Exploring Life & Business with Greg Bartholomew of All American Cards and Comics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Bartholomew.

Hi Greg, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I collected comics books since 1974. I always wanted to sell them as an adult but my parents still made me get a college education so I got a Education Degree for Upper level math. I substitute taught for almost 4 years and decided to give a try into small business. I opened my first store in 1993, my 2nd store in 1995 and my 3rd store in 1997. I had 3 stores for nearly 8 years when I sold off my 2nd shop around 2003. The last 23 years I have had a store in Downtown Warren and on Rt 224 across the street from the Southern Park Mall in Boardman. We are one of the longest tenured comic book and gaming stores in the state of Ohio. We stick to what we know and try to be the best in what we do. Others have come over the decades to copy what we do since they think it’s easy but we have weathered all competition and financial crisis’s the country has seen since we opened and keep on trucking. The last 5 years since Covid has been some of the best years we have seen sales wise here at both locations.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing in small business is easy. We have seen the almost death of the American Comic book in the mid 90’s to a very stagnant gaming community in the early 2000’s. We got by the dot com collapse in the late 90’s and the world wise financial collapse of 2008/2009. We are now dealing with greedy distributors trying to artificially inflate the scarcity of their product by not filling orders which they have received from stores 6-8 months in advance. Securing product is very difficult sometimes these days. We are also having to deal with these unneeded tariffs on supplies coming from Japan/China.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are one of the oldest comic/gaming stores in the state of Ohio. We have been open since March 1st. 1993 and have no plans in slowing down. We are the foremost buyer of vintage comic books and Magic the Gathering cards in the state and we have been a vibrant part of the communities that we are in. We have a great selection of the items we specialize in and we also are extremely competitive price wise compared to our competition. We have a large following on social media and we are proud to run the most organized gaming events in the area. We have owned just about every major publishers comic books from 1960 to present and we have also owned and sold every Magic card ever printed since 1994. We keep our better inventory at the stores instead of quickly putting it online to flip. We want to take care of our local customers first and foremost!!

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
CASH FLOW is king!! Trusting my instincts on a deal after doubting myself the first 20 years of being in business!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063557771139
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063557771139