The brand went from an online presence to physical store in two months
TCGsNTreats store in The Metquarter. Pictured staff member Kayden Gill(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
A new store with a die-hard fanbase has opened in Liverpool’s Metquarter. The shopping complex has welcomed TCGsNTreats, a dedicated destination for collectors, hobbyists and gamers looking to buy trading cards from their favourite brands and sports.
TCGsNTreats declares itself “the ultimate trading card destination” with a huge range across anime and sports. Popular stocked brands include One Piece, NBA, NFL, UFC and Pokémon, with the latter drawing large crowds across the city centre on a regular basis.
Pokémon card collectors queue in force for the release of rare cards, with some bringing camping chairs and waiting for hours for booster packs such as the The Pokémon TCG: First Partner Illustration Collection—Series 2 in June.
The game has also infamously resulted in waves of scalpers around the world clearing out stores in seconds in order to resell for sky-high prices.
TCGsNTreats has grown a large community on Tik Tok with its live Pokémon surprise sets and opening videos racking up tens of thousands of views. The store has now opened on the ground floor of the Metquarter at the hands of owner and hobbyist Jamie Jones.
Jamie initially began collecting Pokémon cards with his son. What started as a shared activity soon developed into a personal passion of his own. Recognising the growing demand for Pokémon cards worldwide, Jamie decided to turn his passion into a full-fledged business.
Jamie told the ECHO: “We initially launched on Whatnot and Tik Tok but because of all the success and demand we had on social media we decided to go into bricks and mortar and open our first store.”
Jamie is a fully fledged Pokémon, sports and trading card geek. He personally hosts and delivers the TCGsNTreats‘s livestreams, where he presents, explains and opens the cards to viewers, adding a modern-day, QVC-style presenter role to his skill set.
The physical store offers trading cards, collectors items, squishes, plush toys and more, with TCGsNTreats online presence expected to continue on Whatnot and Tik Tok “more or less 16 to 18″ hours a day doing breaks and surprise sets”. The shop also welcomes the trading and selling of customer cards.
Turning TCGsNTreats from an online experience to a fully realised physical store was only a two month process. Jamie added: “It’s been stressful but it’s nice to see everything finally coming together.
“We knew people who has stores or pop-ups here, and although the Metquarter doesn’t have a really busy footfall, there are a lot of brands that are really success. The Metquarter is an established and iconic location in Liverpool so it suited.
“I just started collecting the cards and grown to love it. I’ve been interested in trading cards for years and my passion has just grown for it. Social media has gave me access to people who enjoy it just as much as I do.”
