Without much disposable income right now, the only thing I really get at the card shop is supplies. I would like to frequent the local shop as often as I used to, but it's next to impossible right now. High risk, high reward ventures are out of my budget, currently.

I went in to pick up a box of 9 pocket pages, a package of toploaders and a jumbo pack of Topps Series 2.

I arrived while an employee was engaged in a conversation with a customer. So, I busied myself by browsing the quarter and fifty cent boxes. I instantly regret not bringing a list, as the fifty cent box was labeled Buehrle/Konerko. I relied on memory. I must say that my memory served me well.

I thumbed through the cards and picked out a Dick Perez sketch card that I did not remember. It turns out to be one from 2006, one year before my collecting days resumed. I knew I didn't have it, so it went into my hand.

I kept running into cards that I thought I had, but couldn't be 100% sure. I ran across a 2003 Bowman Heritage of Mark Buehrle. I knew I didn't have it in the player collection, but I couldn't recall if I had it in the set collection. As it turned out, I had neither. Score one for the set collection!
I went up the the counter and asked for my pages and toploaders. I was hoping for a jumbo pack of 2011 Topps Series 2, but they were sold out. They did have the regular packs, so I opted for four packs of that.

In my first pack, I hit a Frank Thomas Kimball.
I haven't looked at the checklist for Series 2, so I had no idea what to expect. I deliberately did that so I would be surprised at whatever White Sox I got. No expectations, no disappointment.

In the last pack, I ran across the only White Sox base card out of the four packs... Gavin Floyd.
Getting one out of the ten White Sox base cards is not a bad ratio for four ten card packs. I consider this trip to RBI Sports a rousing success. Two out of forty cards were White Sox, including a nice insert. I also got two additional Sox cards that I needed. A success indeed!

I set aside enough money to do some much needed errands today. I picked up a 4 inch "D" ring binder at Office Depot and headed over to RBI Sports to pick up a box of Ultra Pro pages and maybe a few packs.

Nothing unusual, just some ordinary running around, all concerning this great hobby of ours. I saw a sort of familiar face sitting in the corner of the shop, behind the counter. I thought nothing of it, as Tony's friends and relatives sometimes help out if Tony had something that tore him away from the shop.

I picked up a box of pages, two Allen & Ginter packs and a TriStar PROjections pack. The box was brought down from the shelf and I was allowed to pick my pack, like usual. Then I asked where Tony was today. The answer was both alarming and somewhat comforting. He sold the store about a month ago.

After finally figuring out, in 2007, that there was a place that could have kept me interested in cards throughout the nineties, it felt like I had lost that all over again. I pressed on and asked why. Tony was the only employee, so he was there everyday, open to close. After fifteen years, he wanted to spend more time with his family. I can totally understand that and I can respect that.

The last few times that I was in the shop, I thought I noticed the old spark diminished in Tony. I chalked it up to having a bad day or a shipment was late or something else. Now, I realize that the writing was on the wall for his days as a shop owner. I can't afford to go in there every day or every week, or even every month. It had been awhile since I had stopped by. If I had to guess, it was probably in April or May.

As I was listening to the new shopkeeper, I started to understand the motivation behind the sale and I began to appreciate the new owners. The new owners had actually looked into opening a shop when Tony opened his. They were loyal customers and when Tony put the shop up for sale, it seemed like a natural fit.

This is a family owned and operated business, so the shop will be open seven days a week now. The man I talked to seemed friendly and willing to talk shop. He was a Cubs fan wearing a faded Fukudome shirt, but I have no beef with that. I don't care who's team you support, it's just nice to see the support there.

So long, Tony Carrasquillo. It was great having you as the nearest and coolest card shop owner in this area. I will never forget the instrumental role that you played in getting me back into the hobby. I appreciate all the advice and the conversations that we've had over the past two years. I bought my first hobby box since 1991 in your store and I pulled a nice Konerko card from a 2007 Moments & Milestones box, among other nice pulls. I wish you and your family the best.

