It was lockdown and Gavin Davies's life, like many people's, was on pause. Then he started watching YouTuber Logan Paul and, suddenly, his life darted off on a new trajectory that's continued with him opening a new business.
Gavin first started collecting Pokémon cards at six years old and carried on the hobby throughout his childhood, until around 2011. However, it was during lockdown that he rediscovered his former passion. He said: “I stopped for a while and then during Covid, there’s a YouTuber in America called Logan Paul who started the hype again. Everyone was getting their cards and binders out from the attic and shoeboxes, and me and my old housemate were looking at our old collections and I was completely invested again.
“I used the Covid lockdown to lose weight - I lost six stone - and also researched Pokémon. I watched every video and documentary about Pokémon as you don’t know everything about it as a kid - so I got myself up to scratch with everything.”
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Now the 30-year-old has opened The Collector Sector in his hometown of Ebbw Vale, and hopes to bring a bit of 90s nostalgia back to the area. The new store in Church Street offers a variety of collectable cards, card games, vintage Disney plushies, Pixar, interactive figures, sealed figures, mystery packs and more. There's also a Nintendo set up for customers to use and a GameCube.
Before opening the new store, Gavin worked in events management for 15 years, working in the music and festival industry and then moved into card show hosting. He said: "I’m going to all of these card shows all over the UK but I’m from Ebbw Vale and I’m always seeing shops closing down and the kids have nothing to do here - it’s all in the cities. So I thought, why not bring something back to my hometown."
He said trading and playing cards was a hobby for all ages. "I’m 30 years old and I still collect to this day," he said. “We’ve had the same people come back three times in one day saying, ‘oh we can’t wait to come back after school.’ The excitement is really infectious for me as well.
"The excitement they get is the same excitement I still get now - [still the same] as in 1999 when I pulled my first charizard card. It’s crazy, the nostalgia value."
He added: "As a kid, same as everyone in 1999 to 2000, when Pokémon first came out it took the world by storm - from America, Aisa, Europe, Wales, everyone wanted that charizard card. For me, it’s more of a personal thing. My parents are separated but my earliest childhood memory is Abergavenny market with two chaps with tables selling Pokémon cards and there was a base set stage two charizard card there and I still have it to this day. It’s absolutely battered, but I still have it. That card to me is worth more than anything, I would never sell it, it’s a childhood memory."
There is also “a price range for every income” as customers will be able to buy cards starting from 50p - in £2 packs - and one collectable card worth an impressive £1,500. There’s also a wheel of fortune, where people can spend £3 to spin to win a pack of cards worth £2, to individual cards in the price range of £30 to £40.
Gavin added: "It's a fun hobby - with Pokémon, you collect cards and put them in binders and cards appreciate in value of years. That card in my cabinet that costs £1,500 was about £80 four years ago. So I try to encourage the kids to put their cards in binders and to look after them. It shows them discipline and they can make money from it - some collections could be worth thousands in the future. But it’s not all about money, it’s about collecting cards and the excitement [you get from it] as well.”
Gavin explained that a card's value was based on its rarity, pull rate, and how it was graded. He said: "When you grade a card that adds a lot more value.” PSA, the largest card grading service in the world, grades the condition of each card on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. Gavin added: “If you get a 10 in a certain card it’s worth anywhere from £800 to £1,000 plus.”
Gavin invested in a special collectable card - one of 200 in the world -which was graded a 10 and worth £1,500. He said: "It’s one of those cards that if it goes [sells] it makes business sense but if it doesn’t, I’m a collector so I don’t mind.”
The Collector Sector open its doors on Saturday, May 6, and its launch event saw people from London, Manchester, Swindon - all over the UK - coming to Ebbw Vale to support the new business. Gavin said the first week of business had been "amazing" and he hoped to set up more clubs and activities in the store.
He said: "We’re going to do at least two big events every month. We have our first one this coming Saturday (May 20) which will be a game event where kids, and the big kids like myself, can play the Pokémon card game. We’ll also be doing trade events too in a safe space. There’s a lot of fake cards around, so I can educate them and I'll be overlooking every trade to make sure it’s fair, no-one is getting ripped off and that they’re all authentic cards."
He added: "It fills me with pride that the kids are coming in here with big smiles on their faces, parents who collect cards as well, having a great time. It’s absolutely magical. For me it’s about bringing something back to my town. I’m hoping my shop will be a bit of momentary respite - come into the shop, look through the card binders, open some packs with your kids, and forget about the troubles of work and life."
You can find The Collector Sector at 30 Church Street, Ebbw Vale, NP23 6BG, and the store is open five days a week, 10am-5pm Monday to Thursday and 10am-2pm on Saturdays. For all the latest Blaenau Gwent news sign up to our newsletter here.
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