CardArt

CardArt is a hobby store on East El Camino Real in Sunnyvale, California, founded in 2022 and run as a small-business LLC. It specializes in card games, with Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Weiss Schwarz, Magic: The Gathering and the One Piece Card Game on the roster, and it rounds out the shelves with video games, collectibles and work by local artists. It suits players and collectors who want a neighborhood card shop with long evening hours, and anyone with a stack of cards, games or collectibles they would rather sell in person than online.

What's on the shelves

Card games are the store's focus, and the five games it carries are Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Weiss Schwarz, Magic: The Gathering and the One Piece Card Game. More games are planned. Alongside the cards, the store stocks video games and collectibles, and it aims to carry other pop culture items as well, with the goal of covering anything nerdy a customer might be after.

The store also sells art by local artists, distributed in store on behalf of the artists and the owners' friends.

Selling to the store

CardArt buys second-hand cards, games and collectibles from customers, in person, as an alternative to listing items online. Items of interest include:

• Card games, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece
• Video games, with cartridge-based games and Nintendo-branded handhelds preferred
• Handheld video game consoles
• Select collectibles such as statues and figures

Offers vary from item to item, but sellers can typically expect around 50% of value in cash or 60% in store credit. The store can decline any item, and every transaction is recorded. Anything suspected of being stolen is confiscated and reported to local police, and handheld consoles go through extra steps to confirm they were not stolen. A transaction over $100 requires an ID or driver's license.

Bulk is accepted only Monday through Thursday. Pokémon bulk has to be sorted by type and separated into the store's categories, and unsorted bulk is turned away. Energy cards and code cards are not purchased. Bulk rates are subject to change and are set per card, with a separate rate for yellow border commons and uncommons, for reverse, rare and holo cards, and for V, GX and EX cards. Table space is available in the store for sorting, except when an event needs the maximum table space.

Hours and getting there

The store sits at 781 E El Camino Real, Suite 100, in Sunnyvale, in the 94087 ZIP code. It opens late on Mondays and Tuesdays, earlier the rest of the week, and closes two hours sooner on Sundays.

Because bulk buying runs only Monday through Thursday, anyone bringing a box of bulk should plan around the weekday window, which includes the later Monday and Tuesday openings.

History

CardArt opened in 2022 and operates as a small-business LLC at its current Sunnyvale address.

The local scene

Sunnyvale has several other shops within a couple of miles. Champion Comics is 0.6 miles away, South Bay Sports Cards is 1.1 miles away, and HobbyTown USA and Comics Conspiracy are 1.6 and 1.7 miles away. Toby's Board Games in Cupertino is 1.5 miles off.