Hello, Joe Ostrowski and family! I've only been in your new shop once since you've acquired it from Tony, but color me impressed. I have the same feeling that I had when I entered Tony's store. It was nice and friendly. A very inviting place to browse and shop. Good luck in your new business. I will be coming back.

I will be keeping RBI Sports on the recommended shops list. I've had a great experience my first time there with the new owners. I hope that trend continues. One of these days, I will make it out to AU Sports and from everything that I've heard about that store, it will be on the list. I just have to make an official visit and have a good experience for that to make the list.

When I was just entering high school, card shops were everywhere. They were in tucked away shops around the corner. They were in the middle of the main road through town, smack dab between a knick knack shop and a barber shop. They were even in the local mall.

Card shows were plentiful. They would be nearly every week at various places around town. The K of C one week, the civic center the next, the mall the week after that.

Then, as quickly as they all appeared, they all disappeared. Prices were going up. Kids were growing up. Then the strike happened that cancelled the World Series. Fans were allowed to persue other interests.

All of these things and more factored in my decision to stop collecting in 1994. I didn't return full time until 2007. Then, of course, I started this blog after months of collecting full time. After seeing blogs like The Baseball Card Blog, Stale Gum, Cardboard Junkie and Canseco Completist (which morphed into Wax Heaven), I figured I could do that too.

I searched online for a White Sox baseball card site and came up with nothing. So, I decided to start this blog. Since making that monumental decision, I've come in contact with a bunch of great collectors and traders within the blogging community.

One thing was missing though. The great card shops of my youth. The few card shops that I've actually run across, I've found two great ones, one with bad attitude and one that never seems to be open. At least, I've never seen it open during the posted business hours.

With that spirit in mind, I've decided to start listing information on the card shops that I've had good experiences at. The criteria is pretty simple. The employees have to be friendly. They must allow browsing. They must acknowledge the presence of each customer at least once per visit. Price gouging is not an option. It should be an inviting place that you would feel comfortable spending a few hours in.

You'd think that every card shop in North America would be able to follow those rules. Right? Wrong! I've experienced employees that would rather go through a root canal than have me in the store. I've heard stories of employees throwing kids out of the the store because they were looking at the cards in the cases with awe and amazement. They just didn't have the money to purchase these cards.

I have found three card shops within ten miles of my house. Only one meets my approval. It happens to be the one closest to my house, which has no effect on my rating, but still is a convenience for me. I have found one shop near my fiancee's house, which I have had good experiences with. So, that makes the list too.

I don't want to be bombarded by requests to put certain shops on the list. The shop in Crestwood, IL. is not on the list because of rude employees, throwing children out of the shop and price gouging, to name a few reasons. A card shop in Oak Forest, IL. does not make the list, because it's never open when I arrive during the posted business hours.

I'm hoping this will help fellow collectors find the best card shops, give them the business that they deserve for being a great card shop, so they can continue to be a great card shop. I have no affiliation with any of these shops, but my continued experiences at these shops are a testament to what they offer.

If I'm on vacation, and have a great experience at a card shop, I'll put that shop on the list. I'm not concerned about location. I'm concerned about the experience that I have had and what the shop can offer the first time customer and the long time customer.

A little about the two shops that have made the list.

RBI Sports Cards - Burbank, IL.
An owner that loves to talk sports and is extremely helpful. Tony will bend over backwards to make the customer happy. He even lets the customer choose their pack straight from the box. Tony was instrumental in keeping me in the hobby when I started back in 2007.

Matt's Sports Cards - Joliet, IL.
Every time I have gone in to the shop, I have been greeted by friendly employees who allow me to browse. When I have asked to look through singles from a recent release, without a list, an 800 count box was placed before me, so I could search through and look at each card myself. I was also directed towards their Beckett store and told that if I ordered, to include a note that I was going to pick up the order at the store, so my shipping could be refunded.

I hope to include others on this list, in the future. The list is located on the right, underneath the Follow tool. Hopefully, this will weed out the bad card shops and reward the good ones.

I've been a little swamped this weekend, so I will get the game recaps for today and yesterday up tonight.

