'Fairy tale story': Taunton Pokemon trading card shop a dream come true for owners

TAUNTON — Greg Hom thinks downtown Taunton is the right place at the right time to tap into the Pokemon collectibles market.

During the past four years he’s seen the value of Pokemon trading cards skyrocket and descend back to earth.

“The profit margin on eBay and at Target and Walmart was 100 to 400% during the pandemic,” Hom, 33, said. “People were bored at home so the market for collectable cards blew up.”

“Now,” he said, “it fluctuates around the market price,” which he says provides a profit in the range of 20%.

Deep in the heart of Taunton

Hom is one of four owners of a Pokemon trading card shop called Dream Collectors, which also sells sports card.

The business, which opened in mid-January, is located on the ground floor of 16 Taunton Green in a large commercial building that once was home to Santander Bank and, prior to that, its former namesake Sovereign Bank.

Hom says he and his three partners — Jack Yuen, Dang Nguyen and Nam Nguyen (no relation) — have shared an acute interest in Pokemon trading cards since they became friends more than a decade ago.

And although he puts the typical sale of Pokemon cards in his downtown Taunton store at between $90 and $100, there’s no telling when a diehard Pokemon card collector will walk in and spend far more.

Such was the case on a recent Saturday when a Brockton couple shelled out $1,400 to purchase a 2016 Japanese Eevee Heroes “booster box.”

“I think they’re pretty fairly priced here,” said Cindy Garcia, 27, who says she previously had compared prices on eBay for the same card collection.

Her boyfriend, Jeff Chetwynd, also 27, said he’ll probably return to the Taunton shop: “They’re very knowledgeable here,” he said.

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Both Chetwynd and Garcia said that nostalgia plays an important part in collecting Pokemon playing cards — which were introduced in the United States in 1998 three years after the Pokemon Trading Card Game company was established in Japan.

Dream Collectors, for now, is open Thursday through Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The quartet of co-owners — all of whom have full-time day jobs in the greater Boston region — say they anticipate eventually staying open seven days a week.

“We want to establish a community of like-minded individuals who share a passion for collecting,” Hom said.

He said he and his three partners have a two-year lease with the building’s owner — who in 2018 paid $700,000 for the sprawling, two-story edifice, the front of which faces historic Taunton Green.

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Taunton’s revitalization reputation

Hom said during the apex of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, he and his friends were selling and trading Pokemon cards as “essentially a side hustle.” But as brick-and-mortar commerce began to regain strength they decided to look for a storefront.

“The idea and execution clicked in early 2023,” he said.

Hom said he became aware that Taunton has a reputation for its prolonged pursuit of downtown business revitalization.

In addition to the Taunton Business Improvement District and its non-profit counterpart Downtown Taunton Foundation, the city’s Office of Economic and Community Development has a business loan program for promising startups.

Jay Pateakos, the city’s economic development director, said his office provided a low-interest loan to the owners of Dream Collectors.

“We thought this business was definitely an attraction,” said Pateakos, who said the loan was derived directly from his budget as opposed to a third-party lending institution.

“It’s all through us,” he said, adding that “it’s to help them get over the hump to open.”

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Pateakos said he anticipates that Dream Collectors will also take advantage of an exterior sign program available through his office. Qualifying applicants can receive a sign with a value of as much as $2,500, he said.

Hom said he’s become enamored with the store’s physical location.

“This building is beautiful,” he said. “Aesthetically this is it. It’s like a fairy tale story, but in any city our goal is to impact the community.”

He said Taunton has the potential to achieve a level of business-revitalization growth comparable to that of a larger city like Worcester.

“Taunton can be another Worcester. That’s what it could be,” he said.

Sports cards and Squishmallows

Hom said Pokemon cards account for as much as 90% of the store’s current card inventory. He says Dream Collectors will slowly increase its inventory of sports cards but notes that they cost significantly more compared to Pokemon.

“They require a lot of liquidity,” he said.

Dream Collectors also sells the popular and trendy Squishmallow stuffed animal toys manufactured by Kelly Toys Holdings of Los Angeles. Prices range from $25 to $100.

“It’s a low profit, but kids love them,” Hom said.

He says the Pokemon company issues new products every few months and that his store operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

“There are no preorders,” Hom said, adding, “We’re selective. We do not want junk collecting dust.”

In addition to an insurance policy that covers both liability and personal property — Hom says the store’s inventory for now consists of cards belonging to the four co-owners — he said they have invested in a 24-hour security surveillance system.

Besides selling, trading and buying cards, Dream Collectors also offers “card grading” whereby a third party expert, for a fee, assesses a value.

Dream Collectors isn’t the only store in Taunton that handles collectable cards. The King’s Court Gaming and Collectibles on Bay Street also stocks Pokemon products, but the emphasis there is geared more towards weekly tabletop game playing and tournaments.

Making a dream a reality

Dream Collectors co-owner Jack Yuen says the name of the business was inspired by fellow co-owner Dang Nguyen.

“Dang is always dreaming about everything,” Yuen said. “He wakes up and says he was dreaming he wins a million dollars. We call him Dream Boy.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: New Taunton Pokemon trading card shop a passion project for owners