CONNECTICUT/MASSACHUSETTS — With just over three weeks remaining in the holiday shopping season, consider getting a piece of memorabilia for the sports fan on your list. The sports collectibles industry has exploded in recent years, estimated at $26 billion annually, with the emergence of Funko Pops generating around $700 million on its own.
Whether it be trading cards of a favorite player or team, an autographed photo or mini-helmet, or non-sports items such as Pokemon or Magic the Gathering cards, there are a number of brick-and-mortar outlets in the northern and central Connecticut area, as well as some shows and conventions in Massachusetts that are within reasonable driving distance.
You want to say, “Online shopping is so much easier,” which may be true, but actually getting to browse through items, whether they be carefully arranged on a shelf or tossed into a random box (the old “plow through everything to find anything” routine, which I love doing), usually leaves one buying something they wouldn’t have planned on acquiring prior to walking in (trust me from first-hand experience).