While reading one of the local papers this weekend, I found an article about my favorite (and closest) card shop, RBI Sports in Burbank, Illinois. After boycotting the only other known card shop in the area, this shop is it.

It's nice to see that the hits come to this shop as well. I have to repeat that the owner, Tony Carrasquillo, is one of the nicest around. The customer was a 38 year old White Sox fan, who was celebrating his birthday. His fiancee told him to pick out anything in the store. The customer picked out a $300 pack of cards and found a Babe Ruth 1/1 signature and patch card.

Awesome find! I'm glad to see that the story ran in the local paper. Anything to draw more interest in the hobby, I say.

One of the nice things about running a successful blog is that I tend to have spies everywhere. Many extra sets of eyes, if you will. In the past few days this has even turned up an elusive Cleveland Indians card of Harold Baines, which I purchased on Beckett Marketplace last night with the gift certificate I won in the Beckett image uploading contest a few months back.

The following occurred at a local card shop, in full view of one on my readers named Steve. I'll let him explain it.

"Well, I don't think I'll be going to Baseball Dreams and Memories anymore. The guy's a real jerk. A group of kids were in the store admiring the cards (around 9-10 yrs. old) and he goes to them in a real snippy voice 'Don't you guys have anything better to do than just HANG around?' They said nothing and he said 'Oh, you have nothing to say' and laughed. Needless to say the kids were scared and left. I thought I would send this to someone who shops there; then I'd feel like I was doing something about it."

This is another reason why card shops are dying out. I find this absolutely unacceptable behavior. Even if you're having the worst day, you don't scare browsing kids out of your store. They tend to be a store's best customers in a few years. It's positive experiences that will keep them coming back to spend money. Plus, kids that age tend to con their parents into spending money on their interests. I have a feeling that store just lost some decent business.

You may remember me talking about this store before, even though I didn't mention it by name. This would be the store with the great selection of individual packs and the hit or miss service. This time they definitely missed.

The problem with this scenario is that I only know of two card shops in my area. So, unless I find a few more shops close by, I may be forced to shop there for some items. Can anyone suggest any great card shops on the South Side of Chicago?

I already have a great atmosphere shop in RBI Sports Cards in Burbank, Illinois. It just doesn't have the selection that I'd like sometimes. I've talked about this shop too, although never by name. The owner, Tony, is a wonderful guy. He loves to talk shop and the atmosphere is outstanding! I would prefer to go there for all my pack needs, but the higher end stuff only sells by the box.

I've had pleasant experiences at Baseball Dreams & Memories, but I think that is because I am in my thirties. I've had just as many bad experiences at that shop. I can remember a time where I was charged for four packs of Allen & Ginter and only found three in my paper bag. It was difficult to tell until I got home because I purchased many other items, including different packs.

I definitely need to find a replacement shop! There are a few items that I am almost forced to go in there for. I really don't want to go into this shop again. I've been on the fence for months, but this was the last straw. If anyone has info on good card shops, please leave the info in the comments section. If we get enough, I will do a posting listing the card shops after my personal visit.

I think reader Steve summed up the card shop experience best in his follow up e-mail.

"As fleeting of an industry as baseball cards are you'd think an owner would appreciate any sort of customers. It was an outrage."

I couldn't agree with you more Steve. Thanks for the heads up about this incident. Now, I leave it up to the local area readers to let everyone know about the good card shops around here. Out of area readers can join in too, if they know of a great online shop. We need to get a listing done pronto!

Horror stories or great experiences are welcome in the comments as well.

I'm off for the weekend with my fiancee to see my future sister-in-law in Atlanta, third home of the Braves. Maybe I'll run into a card shop where I can find some good deals on White Sox cards. It could happen, since the Sox are a non-regional team in that area. You never know what one might find, if one looks hard enough.

It's a shame baseball season is over for this year. I would've loved to see a Braves game. Hopefully someday I'll see a game in Atlanta. It would be a bonus if the Braves would be beating the tar out of a certain Chicago North Side team. Like they say on the North Side, maybe next year.