BANGOR, Maine — Dallas Mavericks star sophomore Cooper Flagg opened a card shop, Flagg Trading Co., on September 12th in Bangor, Maine.
Roughly half an hour from Flagg’s hometown of Newport, he and his cousin Tyler Flagg (who co-owns the store) set out to make life easier for card collectors in the area, who don’t have many options when it comes to major card shops.
“There aren’t a lot of places like this,” Flagg said to the Bangor Daily News. We will have a pretty good outreach and distribution. We will have a lot of product and will be able to fulfill the needs of a lot of people. I felt that struggle before (as a collector). Not being able to find certain things. You go to Walmarts and certain stores like that and stuff flies off the shelves. This will be a place where people can go and know they will be able to find some good stuff.”
Flagg Trading Co.’s Grand Opening
Collectors and fans of Flagg alike came out in droves for the store’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, drawing hundreds, with many camping out front overnight.
The NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year and Tyler grew up collecting cards, recently getting back into the hobby as Cooper entered the realm of professional basketball.
“I got into the hobby as I was starting to sign more and more cards for Fanatics,” Flagg said. “The love of the hobby kind of grew in me from there. Tyler similarly was into the hobby. He picked it back up. He collected when he was young and then stopped and then picked it back up as he got older again.”
Of the people to show up to the opening of Flagg Trading Co. was Jason Williams, the 55-year-old who pulled Flagg’s 1-of-1 rookie trading card. The card, which features an autograph from Flagg and the debut patch cut from the jersey that he played his very first NBA game in, was sent to auction on September 10.
The State Of Flagg’s 1-of-1 Debut Card
Despite offers including 32 years’ worth of season tickets and more from the Mavericks, a $1.5 million cash advance before the card reached auction from Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin and a $3 million bid ($3.6 million with the buyer’s premium) on trading card marketplace Alt, Williams declined them all in favor of sending the card to Fanatics Collect’s September Premier Auction.
Grading service PSA gave the card a Gem Mint 10, the highest grade it offers, further boosting the value of the card. The auction ends on September 24, with Flagg’s card expected to sell well into the seven-digit range.
With that card still dominating headlines in the collecting world, it’s safe to say that Flagg and his cousin chose a good time to open their shop.
