyone (I cannot think of any exception). When making any decision, you must consider ALL variables. While most people complain that Direct usually averages 20-30% fees, that includes shipping and labor. Along with the increase in sales and a higher sell price on each card, it is a no brainer.

TCGplayer

In a year of allocation concerns for sellers with trading card game products, you have managed to secure great allocations. What has helped you cultivate such reliable relationships with your distributors?

The Gaming Company

For Pokémon, we got extremely lucky. We noticed that Pokémon Evolutions booster boxes had run out at distribution in early summer 2020. But, some EX boxes/tins were still in stock, and contained Evolutions packs. So we purchased millions worth of Pokémon boxes in fall/early winter 2020. This was right as the Pokémon explosion was happening, so all of that past spending led to giant allocations this year. As for Magic allocations, we have steadily built that over time: take everything you are allocated and then ask for more! I would also suggest sending most of your business to one distributor per brand –– for instance, keep all of your Wizards of the Coast spending through one distributor.

TCGplayer

What does your average day-to-day look like?

The Gaming Company

I handle all purchasing and finance of The Gaming Company. Shawn handles on-site management. I actually work remotely now, in South Carolina, and our facility is in KY.

TCGplayer

How do you approach box breaks for Magic: The Gathering releases?

The Gaming Company

Once again, we focus on math. We keep data of every single release that we have ever opened, and use that past information in order to guide our decision making for the next set.

TCGplayer

How do you decide when to use our Store Your Products program versus our Sort program?

The Gaming Company

We use SYP for any cards that TCGplayer is accepting –– it saves us time and labor.

TCGplayer

How large is your team? Does it differ during releases?

The Gaming Company

Between our two stores and two warehouses we have approximately 15 full-time staff. We do have some surge part-time labor we bring in for set releases.

TCGplayer

In addition to your online marketplaces, you own and operate two brick and mortar outlets with your business partner Shawn Reynolds. What is the value of having a business partner?

The Gaming Company

My first store I owned independently in Ripon, WI (shout out guys!), then I moved to Kentucky for my wife's optometry school in 2016, which is where I met Shawn. Shawn brought a unique skillset to the table that I did not have and we joined forces. He’s the guy behind the scenes that keeps our entire staff happy (they all are afraid to tell me things), as well as keeps my rash tendencies in check. We are also extremely skilled at bouncing ideas off each other in order to come up with the best solution. Shawn is a great listener, while I think that is a fault of mine. He is a very laid back manager, where I tend to micro manage, so overall we work quite well together.

TCGplayer

Through the Store Your Products program, our Fulfillment Center has shipped over 7 million cards on behalf of TheGamingCo. What is your favorite feature of our Fulfillment Center?

The Gaming Company

It saves us money. Even on Direct, let alone self-fulfilling, we could not do that kind of volume with only a staff of 15 people. The program allows us to keep our labor costs low.

TCGplayer

Over the years, our Customer Service team has handled hundreds of buyer issues, questions, and concerns for your various Direct accounts. What is your favorite feature of our Customer Service team?

The Gaming Company

Your statement is the answer to the question: that we did not have to deal with all those requests. The labor to do so is enormous.

TCGplayer

How do our services compare to other online marketplaces, such as eBay? You have said that “TCGplayer’s seller support is next level and as long as they continue that, I will tie myself to that ship” –– can you expand on this? Why is seller support so important to you?

The Gaming Company

By participating in TCGplayer beta programs and their surveys, TCGplayer has been extremely receptive to our requests and does not hesitate to solve our problems in a timely manner. Most large marketplaces send you to a call center, and do not respond. Having a place to get in touch with someone directly is pivotal for sellers.

TCGplayer

What is your favorite thing about this industry?

The Gaming Company

The thing I have taken the most pride in recently is being able to provide work for our staff. They are great, and work extremely hard. So I guess I am happy that we were able to find a niche in this industry to give them all jobs.

TCGplayer

What are the biggest challenges of this industry?

The Gaming Company

I am unsure of the future of paper cards. I believe firmly that kitchen table gaming will be around forever, but I am unsure beyond that, and if paper gaming falls so will card prices. While I do believe paper card games are here to stay, we are constantly monitoring our turn over to make sure that we are not overly invested vs. the risk.

TCGplayer

What advice do you have for sellers just entering the industry?

The Gaming Company

I started selling cards with $2,000 to my name in 2012. I am now 30 years old; my house, my cards, and every single product we have came from that initial $2,000 in my bank and from the hobby industry. It has only been 9 years. Work hard, save your money, and focus on the MATH.