Born in Antigua and raised in the United States, Shaquille “Shaq” Gould fell in love with Pokémon in the 1990s, starting with Pokémon Red Version on the Game Boy. Soon after, he discovered the trading card game and asked his mother for packs as a Christmas present. She told him they couldn’t afford it, but a few weeks later, he found Pokémon packs tucked into his stocking. That surprise was not only a lasting memory, but what led Shaq to where he is today: Sergio’s Collection.
A Return to Pokémon
Like many, Shaq moved away from the hobby as he got older. After college, he went into corporate tech and spent years focused on his career. But after moving back to Austin, he started to wonder what happened to his childhood Pokémon collection. In 2019, he acted on this curiosity; he tracked down his cards, started looking up prices online, and realized the hobby had grown considerably.
The Start to Sergio’s Collection
At first, his approach was casual: sell a few cards, continue building the personal collection, and reconnect with the classic Pokémon nostalgia. But one thing led to another, and soon he had a pretty serious side business. He started on eBay, but needed a marketplace where it was easier to sell singles, especially lower value singles –– taking photos and listing hundreds of bulk Pokémon cards was time consuming.
That’s what led him to TCGplayer.
Shaq needed a more efficient and scalable workflow to move his inventory, and TCGplayer offered just that for him. So he set up a TCGplayer seller account, started listing, and steadily ramped up from there, turning stagnant inventory into consistent sales.
Sergio’s Collection Today
Today, Sergio’s Collection is a fully online, family-run TCG business. Shaq still works full-time in tech, while his brother and sister-in-law manage daily operations.
Operating online allowed Shaq to grow his business without the pressure of owning a brick-and-mortar; he was able to learn through experimentation, make mistakes, and shift focus with the flexibility to do so.
TCGplayer not only offers a marketplace for him to sell his inventory to millions of customers, but he also relies on the market data that TCGplayer provides, using this information to track trends, evaluate sealed product, and make informed buying decisions.
Connecting In-Person at Events
Despite being an online seller, Shaq regularly attends events like Collect-A-Con and the Dallas Card Show. These events aren’t cheap, but he views them as more than just a sales channel –– they’re a way to establish community. Events help him build trust, strengthen relationships with other sellers, and put a face to Sergio’s Collection.
More than anything, events reinforce what he loves most about the TCG hobby: the passionate community behind it all.
Words of Wisdom
For aspiring sellers, Shaq’s advice is to jump in and learn as you go. “Build the plane as you’re flying it,” he says. Find your niche, expect ups and downs, and be ready for the repetitive work that comes with growth. And if you’re only in it for the money, he offers a warning: it won’t last. “Find your why,” Shaq says.
For Shaq, the why is clear: “At the end of the day, it’s just trading cards,” he says. “But I get so happy when I get a message from a buyer saying, ‘My kid’s going to be so happy.’” When you’re opening a pack, everyone becomes that six year old kid again. It’s why he puts the level of care he does into selling TCGs and showing up for his customers –– so that each customer has a chance to feel what he once did when opening Pokémon packs on Christmas morning.