A man said his wife was furious after he bought a collection of Pokemon cards that cost more than his first house.
But when you own a trading card empire you know some items are worth thousands. Anthony Lee owns Card Empire in St John's Market and staff say every day working there "is like Christmas".
Card Empire, tucked away in the upstairs market area of St John's, seems to always be busy. Twice the ECHO visited the shop this week and twice it has been packed-out, full of loyal customers and new faces all descending on the store to trade, buy and sell trading cards - sometimes for as much as £2,999.
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Kerri Hopkins, 31, has worked there for four years, since the shop first opened. Originally from Kent, she was a loyal customer at Card Empire's Manchester shop when she learned of owner Anthony's intention to open a branch in Liverpool.
As, coincidentally, she was just days from moving to Liverpool at the time, she begged to be the first employee of the shop, where she has remained ever since. She told the ECHO: "It’s not an office job, I don’t think I could do an office job.
"This job is brilliant. It’s a little community, we get the regulars that come in and it’s lovely. There's always people who I haven’t seen in a while coming in. I like it, it’s good.
"People bring things into trade so everyday is kind of like Christmas because you never know what you’re going to get from their collections and selections. It’s always exciting.
" I collect Pokemon cards myself so it’s great to have a chat with people of all ages about it, from kids to people who are way older than me. People will come in and ask what’s the most expensive card we’ve got or say they remember them from when they were a kid.
"Some of it can be a bit expensive, and when I look at some the cards myself as well I’m a bit like 'my god', but there’s always someone who just like, 'I need that for my collection'.
"It’s that nostalgia, everyone has an inner child and this shop brings out that inner child and that’s what I love about it. You get your dads coming in with their kids and they’ll be building their decks to battle each other. It’s not just all football, it's lovely to see other things going on as well.
"Everybody has something they’re passionate about or that they enjoy. So my dad for example he’s going back and getting the old Subuteo figures that he grew up with. So there is that nostalgic sense as well but people spend money on things that they enjoy and bring them happiness."
Anthony Lee, 58, told the ECHO he opened the first Card Empire (the one in St John's is the third) "by accident" after taking on a Stockport market stall as "storage" for the business and hobby that had overtaken his home. He now travels between four locations (Stockport, Manchester, Liverpool and soon Sheffield) as a "glorified delivery man."
Talking about the early days of the Liverpool shop, he said: " As I closed this shop up on March 20, 2020, I genuinely thought this business was over. We didn’t sell hand sanitiser, or toilet paper and though we sell things that people like and people want it’s not stuff people need as such.
"But the thing is, everyone was at home and they all got their old Pokemon cards out. It set off a massive wave of a new generation of collectors. W e ended up having a massive bounce from covid.
" The great thing is that people are coming in for something they want. We’re not selling insurance or things that people need but don’t care about.
" I love it when young people come in and get really excited and enthusiastic and they’ll open a pack and pull a shiny and be like, 'Oh my god' as if it’s the world’s most amazing thing. I remember that feeling from when I was a kid.
"It’s good because people will come and find us even though we’re in a bit of weird place - not in the middle, and not outside in the shopping centre - but people will always find us on Google.
" We have people come in all the time to give up their beloved collections. We had a guy once who had an amazing collection with the first 17 Pokemon sets ever and it cost me more than my first house for his Pokemon collection.
"My wife went mental."
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