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On a triple-digit July afternoon, Milwaukie card shop Ripnpacks (4141 SE Jackson St., Milwaukie, 971-233-8131, instagram.com/ripnpacks) is full of boys (and three grown men) perusing sports cards in the relief of air conditioning. Granted, it only takes a handful of people to fill up Ripnpacks, which feels about the same size as a shoebox used to store a sports card collection—but in a good way. After all, approachability is the name of the game, says owner Brent Lowery.
“It all starts with the young bucks,” Lowery says. “I give them good deals. If they can’t afford to buy cards, they’ll never get into collecting.”
In its four years of existence, Ripnpacks has become well known in the local card shop scene for being particularly kid-friendly. (Lowery, 41, grew up buying cards across the street where there’s now a Safeway.) While some stores cater mostly to big spenders, Lowery and his employee have the patience of saints as children hem and haw over how to spend their allowances. Popular picks are $10 sealed mystery “repacks” of about 10 cards, organized by sport. Single cards are a few bucks, and Lowery is known to throw those in for free. Once a month, the store hosts a trade day geared toward its young customers, with raffles, prizes and a free-throw competition.
And Ripnpacks doesn’t ignore collectors and flippers, which account for about a quarter of their business: a mint condition, autographed Kobe Bryant card from the year he died is in a glass case and priced at $3,000. Will something like that be in a pack, or just a bunch of no-name rookies? That’s part of the gamble, Lowery says.
“I call it the Willy Wonka effect. If you put the golden tickets out there, everybody’s going to be searching for them.”
See the rest of Willamette Week’s Best of Portland 2024 here!