Mark's Card Shop — Local services in Downers Grove

I’ve been going to Mark’s Card Shop since it opened and still make it my first stop for any of my collecting needs even though I have multiple shops that are much closer to me.

Mark’s is a fantastic card shop for both kids and adults. Mark does a great job of providing fair prices to all of his customers and ensuring that young collectors have a fun and fair introduction to the hobby.

The shop is often busy on weekends, yet Mark still finds time to make sure that everyone feels valued, and often welcomes young collectors that are new to his shop with fun games or bonuses to make sure they have a positive first experience.

In a hobby that is intended for all ages, but oftentimes skews towards cut-throat pricing and business practices that are tailored towards either marketing towards the older, better funded collectors or taking advantage of the younger, uninitiated collectors, the way Mark does business is a much needed breath of fresh air to the hobby.

The future of the hobby is growing it by educating and caring for young collectors, so the next generation of hobbyists learn about collecting and enjoy the experience, and that is what Mark’s approach is all about; helping to grow the hobby and making it a place where young collectors can learn and have fun instead of getting ripped off.

For the seasoned collector, Mark has a great, fairly priced selection of both current and vintage product and, if he doesn’t have something, he’s always willing to try to get it. Mark’s Card Shop is a true asset to the hobby and a rare oasis of fairness and value in a hobby that is too often corrupted by greed and profiteering.

Mark makes sure that whether you’ve been in the hobby for 4 days or 40 years, if you go to his shop, you’ll have a good time and get a fair deal.

Mark’s Card Shop is a fun and welcoming place for collectors...

Been collecting sports cards on/off for 30+ years and have been to innumerable card shops across the country (and even Canada). Mark’s Card Shop is without a doubt one of the best. My son and his friends have now started to get into collecting over the past couple of years. I could not be more thankful to have someone like Mark and his staff fostering and growing such a great community. Mark truly does care about the hobby and everyone involved from the youngest/newest casual collector to the lifelong diehard. He is constantly playing games with the kids, giving away cards/packs and just generally making things fun. He also makes the effort to learn names/faces and will talk sports or anything else with anyone who walks into the shop. You always feel extremely welcome. It is a very distinguishable feeling from going into some of the larger, much less personable shops. The way Mark encourages people to hang around and be kind to one another is what you love to see. We are extremely lucky to have Mark and his shop in our community. He is highly invested in both the local community (Downers Grove) and larger collector community of everyone who comes in. I HIGHLY recommend Mark’s Card Shop and encourage others to stop by even if it’s just to say “hi” and check out the place. I promise you will not be...

Easily best card shop and owner in Chicagoland. To put it bluntly, Mark is the only reason I collect sports cards today.

I cannot recommend this shop higher. I stopped collecting cards in high school and one day last summer, decided to tour local card shops with my kids for something to do. Most of the shops had the typical owner who sat behind the counter and really didn’t care what my kids or I wanted or knew about collecting. Marks had an owner who actively greeted us, took the time to learn our names, what we collected, and showed us how to look up what cards were worth and explain to an old fossil like me what had changed in the hobby in 30 years (a lot)! Mark makes collecting fun for kids and adults alike and takes the time to talk to each person about cards and other hobby related items. He will spend the same amount of time with an 8 year old for a 2 dollar Pokémon card as with an adult with a 500 dollar card. The Marks card shop experience is truly unique and exceptional and must be experienced in person. I will only shop here for my collecting needs. All other shops wish they could...